Food Aggressive Dog - Page 2

@hexe & rs

already posted answer, rehome dog

will add:  buy gold fish, hand feed, watch children's fingers if piranha bought by mistake.

or to OP, keep doing what doesn't work, what you have been doing & others suggest.
or,try something new, leave dog alone & see if problem goes away, teach your children well.
Put dog in crate to feed, not in middle of living room or high traffic area.
Lite bulb moment.

It sounds like the trainer gave me bad advise... my fault for not seeking out a different opinion. I am going to try feeding her from her bowl with me holding it. I have done this many times with her before and she never gets that protective this is "my" food body language. It is something that I just tried on my own and noticed she was "normal". I had no idea that it would take months for this technique to work... good to know.

Thank you so much hexe for your response. It was one of the only truly helpful ones. She doesn't get possessive over toys or anything else for that matter... it is just the food. I always supervise her when she eats and put her out of high traffic areas. I really wouldn't have a clue as to where to start looking for a certified behaviorist in my area. I live in Colorado and the nearest vet school is a little over an hour away. My gut feeling was always that we need to recondition her to think that there isn't a reason for her to guard her food or have a fear that someone is going to take it away from her. Can food aggression be a "genetic/temperament" problem or is this always a learned behavior?

@Betta Wolf... have you ever had a dog with a food aggression problem? I have owned several dogs NONE of which had the slightest hint of food aggression so although I do believe I have taken a bad situation and made it worse, I didn't create this problem. She came to me this way at 8 weeks old the FIRST time I feed her. There is NO WAY IN HELL I am rehoming my dog. My dogs are not disposable and I will find a way to make this better and/or work. Someone else may have had her put down for this because they were scared of her and scared for their children. Someone else may have backed down from her and she would have found that growling gets her anything she wants and she for sure would have been put down. Feeding her in her crate is a 10x better idea than finding her a new home. People and their attitude of "rehome the dog" make me sick. Why would I take a problem that I have made worse and pass it off on someone else? Is this what you do with your family members? None of your comments were the lest bit helpful. Unless you have dealt with this problem I really don't think you have business commenting on it. I know what I have been doing is wrong and it isn't working... that is why I came to this forum to see what other people have actually done about the problem to make it better. 

EchoEcho--

Resource guarding can be something that's 'hard-wired' in a particular dog as part of its genetic temperament, or it can be a learned behavior out of necessity.  That she showed this behavior from the age of 8 weeks still doesn't confirm which is at work with her--nature or nurture--because it's possible that she had to compete with her littermates more than is usual for most litters, but it's also possible that she just has a very possessive character when it comes to food.  Granted, this doesn't help you now, but when you first saw this behavior after she came home, you probably could have recast her point of view by approaching her as she ate and tossing pieces of high-value food to her and into her bowl--at that age, it wouldn't have taken long for her to associate the approach of someone with a food jackpot.  I only mention it now because perhaps it can help someone else who finds themselves in the position you were in 2.5 years ago.

Based on the additional info that your girl doesn't display any resource guarding about *anything* but her food, your plan for holding her bowl and feeding her from it is unlikely to make things any worse, but if that's the route you're going to try first, I have a suggestion...In addition to her regular food, you'll need what's referred to as a 'high value' food that she doesn't generally get to eat-cheese, boiled chicken, hot dogs, that sort of thing. The kind of stuff dogs will NOTICE when it suddenly appears in their bowl, you know?  Cut the high value food into pieces that are large enough for her to easily see them when they land in her bowl, and set it where you can easily reach it as you're holding her bowl and feeding her (without having to reach over or around the dog).  Get the dog started on her regular meal, and then every few minutes, drop a few pieces of the special food into the mix; you want her to associate someone near her bowl with really great food being ADDED, not taken away.  If she seems to be getting apprehensive and starts growling, or going completely still and staring, calmly and quietly remove the food from the situation, and then ignore her for 10-15 minutes.  If she relaxes, bring the food back and start all over again.

If she doesn't seem to be making any progress, or the situation worsens, though, don't delay in calling in someone to help.  I pulled up the Animal Behavior Society's list of board-certified behaviorists and found several:

How far are you from Littleton?

Daniel Q. Estep, Ph.D., CAAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist)
Animal Behavior Associates, Inc.
4994 S. Independence Way
Littleton, CO 80123
Tel - 303-932-9095
Fax - 303-932-2298 E-mail - Dan@AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com
Website - http://www.AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com

Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D., CAAB Animal Behavior Associates, Inc.
4994 S. Independence Way
Littleton, CO 80123-1906
Tel - 303-932-9095
Fax - 303-932-2298
E-mail - Suzanne@AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com
Website - www.AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com
www.BehaviorEducationNetwork.com
Twitter.com/suzannehetts


What about Berthoud?

Camille King, EdD, MS, ACAAB, CPDT-KA
Canine Education Center, LLC
156 Welch Avenue
Berthoud, Colorado  80513
Tel - 970-344-5180
E-mail - k9edcntr@comcast.net

Or Boulder?  (Boy, Colorado really seems to suit the board-certified behaviorists!)
 

Lindsay A. Wood, MA, CTC, KPA CTP, ACAAB
Humane Society of Boulder Valley
2323 55th Street
Boulder, CO 80301
Tel – 303-442-4030 x369
Email- lindsay.wood@boulderhumane.org


Despite Betta Wolf's Debbie Downer attitude, your dog is already ahead in the game because you've identified that there's a problem, recognized that what you've been doing recently isn't making things improve, are actively seeking alternative solutions, and are committed to working through this with your dog.  The tough part is going to be having the patience that will be necessary to recondition her reactions, since you're going to be asking her to change what has become habit...and that's never easy once a routine has been established.  Stick with it, though!

Hexe... thank you thank you thank you!! I really can't thank you enough!! Thanks for helping me instead of telling me to rehome my dog. I have the patients and I have the time and I will do whatever it takes. I am not the type of person that gives up easily... probably why I kept doing what I was doing:( When I feed her this morning I held the food bowl and was able to feed her and touch her without any problem. No guarding behavior, no eyes staring up at me or ears flattening. I will definitely be contacting these people. I am closer to Littleton than I am any of the others. I really do appreciate all your responses and help and I now feel like I am on the right track. I just wish I would have done this much sooner. THANK YOU!!

Response from Hexe was some excellent advice. I have dealt with several highly food aggressive dogs with my work. I would also suggest you take your dog for a long structured walk prior to feeding if you are able to. Even some obedience prior to feeding too. Resourse Gaurding can be very dangerous so ensure you work slowly through everything you are trying and be aware of your dog's body language. This is probably not a quick fix no matter what you try but if what hexe suggested works for you, then I would continue that plan and know that you will be doing this for quite a while. 
As far as re-homing a dog with these kind of food aggression issues, unless you are re-homing to a professional who knows how to work with this kind of problem, that is definitely not the right thing to do, as you would be setting someone up to get hurt.
I think you should strongly consider working with a behaviourist or a behaviour consultant familiar with this problem.

I'll be curious to see the bill after you've gone through a couple of these animal behaviorists..lol

I disagree with whoever mentioned re-homing the dog, but seriously, how hard is it to leave the dog in peace while it eats.

I've known many animals who did not like being bothered while they ate, not just dogs.

I completely agree with Vertex and Two Moons on not rehoming this dog. I know her better than anyone ever will and it doesn't seem right to pass on this problem to someone else nor do I want to just get rid of her like she has no value in my life. I love her with her issues and all... Why is it some people think the answer to problems is to make it someone else's problem? And like Vertex said... even if I wanted to rehome her who would I rehome her to that could deal with the food aggression? I doubt there are qualified people out there just waiting to adopt my dog... I am sure there are other dogs out there that need more help. I do believe this is a simple problem that probably had a simple solution (right up until the point I followed some very bad advise and didn't coarse correct when my gut told me to). Still, worse case scenario is I can't get it corrected and I feed her in a crate... big deal.

Moons, I think you'd be surprised as to the cost of working with a behaviorist--given that the dog's owner does most of the work themselves, at home with the dog, it's not as if they're seeing the consultant twice a week for 8 weeks...in most cases, they don't even see them weekly. And it's far less expensive than a lawsuit if the dog were to bite somebody else's kid--because no matter HOW careful one is, kids simply do unexpected things...especially kids that don't live in that household, and don't know the rules (or don't care about them). Yes, this dog only guards her food bowl and the food that's in it, but can we be sure that this wouldn't transfer over to a bowl that a child might be holding, or put down on the floor, when the dog is there? There are circumstances in dog training where you can risk a lapse and no harm is done--anytime there's both aggression and children in the equation, there's no second chance if the dog or the child lapses and a bite occurs...and it's the dog that pays for it, with its life. That's unacceptable in my book, and that's why EchoEcho is intent on retraining her dog so she doesn't view a person near a food bowl as anything but a potential jackpot of extra food, even if that person moves the bowl away. Moons, I agree that most creatures don't like to be bothered when they're eating--I'm not thrilled about it, either, for that matter...and EchoEcho isn't trying to make it possible to bother the dog while she eats, she's trying to defuse the dynamite stick she's presently got by teaching the dog not to see anyone near her when she's eating as a threat. How is that a bad thing? EchoEcho, good to hear that this morning's session went well...I think it will go even better, and she'll catch one even faster, when you up the ante and start sweetening the pot with the special treats being added as she's eating. :) Keep us posted on your progress--I really do believe you can turn this around, to the benefit of everyone in the house, especially your dog's! :)

Edited to add:

EchoEcho, this is a link to the vet search feature for the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association; leave all of the spaces blank except for the box titled "Medical discipline"...in that one, scroll down the selections to Animal Behavior, and it will bring up a list of all of the licensed vets in Colorado who list behavioral issues as part of their specializations:

http://www.colovma.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=99

hexe,
Perhaps I'm just too old and set in my ways, but this new age of behaviorists, and dog Whisperer's seems a bit much for me to swallow.

There is so much nonsense anymore when it comes to animals and so called experts no wonder people can't figure out what's what.

I guess it's up to echo x 2 to take responsibility for her dog and her children in the end.

If I had a dog that I feared would harm a child I would put it down without regret before it ever had the chance.

I am not witness to this situation so I cannot give a proper response as to how it should be dealt with but I'm sure it wouldn't involve a behaviorist.

I do believe the problem does need to be addressed and probably with some haste.

In reality it should have been addressed long before now.

echo,
I suggest feeding the dog in a quiet place away from things, but if the dog shows this aggression before it actually gets the food, or ever shows aggression towards a child holding their own food away from the dogs feeding area, I would seriously consider putting it down, I don't believe in re-homing a dog for this kind of reason.
The last time a dog growled at me over a food bowl I put him on his arse about three feet from where he began, I am capable of that, you I imagine are not.
This kind of thing needs to be handled swiftly with power and strength not time outs and redirects, or a therapy session.
This is my opinion, not advice.

Moons.

Well Two Moons while you kick your dog's arse I will continue to work with mine as I see fit. It seems that everyone else is more concerned with my dog harming my children than I am (probably because you haven't actually lived with her for the last 2.5 years). Let me make this crystal clear for everyone who seems to think my dog is a blink of an eye away from eating my children...

- The first, second, and 100th time my dog growled at me over food I put her flat on her arse like Two Moons suggested... I am capable of that and guess what... it hasn't helped the problem.
- She doesn't guard or growl over empty food bowls
- She has gotten better over the last 2.5 years she just isn't at what I would call "acceptable" which means she never growls when I give her a bowl of food.
- She takes food very very gently from me and my kids and never growls before, during, or after this process.
- I CAN take things out of her mouth without a problem.
- I can take toys, chews, ropes, etc. away from her and so can my kids
- She has NEVER bitten me or my kids even though I have been very harsh with her over this food aggression thing
- She doesn't growl when my kids walk by her food while she is eating... if anything she will walk away from her food when they approach.
- She doesn't consistently growl at me when I walk by her food bowl.
- I CAN take away her food even when she is growling and she stops growling and looks at me and waits for me to give it back to her
- She does attempt to take my kids food when they are eating however she has NEVER EVER growled at them for their food. She waits patiently for it to drop on the floor. Even then she doesn't growl over this food that has dropped on the floor and she doesn't growl over this food.

I have high standards and I don't want my dog showing ANY kind of possessiveness over her food. I have tried the ultra dominant don't growl at me or I am going to flatten you approach (the Two Moons approach) and it hasn't worked to eliminate the problem so I would like to try something different. My dog isn't going to bite my kids... believe me if she was going to bite anyone it would have been me a long long time ago. 

Okay, now that we have that out of the way if there is anything else that anyone would like to contribute that would actually HELP me FIX the problem of my dog's food aggression? if you have suggestions on how to help me better understand her or have something that I can do or try to FIX the problem (not avoid the problem) I would love to hear it.