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I have a dog, who is very aggresive with her food. We got her from a kennel when she was about eleven weeks old, and we donot know where she came from. When we got her, she was very skinny, but a wonderful dog. She will eat out of your hand just fine, but when you put food in her bowl she goes into an aggresive mode, and will take down anything in her way. You cannot pet her while she's eating, stand over her or even be in the kitchen. It seems like we've tried evrything and i do not know what to do? Any ideas?

2006-11-26 11:52:29 · 15 answers · asked by Tori 1 in Pets Dogs

15 answers

you say when you got her
but you don't say ...
how big is she?
how long has this been happening?
any other dogs?
does she scare you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
concern is good - because it is down right important!
you need to fix this behavior before it becomes something else she will not let you do!

if you feel OK - about trying this on your own ...
Otherwise you need a trainer... and you need training to deal with her.

take up the bowl....
new place - new schedule - new rules.
you sit. with bowl between knees. & a container of food.
dog sits - you pet. 2-3 kibbles in bowl with one hand on pup petting, the other hand releasing a few kibble.
You have to have a release word ... OK - or - EAT - DINNER whatever. pick a NEW one.
dog stays in sit.

ANY hostility - the end.

you pick up and leave.

try again in 20 min or so.

grabbing at the kibble in your hand or growling is not allowed!
this is a long process - not an overnight sucess!!

if you fear your dog - she knows it.
and she it the master of your house.

you need a trainer.
good luck
KC

2006-11-26 12:36:24 · answer #1 · answered by redsquirrel_55 2 · 0 0

Don't try to fix this yourself, you could get bit.

We have a shelter and don't tolerate it because we have a lot of animals. If you have just one, you don't want to use our methods. With our dogs, the younger aggressive ones are running off the less aggressive. To keep the peace, we feed the two alpha males separately. But we do NOT let them growl at us under any circumstances, and if they try it, they discover that we are the alphas, period. With them, it's all about control of the food yard, and we are the wardens.

In your case, tho, it sounds like your poor little girl used to have to fight for her food somewhere else. She's seeing you as another aggressor, even tho you're her person and responsible for the food bowl. She's feeling threatened by you in that bowl situation.

I don't like the idea of the dog not letting you stand in your own kitchen. Have you had her a long time or is this new behavior? If you haven't had her long, it might just take her awhile to settle down and see that you aren't a threat. You might also consider feeding her in a more secure, less open place, where she feels she has something between her food and any threats.

If she continues with this, tho, you need some outside help. Any aggressive behavior on your part may not work with this dog. She could become nervous about the entire feeding episode and make everyone miserable. If you're on a budget, take her to a PetSmart training class and let the trainer see how she does and make recommendations.

You are wonderful to have adopted her so please give her a chance to become part of the family.

2006-11-26 12:10:34 · answer #2 · answered by Charlotte M 3 · 0 0

Feed the dog with dry food and only put one or two kernels into the bowl at a time and have the dog sit and wait until you put the bowl down in front.As soon as the dog gobbles them have her sit again,pick up bowl and repeat.At the first sign of aggression the feeding stops.As alpha you control the food and any disrespect ends in no dinner.
You will be surprised at how quickly they get the message,as this is how it works in a pack setting.Good luck.

2006-11-26 12:00:56 · answer #3 · answered by racquel 4 · 1 0

It depends on how old she is. All I can say is that you have to be very firm with her. She continues what she believes she can get away with. You must be the dominant one in the partnership. Regardless of her past, she is still a dog, she sees things as a dog does,therefore, you must be the alpha, harsh reprimand, along with other disciplinary actions may be required. I agree with the ones who said to feed a little at a time, then if she behaves badly remove the food. she is smarter then you might think and it just might work. what ever you do, do not allow her to continue. in the end someone could get seriously hurt and then she would have to be put to sleep.

2006-11-26 13:52:57 · answer #4 · answered by melissa s 4 · 0 0

Please don't put yourself in the line of fire with this dog. It's so great that you've gotten a dog through rescue, but as you see she has some issues that need to be worked through, and you don't want to make a mistake with her and get bitten. I'm not sure I'm even comfortable recommending that you only hand feed her at this stage, even though she lets you (a very good sign). I think it'd be worth every penny to hire an APDT trainer, or behavioral consultant. They will be able to give you a clear plan of action with this dog that will make everyone happy in the long run. Your problem IS solvable. Please let us know how you're doing. Good luck!

2006-11-26 13:47:05 · answer #5 · answered by Misa M 6 · 0 0

Food aggression is very common among many dogs. In many dogs, this may be the only aggression that the dog shows and the dog otherwise may be a very submissive and non-aggressive dog. More often, however, food aggression is merely symptom or precursor to other aggression problems.

In the dog mind, food is a resource that must be protected. They do not understand the grocery store or the dog food bag. All they know is the food in their bowl is what they have to eat. And with many dogs, they do not get much in their bowl in an effort to reduce their weight. Thus, it is instinctive for a dog to protect their food from threats.

The problem is that the dog is perceiving you as a threat. Your dog should see you as its protector and trust you to do whatever you need to since it knows you would never hurt it. In situations where the dog is actually the dominant partner in the relationship, the dog is letting you know that this is his food and you are not allowed to touch it. Incidentally, these dogs are dealt with much differently than the rescue dog that has been starved most of its life and has yet to realize that food is not something in short
supply and that you can be trusted.

For a dog that you have raised, aggression over food should not be acceptable. It is not up to the dog to determine when, what, and for how long it gets fed. If allowed to dictate these terms, most dogs will then assume it is in control and will begin to dictate other parts of the relationship. Is your dog showing aggression at other time, such as when you ask it to move, when you touch its toys, when you refuse to pet it, etc? If the answer to all these questions is yes then you have a dog that is the dominant partner in the relationship. You need to seek a professional trainer or animal behaviorist to help you restore your dominance without harm to you or the dog. If the answer to some of these question is yes, then you have a dog that is beginning to show signs of dominance. Again, professional help is adviseable. These dogs need to learn that you are in charge. One effective way to acheive this is to enforce the policy that nothing is for free. Before they get fed, petted, etc they must do something. Sits are usually started with. The dog must sit before it gets anything. Then progress to downs. This forces the dog to accept the fact that you, not it,
determine the when, why, etc of events. Again, this is best done under
the guidance of a trainer, animal behaviorist, or veterinarian doing
behavioral counseling.

For the dog that only growls over food, then you may or may not have a dominance problem. Some dogs seem to just have a propensity to growl over food but are otherwise submissive to their owners. The growling is unacceptable and should be punished. Simply don't give the dog food when it growls. If any other dominance problems arise, then take appropriate action.

Again let me reiterate that growling over food is not normal NOR acceptable. Many people feel that dogs normally get aggressive when food is involved. This may be true, that dogs growl at threats over food, but it is NOT true that dogs should be allowed to growl at their family over food. Nor should they be allowed to take food from the children. Food aggression often signals other dominance problems or signals impending dominance problems. Please, please do not tolerate food aggression. Take steps to nip the problem in the bud before it escalates to a dangerous level.

2006-11-26 12:05:09 · answer #6 · answered by Somer B 1 · 1 1

I think your best bet is just to let her eat in peace. My Akita is food aggressive and we had him every since he was 2 months old. I also read in a dog magazine that some breeds are food aggressive and some become that way because of their previous lifestyle like being a stray or living in kennels.

2006-11-26 12:00:16 · answer #7 · answered by PreciousRuby 3 · 0 1

Put the food in the garage, or outside in a feeder, or even put her in another room when you feed her... But be kind of patient... She is, as you know, a kennel puppy... You don't know what she has been through during her little puppy hood... or even how she was treated...

2006-11-26 11:55:37 · answer #8 · answered by Shadow 3 · 1 0

I agree with one of the above people. You should only hand feed her and then start feeding her in her crate. My grandma had a really mean food aggresive dog. He had to stay in his crate w/ the door locked so if somebody came too close he couldn't attack them.

2006-11-26 12:02:07 · answer #9 · answered by Velvet 4 · 1 1

http://www.leerburg.com/dog-agg.htm

They're saying to hand feed, and then feed inside a crate. It all has to do with being the alpha. Loads of info on that site. Hope it helps!

2006-11-26 11:57:47 · answer #10 · answered by ? 4 · 0 0

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