How can I get my dog to not growl and snip at us while he is eating?

Question

my puppy growls and bites (ok snipes at us) while he is eating his food or his favorite treat. how can I stop this behavior? he is still young 5 months old

Answer 1

I saw an episode of the Dog Whisperer where he fixed this same problem. When you feed don't let the dog eat until you say it is ok. Put your body between the bowl and him, this shows that this is your food and not his. When you are ready then allow him to eat. Put a leash on him and when he growls or snaps lightly tug on it letting him know this is unwanted behavior. Also try while he is eating to put yourself between the bowl and him and don't back down. The dog needs to know that you are the dominant one not him.

Answer 2

I found this article on food guarding with advice on how to break the problem, you can try it, for it may work. It's written in the form of a song. I read it over and it seems like good advice. The breed, home prior to yours, how other dogs and humans treated him all play a factor in his behavior. The article I found I believe should work for you, it has some of the same ideas in it that I used with my wolf hybrid who was food agressive towards other dogs, but not humans. My girls hasn't snarled at any thing dog or cat for several months now and I only worked with her last year on this. She was alright with one animal near her eating, but if a second approached, she'd go off. Now she listens on voice command if I hear that little rumble come up her.

Answer 3

For dogs who show any sign of possible food-defensive aggression against humans, even if all the dog is currently doing is acting a bit "stiff" at human approach, while you could confine the dog in a safe space for meals, I would recommend making the effort to use the food-guarding rehab protocol. The protocol is designed to desensitize the dog to people approaching the food or bowl and to teach the dog instead to welcome such approaches. A detailed protocol is set out in Jean Donaldson's book "Dogs are from Neptune" and another detailed protocol is set out in Dr. Karen Overall, DVM's book, "Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals". Basically you just start by giving only 1/3 of the meal in the bowl and then twice during the meal you approach and pour (hands out of reach of dog's mouth) an additional 1/3 into the bowl. Next step would be before pouring in added food, touch the bowl with a stick or tongs and move the bowl just an inch along the floor before adding the additional food. Next step is to use the tongs to pick up the bowl just a few inches before adding more food. Next step is to use the tongs to lift the bowl up to your waist before adding more food. By this time the dog should be reacting with happy anticipation at any approach you make to his bowl. Have other adult members of the house do all these steps , starting with the earliest step. Finally have the older children do it. Even after sucess seems complete, one should continue once or twice a week to approach while the dog is eating and add some tasty goodie. ie one continues the rehab so the dog does not backslide.

For the dog whose problem is not too severe, this protocol can completely change the dog's attitude, sometimes very easily and swiftly. But for the severe case where full change of attitude cannot be achieved, one can and should go back to the management tactic of confining the dog safely for meals so that no one can approach and get bitten and so the dog can eat in peace.

Answer 4

This is a very bad habit that needs to be corrected right away while he is still young. Hand feeding is a good idea, he will come to associate your hand with giving him food. But don't allow him to growl at you.

With some dogs, it's not the hand itself, but guarding his dish. In this case, make a point of taking his dish away several times while he is feeding, just for a few seconds. If he growls or acts aggressive, spray him in the face with a spray bottle filled with water, and replace his dish immediately. He needs to learn that you are not taking his food away, but giving it to him.

When I have a foster who growls at me, I take their dish away for a few seconds, saying "AH" loudly as I do it, in a tone of voice that means they are misbehaving. They soon catch on, but it depends to a great extent on the individual dog as to whether you can do this with them. Some dogs, specially abused ones, might bite, as they have been teased before.

While we shouldn't bother a dog when they are feeding, neither should they act aggressively if you go near them.

Answer 5

I would work with a professional trainer ASAP to adress the issue of food aggression. Call your local humane society and see i they can give you some recommendations for trainers that use gentle but firm training methods. Food aggression is a very difficult problem to solve and should be addressed early while the puppy is still young. It will escalate as he gets older if not addressed, especially as he reaches maturity. You need to be in a place where you can take his food (or anything else) away from him without any reaction. It is a sign that he has a very dominant personality.

If he has not been neutered, you should do it soon. Neutering helps, though does not completely solve dominant behavior.

Answer 6

It seems that by nature he is displaying negative behavior. Not to say he's not a sweetheart all of the other times he's around. Though you may want to be carefull on how you discipline your puppy- if he's already ticked off then using the technique of a rolled up newspaper type deal could only make him a little nastier. Maybe take the food away all together the first time he snaps. At 5 months this could be a good tactic, when he calms down reward him with a treat- then give his food back.

Just an idea...


RO

Answer 7

First of all make sure everyone (and I do mean everyone) stays away from the dog while he is eating (be it food or treat). Also, if there are smaller children, make sure they aren't teasing the puppy by withholding food or treats. I taught my dd from the first day we brought our puppy home to not bother the puppy when eating, sleeping or playing w/toys. There are absolutely NO EXCEPTIONS to these rules!!! Hope this helps.

Answer 8

try looking on Dee ganleys website[ [e-mail] ] there is a great video clip on the website on this type of behavior watch it because it would take forever to explain but i have tried it and does work

Answer 9

Be sure to scold the dog. Swat him/her on the nose (lightly), have a strong tone and be sure to tell them who is the dominant one. We had this trouble with our chocolate lab, but after showing dominance and even taking the food away for a half of an hour or so, she finally got used to it. Good luck!!!!!

Answer 10

You can't.

That is a perfectly natural behavior for some dogs.

Every dog has it's own personality and I would say about 60 to 70% of the dogs I know or have owned all did the same thing.

My aunts and grandmother used to run a kennel and they can all tell you never bother a dog when it is eating.