Guarding Food

[lawman]

I am hoping you other dog owners can help me with this. I have a 7 yr old Mini Schnauzer. Very good dog, good with kids and affectionate...UNTIL...you put a dish of food in front of him. He began guarding his food a couple years ago. I am hand feeding now trying to get him to understand that all goodness comes from me. Nothing bad happened to cause this behavior. Any suggestions?

[tealitup]

When he growls - take it away. Wait until next feeding.

[311Hemi]

Not a ton of suggestions as I have not dealt with this, but along with hand feeding maybe add some obedience to this process if you have not already. Make him sit before you dish up the food. Then only allow him to eat once released. Test him when he's eating by going up and grabbing him or the food. If he growls or shows any aggression take the food away and make him sit for a while. Maybe try feeding again later, or not till the next scheduled time. My dog has always had to sit (while I fill his bowl) and wait for me to release him to eat.

Another off the wall thing I have heard (and I will preface this by saying have no real basis for this), but is to spit in the dogs food before he eats it. Kind of along the lines of you eat first and he doesn't eat until you do.

[SSSTaxidermy]

I think he needs to be taught that he shouldn't bite the hand that feeds him.

I don't have any experience with it but I just seen an episode on the National Geographic Channel (Dog Whisper) concerning this subject just the other day. What was done...You need own the feeding bowl, the food, the area around the food, etc. Make it be a privilege for him to eat, he does not come to the a newly filled up bowl without your instruction. Have him sit a distance away. Invite him when you feel he is ready. Continue to be near him and take away the bowl during normal feeding. You have to act as though your in your dogs roll, your the dominate one. You shouldn't get any negative reaction if you remove the dish while he is eating. In a perfect world, your dog should sit nicely and beg you with their eyes.

Another tactic that was mentioned, there might have been minimal social skills while the dog is eating. He wasn't used to having people near him while he was eating and the dog always felt threatened. Continue to be near him while he is eating, walk by him, pet him, touch him..Once you feel comfortable, have other family members do the same. So the occasion that humans he associates himself with, rule.

Could poss use the same tactics with a dog obsessed with his bone or special toy.

Take the information for what it is worth, don't know a whole lot about the issue or have expertise training skills myself...keep in mind this was off cable television. I do believe in some of the tactics being used on this show to be productive. Entertaining to watch if nothing else.

[springerspeed]

Just thinking out loud here but, to add to the others of having the dog sit and then release the dog to eat would be to keep your hands on the bowl while he/she is eating. The second he/she growls at you, you take the bowl away. Gradually move to releasing him/her and them placing your hands on the bowl and then to petting them as he/she eats. This will show them that you are the one feeding them not, you serving them.

I have not tried this so take it for what it is worth.

Brian M.

[MN Greenheads]

Take hunting 24 7 's advice. You must become the dominant dog. No hand feeding, No affection when begged for, you go through doorways first and you and your family generally have to take control through posture and control. Avoid a total showdown. I would feed him on a leash and as he starts to eat tell him to come or here. After you pull him or he comes have him sit or better yet lie down.Then tie the leash and pick up the bowl. Do this many times. My dog is perfect except for this problem. I have solved it with the above but he is not perfect and I wouldn't trust my kids to be playing with him while eats. good luck.

[lawman]

Thanks guys. I will give your advice a try. See at the Emergency room.

[setterguy]

Maybe get a pair of those shark gloves. The chain mail type ones.

[treble]

I just tested my dog this morning to see if he would get aggressive and he didn't do anything but look confused as to why i was digging around in his food. He just turned a year old and he has never had a problem with it but it kinda worries me that your dog just started doing it. I guess i will just have to keep testing him randomly to make sure he doesnt start.

[MN Greenheads]

Don't test your dog, they will challenge you if they have any dominance in them. My dog got the problem when my brother lived with me and he thought he'd test the dog. Simply have the dog sit while you remove the bowl. If you get down at his level and stick your hands in there he will think your at his level in heirarchy and he will then growl at you. Dogs need a boss just as people at work need a leader. When you mix up who's boss and who isn't things get screwed up.

[311Hemi]

 Originally Posted By: MN Greenheads

Don't test your dog, they will challenge you if they have any dominance in them. My dog got the problem when my brother lived with me and he thought he'd test the dog.

So what happens when your kid (or kids friend) tests the dog (not on purpose) by just going up and grabbing the dogs food?

Your dog should not challenge you and your family, and if they do you need to take care of that early on. Your dog did not get the problem from your brother testing him, it was already there and it just needed to be dealt with. If he growled at you you need to put him on his back until he is calm.

[MN Greenheads]

If the kids or friends get in the bowl after you have been doing some dominance training: nothing. If you do it after you and your kids have been at their level, grabbing food out of the bowl you will possibly end up with a growl, snap or bite.

Your dog shouldn't challenge you but they do in Todays world of treating dogs like they're humans and not showing that we are dominant. The Dog did get the problem from my brother treating the dog like a human around the house and going up to the bowl and acting like another dog. I corrected the problem by doing what I said above. I started out trying to solve the problem with force. With a 1 1/2 year old HSO male Chesapeake you can imagine the battle. It was not pretty and I would avoid it as the dog that day thought he was dominant and wouldn't give up. A month of dominance training and he was cured although I don't let my kids feed him, although they have without a problem. The dog is now 10 and people comment on how nice he is. Put a growling dog on his back you may end up with a bite. You don't train through problems you back up and train problems out of them . You wouldn't run a 200 yd. blind retrieve the dg is having problems on over and over and you don't dig your hands in the bowl of a dog that already growled.

[treble]

He never growled at me at all. I just stuck my hand in the bowl and dug around in the food to see what he would do or if he would growl, but he didnt do anything. I agree that I probably shouldnt have gotten down to his level or whatever, but I was really pretty sure he wasn't going to do anything.

I feed him in the morning before I go to work and I honestly don't think he even eats the food right away. He watches me put it in the bowl and then smells it and then runs around a little bit while I get him water and then goes in the kennel and waits for me to close it up and then watches me walk out of the yard. He knows the food will be there even if he doesnt eat it right away and isnt worried about anyone taking it away from him. I dont really see him getting aggressive with food or anything else as he ages but I will keep watching for signs of it and make sure it is taken care of promptly. I certainly dont want to be worried about him if there are kids around.

[fishroger]

saw this on the Dog Whisperer. Blind lab would guard his food, snapping and frothing at the mouth. He brought the food in, the dog could smell it, he touched the dog to make it relax, and then he instructed the dog to sit. When the dog sat he put the food down, if the dog snapped or growled he lifted the bowl straight up slowly and instructed the dog to sit. The dog can sense that the guy with the food is the leader. It seemed to work. Might take a few times to for them to realize your in control.