3 yr. old Yellow Lab with Food Aggression?

Question

I have a 3 year old yellow lab. A few weeks ago we adopted a 1 yr. old pitbull mix. We kept her for a few weeks but the dogs couldn't get along so we found a new home for the pitbull. Well while the pitbull was here, they would fight over toys and treats (even though I would give them both the same toy/treat). The pitbull has been gone for 2 weeks and the lab still feels protective of her treats, toys and food. She will growl at us if we try to take something from her and she actually bit my husband. I am 7 months pregnant so we have to fix this or take her to an animal shelter/find a new home. Any suggestions?

I do not want to get rid of her. I am 7 months pregnant and cannot risk her biting me or my child. I will not put my child at risk. I may sound like an irresponsible dog owner but I'm a responsible parent. The pit was rescued from the pound and we found a home for her... the lab was also rescued from the pound and we will do our best for her also. Sometimes things do not work as well as we would like.

Answer 1

By bringing in a 'new' dog to the home you have reinforced your Labs existing sense of insecurity which many rescue dogs show signs of and this has now come to the surface.Insecurity and territory go hand in hand with a dog and without realizing it you've paradoxically done a 'wrong' thing whilst trying to do a right one.
How to put it right?
First your Lab is expecting the possible arrival of another dog if not the return of the hated pitbull mix.The latter has only been gone for 2 weeks so as far as she is concerned is still fresh in the memory and she is still upset.
Give her a little more time because she may well revert back to type.I'm interested to know what your husband did when the dog bit him.If she was allowed to get away with that then she will do it again.I don't advocate physical punishment on dogs but this is an exception.You must get back control and make her submissive.Any opportunity your husband has must be spent with his arm well protected and continual training of the dog by taking items away from her and then giving them back.That will
serve 2 purposes-one will be to restore his authority and two will be to restore the dog's trust.This needs time.patience and you cannot repeat it too often.
if you make no progress then the dog has to go.
Oddly enough about six months ago I took in a female yellow lab from a rescue and after a week decided that she was too damaged.With aggression comes unpredictability and you cannot afford to sign up for this.
You've 2 months to work on her and I mean really work Give her lots of attention and do your best to tire her out physically and mentally each day.keep her involved with you as much as you can and this level of contact will help her feeling of security.
Love to know how you get on.All the very best

Answer 2

All of your answers were horrible and did not help her. All of you just wanted to be saying something. I mean seriously "you need to get help" that's obvious. Dogs are territorial and heirarchial. When dogs in a pack leave food then the lower dogs are allowed to eat. Put down the food and make her stay back until you walk away. Next, if she growls while eating then you need to confidently take her away from the food. If you take the food from her, she will probably bite you. Make her stay away from the food until you allow her. Also, you should walk her with a leash and make her stay beside you. This shows dominance. I have a 5 year old German Shepard that had the same problem but in many other ways so I sought much help through many professionals and books. This can get you started. Good Luck.

Answer 3

This is not an unusual problem. Your dog feels threatened. You need to reestablish your alpha dominace with your dog. That will stop the agression. You let the dog know everything it gets is yours and comes from you. I have some free training aids to get you throgh this. Check out our website at burdicklabradors.com helpful hints page under behavioral problems. Worst case you take her for training, since this is a created condition and not part of your dogs regular personality training will work either way but try this first.

Answer 4

You need to train her. Labs are not aggressive by nature & it sounds like you are somewhat of a novice when it comes to dogs - which is just fine - everyone has to start somewhere.
No offense - but it sounds like since you got rid of the pitbull & now are considering getting rid of the lab - you don't take the responsibility of owning a pet very seriously.
If you really want to own a dog, they need training to know who is the boss - which is you & your husband.
Join a training class (most petsmarts have them.)
Good luck!

Answer 5

GET SOME PROFESSIONAL HELP ASAP. I saw this once on THE DOG WHISPERER <----- which is a great show for training dogs. the dog will continue this aggression and has become very territorial. This problem if left untreated will SPREAD to other areas of behavioral problems.This dog can not be around your child because the dog may hurt him or her. Get help immediately.

Answer 6

Sometimes dogs just don't get along. She might not be used to being around new dogs and feels aggressive when one comes around. To help, you could take her to a dog park occasionally to get her used to being around new dogs, and sharing toys. You have to think about her like a little kid, teaching her to share and such. My dog goes to the dog park about 4 days a week and he loves being around other dogs and playing with them. Your dog might still be recovering from having another dog in her house. Give it some time and it may fix. Also sometimes older dogs don't like younger dogs because they are more energetic and hyper, and can get annoying to a less energetic dog. These are just some suggestions! Hope it helps!

Answer 7

Get a traininer ASAP. You don't want this dog to bite your child, it will get put to sleep. There are things you do to puppies that have food aggression but i'm not sure if you do the same thing with adult dogs. If you can't afford a trainer, talk to your veterinarian. I'm sure him/her will give you great tips. This can probably be fixed. good luck

Answer 8

i would have a professional give her a temperament test. if she fails she is unsafe to be in a home with children, or with anyone for that matter.

hope the pit bull found a good home. i hope you gave the information to the adoption place on who you gave the dog to. most credible animal adoption companies will want to know. you really should have given the dog back to them.