2 months ago I adopted an American Bulldog at the age of six weeks... And he has been nothing but enjoyable. But, today when he was eating I went down to see what he would do if I were to pet him or to touch his food and I got a not so good response! When I touched the bowl he started growling angrily like he was going to bite me. So I took the food away amd told him no and to sit. When he sat and had calmed down I gave him the food back. Once again when I touched the bowl after that he did the same thing, so I repeated my reaction of taking the bowl again. I know he is only a puppy, but I was wondering if anyone has encountered this problem in the past and if so how did you correct the behavior? He will be going to a dog training academy at the age of six months and stay their for six weeks in order to become the well-trained dog I want. But, if you have dealt with this problem please give me suggestions on how to correct it. Thanks in advance!
Answers:
Great article, Francine. I have a basenji who acted like this when I first found him. I ended up putting food in his bowl and then sitting in a chair and calling him to me. I then took the kibble out of the bowl and fed him bit by bit (with lots of praise when he behaved) until the entire meal was finished. It was time consuming, but worth it.
Then next was hand feeding out of the bowl, but not allowed to eat from the bowl directly.
The next step was to put the empty bowl on my lap, and put the kibble in bit by bit (allowing him to eat it in between handfulls).
Next step, bowl on floor and place food in bit by bit.
Then, food in bowl near floor with my hand on it.
Then, finally, about 2 weeks later, all food in bowl, on the ground, with me picking it up every 30 sec. making him sit and then putting it down.
It was a lot of work and each step took about 4 days, but now I have a non- aggressive 11 mo old who is not food aggressive to anyone... not even the cat!
Hope this helps!
he thinks you're trying to take his food and eat it which is called food guarding. this article will help:
http://canines.com/library/solutions/foo...
If you have cable, you should watch The Dog Whisperer, he is amazing. Even if you take your dog to get trained which will help out greatly, YOU need to be trained as well.
If he feels like you aren't the top dog, then he is going to act like this.
Seriously start watching that show, and really pay attn to it because you will learn so much from it.
Although its a puppy it has definitely learned this behaviour probably from its litter, where competition for food played a part and its learned behaviour. When you give the dog its food, do it very slowly and perhaps put some in your hand to hand feed it to the pet. This establishes authority and that you are the leader of the pack that gives the food. Some trainers teach a dog to eat only out of your hand ( kibble) and feed it during the day, a little at a time. Again this establishes that it needs you for food, so it shouldn't be growling at you.
I am glad you are going to a training center, it will certainly learn alot there. Good luck and enjoy your dog!!
Alot of dogs are very protective of their food like this. It is normal behavior. Leave your dog alone while he eats, and don't punish him because he is protective of his food! Again, it is normal dog behavior. Because dogs are related to wolves, and wolves in the wild are protective of their food, dogs can be too.
Big Hug,
FishieFin 鈾?
That sure doesn't sound right and definitely is a problem that needs to be corrected/worked on before he gets bigger.
If I were you I'd contact the place where he will be going at 6 months and ask them what you can do now.
Best of luck
puppys are a bit of work when u get them. i dont know why its doing this but the training should work. If its about to bite its just cause it is teething!!
Food aggression begins when puppies are nursing and have to fight their way to get to mothers milk- your puppy is treating you as an equal and not as the master. You are doing well grasshopper- keep up the good work!
Forget correcting him. A dog is a dog is a dog. Your little guy will protect his dish forever. I know ho he feels about it. I still protect mine and I'm nine years old. My master's sister said when I was two or five, "I'll train him." After I tore up her gloves and bit her boot she gave up. People don't fool with my dish anymore. -- Scrappy the terrible terrier.
i've never heard of sending the dog away for training. i would think that they would want you to be there so the dog gets used to it's owner. at 6 weeks, it shouldn't be adopted out to anyone. as far as dogs go, they don't like you taking food away, especially if they are hungry. it's not a good response, but it's a natural one. mine never acts like that, but that's just one dog. i would try a petsmart training course first, or one that allows you to be there with the dog.
Your dog is just really possessive of its food. Try giving the dog its food a little bit at a time. This will confirm that you are the giver of the food. Also, sit near the dog as it eats. It needs to know that you don't want to eat its food. Also, put a few extra scraps in your dog's bowl as it eats. This will also show that you are the giver of the food.
I've done pretty much what Dedum told you above with all of my dogs and I've never had a dog who was aggressive with food. My dogs eat together... they eat out of each other's bowls at times... the cat eats out of their bowls once in awhile... they stand back and wait.
You have to correct this NOW while he is still a puppy. There is no reason to have a dog who is aggressive because of food or for any other reason. Sit with the dog while he's eating but YOU be in control of the situation. You feed him out of his dish... take the dish away while he is eating. move it. and let him eat out of your hand so he sees there is no threat with someone getting near his food. I've trained all my dogs like this when they were very young and have never had a problem.
Food guarding is pretty normal behavior, even little puppies do it with their litter mates, but it's something you need to stop while your pup is still young.
You kind of have the right idea, but you're going about it in the wrong way. My taking his food bowl away you're re-inforcing his belief that when you approach his bowl it's not good news. This will just encourage him to growl, and maybe even snap at you.
So, instead start by not using his bowl for a few days. Instead feed him by hand, one handful at a time, so that he learns to associate your hand with feeding times.
Then once you progress to using the bowl again, start by adding some really tasty treats to his bowl by hand while he's eating. Do this slowly, several times during a meal, and do it for a couple of weeks.
Once he accepts your doing this without growling. You can do it just now and then, so he doesn't forget. You can advance to lifting up the bowl, asking your pup to "sit', adding a treat to the bowl and then putting it back down.
If you do this regularly you shouldn't have any more problems. Best of luck!
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