my 1 year old american bulldog guards her food.?

Question

even if you talk to her when she is eating she growls really badly. she has always been a hungry dog but i just thought this was cause she had come from a big litter of pups. if you dare to go near her when she is eating she growls and looks like she would bite and as i have 3 young children this is quite worrying. also she likes to try and get food from beches or the bin and if you try to retrieve any food of her that she has already taken i believe she would go for you. help us please

she is a totally different dog when she is not eating ten she is a friendly dog i do feed her in another room away from my children and they are not allowed near the dog unless i'm there but this is not my idea of a friendly pet that i wanted

Answer 1

you've got a dominance problem, your dog doesn't believe that she's bottom in the pecking order and you need to do something about it as quickly as you can if there are children in the house.

have a look here

http://www.dogsonly.org/Dominance.html

Answer 2

Wait, wait, wait.

The dog could have food aggression. That's obvious. But when you adopt a dog you make a promise to that animal that you will be her family. You don't get rid of her because she might do something wrong without attempting to train her.

For the time being you must feed her in a room where the children cannot disturb her while she is eating. If this means she eats not in the kitchen that is fine. If she has to eat in the bathroom, that's fine. If she eats in the basement, that's fine. You must keep your children away from her while she's eating because she definitely exhibits signs of food aggression.

This means you can't free-feed. You put food in her bowl and put her in the room with her food for fifteen minutes. Then you take her out of that room, put her elsewhere, pick up her bowl and put it away. If she eats, good. If she doesn't, well, she gets to try again in 12 hours. Within days she'll realize that she must eat when you give her food. This will also help to establish that you are the Alpha, not her.

Then call your vet. The office ought to be able to recommend a behaviorist in your area who can help you work specifically on this issue.

Here's an article about a similar situation, but your vet can probably recommend a trainer and some books that can help you to work on this.

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=157&A=919&S=1

Good luck!

(And, I read the original post as if she snapped, not growled. I agree with the poster before me that you need to test it with a stick. It's still not a good idea not to free-feed and maybe feed her elsewhere, but growling and snapping aren't the same thing...)

Answer 3

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Since it is obvious that you do not have a clue about obedience training, your services should be for free. You cannot train even an adult dog for 8 hours a day. About the most that can be done at any one time is 10 - 20 minutes and that is with an adult dog and not a puppy. The attention span on this baby is extremely short and training session should be no more than 10 minutes and twice a day. Additionally, there isn't going to be much learned if you will only be training for 5 days. Obedience training is cumulative and is done over a much longer period of at least several weeks to several months.
What you can charge is determined by your experience, reputation, and accomplishments and in a case like this, should also include guaranteed expectations. Just working with dogs over several years, is not the experience that is necessary to be a dog trainer. There are too many people who are putting that title to their name and fleecing the public. Don't be one of them.

Answer 4

You seem like a seriously concerned, and average dog owner. First of all, feed them separate. Dogs create a pecking order, just as wolves and other social canids do. The dominant dog eats first, and the subordinates eat second and so on, it's "pack mentality". When your Yorkshire comes up to eat first, or comes near the Domitian dog during feeding time, the Bulldog feels she's being challenged, and attempts to put the Yorkshire in it's place. This only occurs during feeding time because the Bulldog feels, the only time her dominance is being challenged is during feeding time, when the Yorkshire tries to eat first. Making the Bulldog watch the Yorkshire eat, only instills more aggressive attitudes towards the Yorkshire because than she REALLY feels her place is being taken. For the Yorkshire's safety and yours, I'd feed the Bulldog, first, somewhere else, and the Yorkshire somewhere else, as well, where the Bulldog cannot get to him. Most dog owners of multiple dogs will tell you, if you leave a bowl of food outside with 2 or more dogs, and one hasn't learned who the dominant one is, in the case of your Yorkshire, there is likely to be a fight, and you're blessed this Bulldog didn't have the instinct in mind to kill. I have a Chihuhaua who's about 3 pound and a 55lbs Pit Bull puppy, whose only 8 months, and I know what your going through. I feed them separately, at separate times, away from each other.

Answer 5

PLEASE LISTEN TO ME. The dog has serious issues. I don't care if it's around the food or around the whatever. GET RID OF IT. forget the broomsticks and the promises you made and all that good stuff. There are no second chances should this dog bite one of the kids, NONE. And as an American bulldog, she has plenty of size to do serious damage to a child. And I know that I will offend the majority of people here again, but, oh well, a child NEVER comes after a dog. A trainer might be able to help you, if he knows what he is doing, but in the back of your mind the question will always linger, "will she bite one of my kids?" I am not sure this is something you want to live with for the rest of your life.

Answer 6

Please, get the dog out of the house right away before one of your children gets hurt. This animal has not accepted a position of submission within the pack (your family).
You could try some obedience training but in the meantime it is much too dangerous to keep around small children. It may only be food agression now and feeding in another room is a short-term solution but it could become aggression over a toy or being suddenly awakened. Children's safety ALWAYS comes first.

There are thousands af loving dogs just waiting for a family to adopt them. Send yours to a more appropriate home and get your kids a dog that will become a cherished family member, not a bomb waiting to explode.

Answer 7

Wait a minute people we still need to learn a few things such as: 1) was she adopted recently?
2) if she was recently adopted, why did they adopt her out with an obvious food aggression problem? or
3) did they even check for food aggression?
4) if you've had her since she was 6 weeks of age, did she show this behavior since then or just recently?
5) is it possible that she is expecting, dams get homonal too when they are expecting.

If the answer is yes to questions 1 and 3 then move on to question 5 and take her to the vet. If you don't know the answer to 3 then I would call the organization that you got her from and ask if they checked to see if she is food aggressive. If they can't or more specifically won't tell you call you local ASPCA immediately and tell them what is happening, they are highly trained and will be able to advise you as to what you need to do next.

Good luck and do NOT let your precious babies near her while she is eating until you have gotten her checked out and checked out all possible avenues for why she is the way she is.

Answer 8

She doesn't just look like she will bite she WILL bite and if one of your children get bit it will be YOUR fault. This is called "Food Aggression" and the SPCA won't even adopt an animal out that shows this behavior. They test them for this. A professional trainer is what you need may help,may not. A home with only adults in it would be more appropriate for this dog. KEEP THE KIDS AWAY.

Answer 9

Some major obedience schooling before those kids get bit. Whenever I got a new puppy, I would start the very first day taking away their food or chewy or toy. I would praise them and then give it right back. That way I KNEW the kids could accidentally move the bowl, etc and not get bit. You have a major problem and it needs to be addressed immediately. Talk to a professional trainer.

Answer 10

A well-trained dog makes everyone happy, including his owner. Take a little time training him, and you'll never regret it; you'll always have an obedient dog by your side. Find more https://tr.im/IpVEu

By their nature, dogs are pack animals with a well-defined social order. Through basic training, you need to consistently make sure your puppy understands that you are the leader, not him. So in teaching him the basic rules, you take on the role of pack leader.

To fit into the family circle, your dog must be taught to recognize his name and such commands as come, heel, lie down and sit.

Answer 11

OK look everyone needs to calm down NOW. You need to test the dog with a stick like a broom poke her when she is eating see if she sactually bited the stick if not good then try to move the bowl with the stick any dog will do this its protection a natural defense for dogs. but most will not bite just make them selfs known but if the dog does bite the stick or attack the stick in away yell at her and tell her no bad and then just make sure she knows no one is going to steal her food people please learn to react with a dog and bull dogs are not something to be to affraid of there not killers they are small and friendly there mouths could barely open enough to bite a leg.