Lurio Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Ok, i have had my puppy for 3 weeks now. At feeding time i train him and he has learned sit and give paw fluently. I usually feed him off my hands. Why? i want to prevent food aggression and when i do put his food on the bowl my hand is in it just moving around. Today i put his food on the bowl and was moving around my fingers i then put my hand to stroke his lower jaw he went into fight mode (a 3 month puppy btw) and was growling and by that i mean he curled his lips and went low tail straight up i reacted sort of out of fear and surprise and i pushed his mouth off the bowl with my leg. I am thinking of not skipping this meal to show him that what he did is NOT okay. Any other suggestion on effective methods for food aggressive puppy? HELP!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seppun Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Ears back? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SII using Tapatalk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Too little description of the puppy's stance. What I see from your description is really a puppy who wants to play. "He went low .." down onto his front paws or all the way. In either case that's not a guarding or attack stance. Ditto with his tail straight up - you don't leave a handle for someone to easily grab when you're in fight mode, there it would probably have been down and tucked under. Did he try to snap or just growl ... it still sounds like he was ready to play, not fight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyshqa Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 When I got Kiska she showed signs of guarding her food; she would scoff her food down like she'd never been fed before and if anyone walked near her she would completely tense up and almost inhale her food she was eating so fast. They've just come from a little full of puppies where they've actually had a reason to do this around food so it's almost to be expected really. With Kiska I did a number of things; I started feeding her by hand in small amounts (that way she can't scoff her food too quickly which can be bad for them, and she gets used to hands being near her while she's eating). I then moved on to dropping a few pieces of kibble into her bowl at a time, keeping my hand there once I'd dropped it (for the same reasons as before). I gradually started adding more and more until she didn't seem bothered by me being near her while she ate. Once she was comfortable with that and I was adding her entire meal to the bowl at once I started trading her food for a treat - so I would pick her bowl of food up and offer her a tasty piece of chicken or something else extra yummy, and then put her food back down. Doing all that should lead to a dog that is happy for there to be people around while he eats, and for that food to be taken up at any point through the meal (but remember to always give a treat when you take the food away!). You may find that eating his food too quickly is (or becomes) a separate issue altogether. To deal with this I tried several different things; at first I started adding warm water to her meals - she couldn't eat so quickly because she didn't like dipping her nose into the water, like bobbing for apples After I'd been trying that for a few weeks I found out about these bowls you can buy that have obstructions in them that the dog has to lick around it to get to the food. Once Kiska got older I stopped adding water to the food and eventually the bowl I had became too small so I moved her onto a normal bowl and she eats at a good pace now. You'll probably find if he continues to eat too fast that he'll grow out of it eventually once he realises he doesn't need to (because there's no competition, no other dog is there to take it ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted March 31, 2012 Report Share Posted March 31, 2012 Go back to feeding by hand and work with him before allowing him to have the food. I would put a small handful of food in my hands, work through a short list of commands and open my hand to feed the dog but would only allow them to eat once I gave the OK teaching self control as well. The whole fingers in the bowl thing... Honestly I just don't like it. If someone did that to me while I was eating i'd be pissed off too. There's no reason to invade their space when they're trying to eat. I don't do this to my dogs and I know (because I have) that taking something away from them that they shouldn't have wouldn't be an issue. If you are wanting to prevent the dog from being stressed by you while they eat (which is usually why they will lunge or be "food aggressive") stop sticking your fingers in his bowl and messing with his mouth. Instead you can put just a bit of food in the bowl and once they're done (and look to you for more) you can stick you hand in the bowl with a yummy treat and allow them to eat that off your hand, in the bowl. Then toss in a bit more of their food. And repeat. That way the dog sees that you give MORE (rather than take away and mess with them) as well as provide a positive relationship between yourself and the bowl. You can also just casually toss in yummy treats or bits of wet food into his bowl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane5578 Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 i read your other posts, i think you have an aggressive puppy. i feed my pup by hand and make her do random tricks every few hand feedings, otherwise she would just eat so fast until she vomits and eats the vomit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pao Panlilio Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 I have a belgian malinois 3 months old and she was food aggressive she was growling while eating and she was guarding her bowl it was right between her paws and she was curled, it was fixed by making sure she behaves before i give her meal she knows that she has to sit and she's got to be calm before giving her meal and now i can stroke her while eating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Many puppies display resource guarding, it is very common. I suggest implementing the Triangle of Temptation at meal times - it will help teach your puppy to look to you for permission to eat. I don't usually muck around with my dogs when they are eating, i like to leave them to eat in peace. I don't think it's fair to mess with their food every meal. Once I give them the ok, they can have it and enjoy it without my interference. link to TOT: k9pro.com.au/pages.php?pageid=52 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robke Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 I do not mess about with their food once they have it...it would be the same as when I am in a restaurant and half way through the meal the waiter comes around and takes my plate away..he/she would have my fork stuck in their hand...I would then also be "food aggressive" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 I do not mess about with their food once they have it...it would be the same as when I am in a restaurant and half way through the meal the waiter comes around and takes my plate away..he/she would have my fork stuck in their hand...I would then also be "food aggressive" LOL I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurio Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 i read your other posts, i think you have an aggressive puppy. i feed my pup by hand and make her do random tricks every few hand feedings, otherwise she would just eat so fast until she vomits and eats the vomit. i think that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurio Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Go back to feeding by hand and work with him before allowing him to have the food. I would put a small handful of food in my hands, work through a short list of commands and open my hand to feed the dog but would only allow them to eat once I gave the OK teaching self control as well. The whole fingers in the bowl thing... Honestly I just don't like it. If someone did that to me while I was eating i'd be pissed off too. There's no reason to invade their space when they're trying to eat. I don't do this to my dogs and I know (because I have) that taking something away from them that they shouldn't have wouldn't be an issue. If you are wanting to prevent the dog from being stressed by you while they eat (which is usually why they will lunge or be "food aggressive") stop sticking your fingers in his bowl and messing with his mouth. Instead you can put just a bit of food in the bowl and once they're done (and look to you for more) you can stick you hand in the bowl with a yummy treat and allow them to eat that off your hand, in the bowl. Then toss in a bit more of their food. And repeat. That way the dog sees that you give MORE (rather than take away and mess with them) as well as provide a positive relationship between yourself and the bowl. You can also just casually toss in yummy treats or bits of wet food into his bowl. see the thing is that ive been doing that for 3 weeks and he doesnt mind it of course he does start eating faster but he does growl (tense up a bit maybe) but no signs of aggression and i make him sit and give me his paw a couple of time before i put it down. I just want to gain his trust and allow him to be comfortable around me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurio Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Too little description of the puppy's stance. What I see from your description is really a puppy who wants to play. "He went low .." down onto his front paws or all the way. In either case that's not a guarding or attack stance. Ditto with his tail straight up - you don't leave a handle for someone to easily grab when you're in fight mode, there it would probably have been down and tucked under. Did he try to snap or just growl ... it still sounds like he was ready to play, not fight. umm leaned all the way back sorta like a cat when they are scared but his butt raised high tail up and growling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurio Posted April 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 Ears back? Sent from my Samsung Galaxy SII using Tapatalk. i think so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Removed #5 Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 umm leaned all the way back sorta like a cat when they are scared but his butt raised high tail up and growling That still sounds like a description of a puppy who wants to play, not one who's being aggressive - but you're there and I'm not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arooroomom Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 see the thing is that ive been doing that for 3 weeks and he doesnt mind it of course he does start eating faster but he does growl (tense up a bit maybe) but no signs of aggression and i make him sit and give me his paw a couple of time before i put it down. I just want to gain his trust and allow him to be comfortable around me These are all signs that he DOES mind and isn't comfortable with you doing that to him. He has been communicating to you that invading his space is stressful for him and when you ignored those communications and touched his mouth while eating he had to say "Hey! I'm not comfortable! You're trying to take away my food!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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