Agressive over Dog Dish???!!!

[YorkieTime07]

Hi all have not posted in eons due to changes in work schedule etc but I do know where to go when i need help!! Nathan will be 3 in October and all of a sudden for the past couple of months if he thinks I am going near his food dish he gets protective around it and if I put my hand down to his dish he starts growling at me!!!! Where is this coming from!!??? I can take his dishes up to clean them etc ( he is not around it at the time) and if he sees me putting it back down on his placemat he comes rushing over and starts growling at me..when i tell him NO in a start voice he growls back..What is going on??? How do I break this ???

[Britster]

You need to let him know he is NOT the boss and YOU own that food. You've got to be to be the alpha in the "pack."

With Jackson, I started him very young with me constantly putting my hands in his food bowl while he was eating just to let him know I'm not there to take away his food. Some dogs get aggression with food if they know you are going to take it away or something. Has he ever bitten you? You should start slowly, but sort of put your hand in/near his food dish and just get him used to it. He won't like it at first but you can let him know you're not there to take it away. Associate you being near his food bowl with positive things such as a really yummy treat that he loves or something. That way, he'll know that you being near his bowl is a GOOD thing.

[Morkie4]

Originally Posted by Britster

You need to let him know he is NOT the boss and YOU own that food. You've got to be to be the alpha in the "pack."

With Jackson, I started him very young with me constantly putting my hands in his food bowl while he was eating just to let him know I'm not there to take away his food. Some dogs get aggression with food if they know you are going to take it away or something. Has he ever bitten you? You should start slowly, but sort of put your hand in/near his food dish and just get him used to it. He won't like it at first but you can let him know you're not there to take it away. Associate you being near his food bowl with positive things such as a really yummy treat that he loves or something. That way, he'll know that you being near his bowl is a GOOD thing.

Good advice I did some of the similar things you did with one of our "rescues." It finally came down to me taking her down until she submitted and stopped the growling and then she was all lovey with me. I also hand fed her for a while so that she could not get possessive of the food because "I" had the food. Once we got through who was the packleader, I still test the waters with putting her dish down and keeping my hand in the bowl as she eats. I get any growls, she gets corrected and the food removed. You just can't let them get away with it.

[JoeyP]

This is food aggression and needs to be stopped before it jumps to something else
Lot's of daogs get possessive over food
In the wild they snarl and growl at their pack members but in a home situation this cannot be tolerated
*When you put down his bowl make like you are eating from it first
*Put your hand in the bowl as he comes to eat
*If he growls take it away
..... while he is eating you must be able to touch the bowl
If you really think that he's going to bite you you need to work on this quickly
because this is aggression and will spread to other behaviors
if he just growls take the bowl or just touch the food while he is eating
you have to get him desensitized toward your presense near his food
also do the same with his toys and his chewies and bones

[Britster]

^ Agree with both those posts!

[YorkieMother]

First of all take a deep breath and do not over react the dog is only guarding a valuable resouce and you growl to if someone walked by and took your plate or tried to when you were very hungry. It is not the end of the world you just need to teach a differnt responce.
Yeach him that it will be just fine if your close.

1. no food bowl... supper is hand feed by you and do that for a few days.
2. then after he is calmly taking food from your hand then add the bowl. One peice of kibble at a time dropped in.

3. Then add two at a time once you worked up to a full meal in the bowl you then either walk by and add a special treat or swap the bowl out for a speical treat and then pass the bowl back.
What you want to do is teach your coming up to him is not the end of a meal or the world.

Or you can just alpha roll him a prove your at the most dangerous thing in his life and teach him fear.

JL

[ILoVeEMiNnie]

have you ever moved his bowl around the house.... and now you keep it in a certain area usually when dog's are comfortable with something they become territorial..... maybe he thinks your moving it or replacing it

[ARCHIE]

You've been given excellant advice.
I have been threw this with Buddy. He backed me into the stove one
night out of the clear blue and scared me to death and that was
after two years of putting my hands into his bowl from day one.
You just never know.
The only thing I will add to the above is make him sit before putting
the bowl down and make him stay until you release him and allow him
to eat. Also mix the food with you bare hands putting your scent on his food.
I have done all the above and the two things I mentioned and have
not had a problem in over two years.
This can be corrected you just need to be Alpha.
As little as they are they can still scare the socks off of you can't they?

[Britster]

Originally Posted by ARCHIE

You've been given excellant advice.
I have been threw this with Buddy. He backed me into the stove one
night out of the clear blue and scared me to death and that was
after two years of putting my hands into his bowl from day one.
You just never know.
The only thing I will add to the above is make him sit before putting
the bowl down and make him stay until you release him and allow him
to eat. Also mix the food with you bare hands putting your scent on his food.
I have done all the above and the two things I mentioned and have
not had a problem in over two years.
This can be corrected you just need to be Alpha.
As little as they are they can still scare the socks off of you can't they?

I've been doing this w/ Jackson for the past few weeks. I make him sit before I give him his meals.

And thats a great idea about mixing the food with my bare hands!

[YorkieTime07]

Originally Posted by Britster

You need to let him know he is NOT the boss and YOU own that food. You've got to be to be the alpha in the "pack."

With Jackson, I started him very young with me constantly putting my hands in his food bowl while he was eating just to let him know I'm not there to take away his food. Some dogs get aggression with food if they know you are going to take it away or something. Has he ever bitten you? You should start slowly, but sort of put your hand in/near his food dish and just get him used to it. He won't like it at first but you can let him know you're not there to take it away. Associate you being near his food bowl with positive things such as a really yummy treat that he loves or something. That way, he'll know that you being near his bowl is a GOOD thing.

He has never bitten me but he sure acts like he wants to!! LOL all 3 and a half pounds of him!! He is not a real treat eater or I have just not found one he likes, but he certainly knows how to get my attention when his dish is emptys

[Britster]

Originally Posted by YorkieTime07

He has never bitten me but he sure acts like he wants to!! LOL all 3 and a half pounds of him!! He is not a real treat eater or I have just not found one he likes, but he certainly knows how to get my attention when his dish is emptys

Jackson's not a big treat eater either.. sometimes I'll try and give him one and he sniffs it and walks away, lol. He goes crazy for little pieces of cheese though. He loves cheerios too. And I bought these 101 Abundance dog treats (I think that's what they were called) that are supposed to be naturally calming treats and you give them 4 treats 15 mins before training session and then continue to give them to him for training. He loved them!!

[Morkie4]

Originally Posted by YorkieMother

First of all take a deep breath and do not over react the dog is only guarding a valuable resouce and you growl to if someone walked by and took your plate or tried to when you were very hungry. It is not the end of the world you just need to teach a differnt responce.
Yeach him that it will be just fine if your close.

1. no food bowl... supper is hand feed by you and do that for a few days.
2. then after he is calmly taking food from your hand then add the bowl. One peice of kibble at a time dropped in.

3. Then add two at a time once you worked up to a full meal in the bowl you then either walk by and add a special treat or swap the bowl out for a speical treat and then pass the bowl back.
What you want to do is teach your coming up to him is not the end of a meal or the world.

Or you can just alpha roll him a prove your at the most dangerous thing in his life and teach him fear.JL

I have done this with one of my maltese and my yorkie (maybe two or three times) and believe me it works and puts them in the place as "under" your packleader position (gives them perspective as to who is the top dog). Fear me??? No way!! They curl up around me at night like they were my protecting pack and come when called with no hesitation. If they were fearful, they would roll on their back or hide when I call them or pull away when I go to pick them up or pet them and they have never done that. They just know that I am the Boss! So I personally disagree with that thought that you instill fear in them with the alpha roll!

[Nancy1999]

Joey was fine with the food bowl, until my son's dog started visiting, and suddenly he became very protective of it. Making both dogs sit and stay, before I place the bowls on the floor, solved the problem.