My pitbull guards his food bowl from me. WHY does he do this and what can I do? Usually he is sweet...?

Answer 1

You are potentially in trouble. Although many people will disagree with me, you should always be able to "take away" your dog's food bowl and even his bone.
Get serious please, and good luck!

Answer 2

I know w/ dogs Ive fostered I will hand feed them ,getting them used to the idea of me being around their food and the food coming from me. Like someone else said your dog should get no food or treats until he has completed a basic command such as sit. When you give him a treat, try putting the treat in your mouth 1st, make him sit than hand him the treat. I saw this trick done by a trainer that was working w/ a food aggressive dog. Some people up-trade with their dog to get them to learn you arent taking something away. This means trade a toy or treat for a better more desirable toy or treat. You do need to establish yourself as the pack leader and seeking professional help or at least ask a professional to recommend some reading material. Good Luck!

Answer 3

First off, food guarding is done by all dogs to some point and another but the more submissive dogs had to gaurd even harder so this said that means your dog prob came from a larger litter and had to fight for his food . try holding the bowl empty (show him)and only putting a few bits of food in it and while still holding the bowl let him eat them and tell him good boy/dog what every lil nickname you have for him .then keep this up a few times then he will see that you control the food he gets and then wll slowly understand that you are not taking away but giving to him after a few times then try putting in the food and then keep you fingers in the bowl and let him feed remember to keep this up till you can work till he no longer thinks of you as a threat or a litter mate that will eat his food . and then after time you will be even able to grab food out of his mouth or even be told to drop food . dont give up it took time to learn to protect his food so it will take time to be able to relax and have no fear of losing his next meal (if not getting enough food he will always gaurd his food -- open the dog food bag and let him only eat from that and he will see that his food is always there )

Answer 4

Was he a rescue dog? Was he abused, malnourished or neglected? If he was is would expaine it. He might not think he'll ever eat again so he gaurds what he has. Or he might not be a dominate dog as a pup and had to compete for food with his siblings.
He is food agressive. Try feeding him morsels from your hand, let him eat from your hand (to build up the trust), then try to put an handful of it in his bowl at a time. Talk to him. Make it fun. Praise him when he excepts from you.
Sit next to him wait till he is done, then give him more. It might take some time. Eventually he will understand you will always give him food and won't take it from him.

Answer 5

Maybe he caught you eating his food once on the sly. Now all that's left, is to treat him well and dont beat the poor boy, (if you do). I sure hope you're gentle with him. If he won't let you get to the bowl to feed him, you may have to take him to the vet to see what could be wrong. Also if you have another dog or even a cat, they may be eating from his bowl sometimes. Animals do that.

Answer 6

For one, DO NOT take freelance advice someone may have about this. The people here are not professionals, you need to seek the advice of one. Never ever just take some random person's word when it comes to what to do for any type of aggression.

Consult your vet and see if they have the name of a good trainer or behaviorist in your area.

Answer 7

From the day we got our puppy we would put our hands in his food bowl and stand near him when he ate. You don't want to end up having a child around and your dog is trying to eat and bites. You need to show your dominance with this issue before it gets bad.

Answer 8

well he is doing this because he thinks he is the leader of the pack and controls what happens to the food! You need to get a handle on this very quickly or other problems will arise!! Make sure that he does not sleep with you this makes him equal to you, make sure that you do not leave his food dish down at all times water is ok. when you go to feed him make him sit and stay until you tell him it is ok to eat. also do not let him have free roam of the house. make sure you put him in a kennel while you are gone or asleep and this will make it so that he understands that you are the leader of the pack.

Answer 9

You need to get that fixed so , try some obedience classes asap . You are her boss ( pact leader ) so she need to know that , and you need to be able to take her bowl away from her without any aggression from her , Dog is not supposed to bit the hand that feeds him . And you need to know that . She is thinking that you are trying to take her food from her and that why she is acting like that , been there I know .

Answer 10

He is food aggressive- you need to be careful because it you don't treat it now, it can become worse and he may become very possesive over things like your bed, his toys, anything possible that he likes. Watch The Dog Whisperer on National Geographic, it's hard to explain but don't just go and pick the food bowl up, push him back with your leg and make him sit and put your finger up and make this "ssst" noise and make him watch you pick it up. It should help after a while. Anyways, watch that show it's great with training.

Answer 11

Start off by making sure he always has food in his bowl. That way he will get to where he does not feel like you are going to take his food away.
If you are feeding him just enough that he empties his food bowl he'd revert back to the kill, gorge and protect your food from others. Fairly typical in dogs because of their wolf ancestry. Especially in larger dogs who are closer to their wild wolf cousins than smaller dogs.
A lot like cats in that respect. Watch your cats if you have any and see how they like to always have food in their bowl, and how they'll hide food to eat later.