Looking After Pets

Dog food aggression is a serious problem.  If your dog becomes aggressive around his food dish, here are four tips to end this canine behavior problem.

Don’t Let Dog Food Aggression Get Started

In the wild, the leader of the dog pack is always the first one to eat, usually by himself.If you always leave your dog alone at mealtime, he may get the wrong idea.  This can lead to canine aggression in the form of him snapping or growling at anyone who ventures too close while he’s eating.

When your dog is still a puppy, always feed him after you and your family have already eaten.  This reinforces the idea for him that you and your family members all rank above him in the pack.

When you feed your puppy, anyone should be able to approach him while he’s eating.  Slipping a little treat into his bowl while he’s eating teaches him that it’s good for someone to get close.

Four Steps To Control Food Aggression In Dogs

An older dog who is already using aggressive dog behavior to protect his food will require different training.

Spend about ten to fourteen days on each of these steps.It will be necessary to do these things every time you feed your dog.  If your dog is extremely aggressive around food, you may need to keep him on a leash for your own protection. 

The first thing you’ll do is to put his food dish away for a couple of weeks.  Your dog will be eating out of your hand for a while.  Feed him just a few pieces of dog food at a time, until his meal is finished.

After a couple of weeks, you can progress to the next stop.  Get out your dog’s food bowl again, but don’t put anything in it.  After a while, walk by and drop a couple of pieces of kibble in it.  When he eats it, keep adding small handfuls of food every couple of minutes until his meal is finished.  At this point, he’ll probably be begging you to walk up to his bowl.

You can progress to the next step in about ten days; put out a half-full bowl of kibble for your dog.  Walk up to him as he’s eating, and as you go by, drop in a couple of treats.  Then walk up again and add the rest of his food.

The last step is to put a full bowl of food down for him while he’s obeying the sit-stay command.Keep your control over him by not allowing him to eat until you release him from the command.  This is where the leash comes in handy, as you have control over him for this step, but hopefully you won’t need to use it.Break things up once or twice a week by calling him over to you while he’s eating and rewarding him with a tasty treat. 

Always use the sit-stay, wait, and take-it commands when you feed him so that your dog understands that you’re in charge of the food.  This reinforces your status as the alpha dog for him.

If your dog reverts to his old dog food aggression behavior, start again at step one. 

Don’t continue to live with the potentially dangerous problem of canine aggression.  Click on any link in this article to learn how a good dog training program can help to end this aggressive dog behavior.

A major problem many dog owners face is dog aggression. Not only is it extremely difficult to deal with an aggressive dog but it can be risky as well.

Training an aggressive dog is not as simple as say learning how to stop a dog whining or even dog training jumping dogs but it is very neccessary.

Before you do anything else you should find out what exactly pushes your dogs buttons that makes him act aggressive.

Is your dog exhibiting aggression towards other dogs?

If so, one way to tame an aggressive dog that seems to be out to get other dogs is when you are taking your dog for a walk and you see another dog, get your dogs attention.

If you have done any dog training with your dog you might be familiar with the watch me command. Basically what it is, is when you say watch me to your dog they need to be looking you in the eye.

If you can get your dogs attention on you then you have a good chance that they will not get aggressive towards the other dog.

You also want to make sure your dog cannot make direct eye contact with the other dog. When dogs make direct eye contact they are issuing a challenge on who the leader is out of the two. When both dogs think they are the stronger leader that’s when dog on dog aggression comes out to play.

Another form of dog aggression is food aggression.

Some dogs can get very territorial and mean when food is in front of them. If this is something that sets your dog off then you need to be very careful if you have children around your dog.

One way to curb you dogs food aggression is to make sure he does not eat his meal before or at the same time you and your family eat. This will make your dog understand that he is not in charge which is needed if you plan on getting rid of your dogs aggressive behavior.

Every dog has the potential of being an aggressive dog. Some people believe that certain breeds of dogs are naturally aggressive but the truth is that the dogs that get a bad rap for being aggressive are the ones that people tend to train to be aggressive.

An example is the pit bull. Pit bulls are not born mean. Often they are very sweet in nature and mild tempered. However, people love to train the pit bull to be a mean, aggressive dog.

While all dogs of a breed are not aggressive all dogs have their own distinct personality. If you find that you have an aggressive dog you need to use caution around them especially if they are around children.

So what do you do if you’ve adopted an aggressive dog?

The answer depends on how aggressive your dog is and what sets them off. One form of aggression is when your dog crouches down with their belly close to the ground like they are ready to spring in for the attack while growling and barking.

One of the best ways to curb this type of behavior is to simply ignore your dog. The worst thing you can do is look them in the eye because by doing that you are issuing a challenge and it will turn into a game of who is in control.

Never lash out or spank your dog if he is doing this or it will turn into a game where he tries to dog you and lunge at you for his turn. Once it becomes a game for your dog it will be very hard to break him of doing it.

If your problem is aggressive with food then you might want to consider staying around him when he is eating.

Never touch an aggressive dog when he is eating.

Start out by just being in the same room as your dog and slowly work your way a little bit closer each meal. Use caution when doing this and pay attention to the signs your dog is giving you. If he is getting nervous then do not get any closer.

If you have a very aggressive dog then you need to use caution around him and get him trained either by training him yourself or by going to a local dog trainer.

It is very common to run into problems while dog training.  This is normal and with a bit of patience both you and your dog will get past the hurtle and be very happy because of it.

The next time you find yourself wondering “Do I have an aggressive dog?” look for the tell tale signs and train it out of him.

Are you just plain fed up?  Does feeding your dog turn into a nightmare of aggressive dog behavior if anyone in the household comes near him while he’s eating?  If your pooch is displaying food aggression in dogs, this serious dog behavior problem needs to be stopped before your dog attacks you or someone in your family.

Dog Food Aggression Is Instinctive Behavior For Canines

Wild dogs protect their mates, their food, and their territory.  Aggressive behavior in dogs is necessary for their survival.  The most aggressive dog is the pack leader, or alpha male, and he enforces his position by being the dominant dog in the pack. 

But your dog shouldn’t be the leader of the pack in your household.  If he is, you’re in for trouble, because he thinks he’s the alpha male, and like he would in the wild, he’ll enforce his position by using aggressive dog behavior.  This is a dominance issue that won’t go away on its own.  You must take steps to deal with his aggressive behavior before it reaches a dangerous level.

Causes of Food Aggression In Dogs

Many dog owners think that a puppy who aggressivly guards his food is cute.  Don’t do it!  This is a serious training mistake many dog owners make.  Instead of encouraging this kind of canine possession aggression, you need to nip this problem in the bud.

It’s not clear in your dog’s mind exactly who the pack leader is.Your dog thinks there’s a leadership vacuum if you don’t take the role of the alpha male (even if you’re female).  If you don’t step into the role, he will.  And he won’t be nice about enforcing his position in your household.

He thinks he can take whatever he want from anyone else in the pack because he thinks he’s the pack leader.  The reality is that the family dog should be at the bottom of the heap, not the top.  Anyone in the household should be able to take anything away from him, even his food.  Of course, you’re not really going to do this, but he needs to know where he stands in your household pack. 

Dog Food Aggression Training

With a puppy, you’ll make it clear that having people or other animals around when he’s eating is OK.  Do this right from the beginning, and you’ll probably never have a problem with this type of aggressive dog behavior.  Anyone in the family should be able to safely stand right next to him at any time while he’s eating.  If this isn’t the case, you need to take control of his food.

It’s always a good idea to feed your dog after you and your family have finished eating.  Your dog will instinctively understand that the alpha dog always eats first.This reinforces exactly where you and your family members rank in the family in relationship to him.

Require that your dog sit and stay quietly while you’re fixing his food.  If he whines and jumps around and demands food, don’t give in.  He needs to earn his food by behaving in a non-aggressive manner. 

Don’t ever give your dog food if he’s growling at you.  This only rewards his bad dog behavior.

If food aggression in dogs is already a serious problem in your household, a dog behavior course may be your next step.  Look for a course that includes a consultation with an experienced dog trainer, and that has a forum where you can get advice from other dog owners.

Now that you know what to do, don’t delay in taking steps to control dog food aggression.

You’ve probably heard it a hundred times: “Don’t bother the dog while he’s eating.”  This is probably good advice for small children who shouldn’t be trying to play with the dog at mealtime.  However, a dog that’s always by himself when he eats may be learning a lesson about food aggression in dogs that you’d rather he didn’t.

In the wild, the leader of the dog pack is always the first one to eat, usually by himself.If you always leave your dog alone at mealtime, he may get the wrong idea.  This can lead to aggressive dog behavior in the form of him snapping or growling at anyone who ventures too close while he’s eating.

Don’t Let Dog Food Aggression Get Started

When your dog is still a puppy, always feed him after you and your family have already eaten.  This reinforces the idea for him that you and your family members all rank above him in the pack.

When you feed your puppy, anyone should be able to approach him while he’s eating.  Slipping a little treat into his bowl teaches him that it’s good for someone to get close.

Four Steps To Control Food Aggression In Dogs

An older dog who is already using aggressive dog behavior to protect his food will require different training.

Spend about ten to fourteen days on each of these steps.Follow through with these things every time you feed your dog.  If your dog is extremely aggressive around food, you may need to keep him on a leash for your own protection.  

The first thing you’ll do is to put his food dish away for a couple of weeks.  Your dog will be eating out of your hand for a while.  Feed him just a few pieces of dog food at a time, until his meal is finished.

After a couple of weeks, you can progress to the next stop.  Get out your dog’s food bowl again, but don’t put anything in it.  After a while, walk by and drop a couple of pieces of kibble in it.  When he eats it, keep adding small handfuls of food every couple of minutes until his meal is finished.  At this point, he’ll probably be begging you to walk up to his bowl.

You can progress to the next step in about ten days; put out a half-full bowl of kibble for your dog.  Walk up to him as he’s eating, and as you go by, drop in a couple of treats.  Then walk up again and add the rest of his food.

The last step is to put a full bowl of food down for him while he’s obeying the sit-stay command.Assert your control by not allowing him to eat until you release him from the “stay” command.  This is where the leash comes in handy, as you have control over him for this step, but hopefully you won’t need to use it.  Once or twice a week, call him over to you while he’s eating and reward him with a treat he really likes.  

Always use the sit-stay, wait, and take-it commands when you feed him so that your dog understands that you’re in charge of the food.  This reinforces your status as the alpha dog for him.

If your dog starts the old dog food aggression behavior, just begin again at step one.  

Look For A Good Dog Training Course

Food aggression in dogs is a dominance issue that’s usually a symptom of other problems in the relationship between the owner and the dog.A good basic dog obedience course can be very helpful.  

A consultation with an experienced dog trainer should be included in the course.  Check for testimonials from satisfied customers who have used the course material already.

Take this advice to begin solving your problem with dog food aggression now.