Puppy and food aggression.?

Question

I have a maltese poodle mix that's 9 months old, and lately his aggression has been becoming more intense. He snarls, bites and growls if we get near him, as if he's afraid we'll take it away. Food aggression, it makes sense. If he bites, I firmly say no, and put him in his own space by himself for a while. Just today, he was outside playing and was chewing on an old, fallen fruit. I tried to get him to stop by distracting him from it, then stepping on the fruit. Immediately he snarled and bit my second toe really hard, drawing blood.

Right now, he's isolated in his pen, and I am at lost of what to do. I've tried positive reinforcement, but sometimes he prefers the fruit (or anything he shouldn't be chewing on) than the treat. It's getting pretty dangerous, and I'd like to break the habit as soon as possible. Could anyone give me some advice?

Answer 1

This type of behavior should never be tolerated. But you will not be able to change it overnight. There are probably lots of ways you can change it. When I got my dog, food aggression was the only type of aggression she showed. She would only stop eating and growl quietly at me if I got too close. So, I started feeding her out of my hand. At first, she would not eat. But then she would. Once she was comfortable with that, I started putting the food in her bowl, but held the bowl while she ate. Then, I progressed to putting the bowl on the floor and touching it while she ate. Then, I started touching her while she ate. After that, she was fine. Just every once in a while I will touch her bowl or rub her while she eats...just to remind her. It took about 2 weeks.
Like I said, there may be many good ways to deal with this, but this was pretty simple and it worked for my dog.

Answer 2

You need to claim any food that you give her or that she's around. If she comes up to you while you're cooking or eating make her go away. Don't give in and let her just sit or lay down close by, actually make her get out of the room or keep a big distance. Also, when you feed her make her sit and wait for her food.. don't just let her run to it. When you tell her 'ok' so she can eat then "claim" the food. DONT try and pick it up but stand firm and slowly block her from the food with your feet. Stand between her and the food and wait until she sits or calms down. Then she can eat because you ALLOW it. You may have to do this every feeding for awhile but then eventually when you tell her to "go" she'll automatically know that means to leave the food. As for the cat and other dogs, you can only discipline her when she actually shows the aggressive behavior towards them. My first dog was a bit food aggressive when I got another puppy but I made sure they ate breakfast and dinner right in front of me so I could correct her if needed.

Answer 3

ok you may not like this but I know what im saying. You need to treat your dog how anouther dominate dog would(without of course actually hurting him)

so if you want him to listen you have to make him listen. the next time he shows aggression toward you grb him and put him on his back and hold him firm and tell him sternly no. Putting him in a pen will not teach him anything he is not a human he has no connection to the pen and a wrong doing. The punishment must be consistant and immediate as if you wait more than a minute or so he will not connect the punishment with the crime. Also to speed things up train him by taking his food away and not allowing himn to become aggressive. You are the boss make sure he understands this!
aggressive dogs become problem dogs, stop it now or put him down later when he bites a kid.

Answer 4

Classic case of positive reinforcement not curing aggression, because its meant for training and tricks. What you need to do is the old school way. try this. put a correction collar of some type on him,pinch collar or martingale style(kinda like a half choke,half nylon collar,gentler than a full choke) attach your leash to it.Have a trap set where you have a ready to go bowl of something yummy, like wet dog food or cheese in his bowl,etc. as he just gets into it,slowly bring your hand near his food, as soon as he makes any aggression ie baring teeth..staring and grrring,barking or nipping.. give a 'blink of an eye' snap of the collar and say in a firm,deep, but not so loud voice no!. start from beginning again. hold leash relaxed in hand,slowly move hand closer to food,very slow. as soon as he shows aggression,jerk the leash again with a firmer no. you must NOT back your hand away with no correction or he learns aggression=my way. if he gets out of hand and you or your hand is in danger, call a dog behaviorist or advanced trainer,clickers wont work here I'm afraid..good luck!!:)

Answer 5

Retrain him. With the fruit thing, just offer a him a really yummy treat instead. Show him the treat, tell him to "leave it", and make him come to you and sit. Praise him for coming. Move farther and farther away from the fruit. Put a few treats on the ground, and while he is eating those, pick up the fruit.
With his food bowl, put one piece of food in it then put it down. Wait for him to eat it. Reach down and pick up the bowl again and put another piece in it. Repeat this many times, so he is not stressed with you taking his bowl. When he is doing well, put a few kibbles in the bowl, wait for him to eat them, then reach down and put a yummy treat in the bowl. He has to learn that your hand coming near his dish brings him good things. Praise him for good behavior. Always make him sit before giving him food or a treat. You have to be in control of the situation. For more info, check out this website:

http://www.siriuspup.com/about_founder.html

Answer 6

You need to bite him back. I have a maltese as well. When he was a puppy, he had a biting problem. I would "yelp" when he bit me and then bite him back, usually on his ear, until he yelped. He needs to know that YOU are the leader of his pack. Until then, he's going to continue his aggression.

With the food, put it in the bowl and then stand over it, pushing him away. Only let him eat when you say it's okay. Eventually, you'll break him.

Just like with kids, consistency is the key.