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ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > FOOD AGRESSION AND A 5 MONTH OLD GSD (39 replies)
FOOD AGRESSION AND A 5 MONTH OLD GSD by NIKKI04 on 28 April 2011 - 00:26 |
| Hello All ... 5 month old Male GSD showing food agression , Trainers ..... any suggestions ???? |
NIKKI04 by SitasMom on 28 April 2011 - 01:55 |
| i have a 4 month old that's doing the same thing........what to do, what to do? agression to its litter mates... not to humans. |
by Jenni78 on 28 April 2011 - 02:21 |
| What do you mean "what to do, what to do" Sitasmom? CORRECT THEM for unwanted behavior. You say it's toward littermates....I thought that was normal. It never occurred to me that aggression toward littermates over food was worth a second thought. Are you saying you have puppies who aren't food aggressive to their littermates??  To the OP: Try CORRECTING him. How long has this been going on? Is it new (testing you) or have you just never stopped him his whole life thus far? If the latter is the case, you have some work to do;-) |
Jenni78 by sable59 on 28 April 2011 - 02:24 |
| send them to me. i love dogs that show aggression over their food. i have a policia bitch that growls all the time she is eating and she is knocking the bottom out of her food bowl at the same time. |
by desert dog on 28 April 2011 - 02:32 |
| Wade if you don't want them I'll take them. I like that from day one. Hank |
by Jenni78 on 28 April 2011 - 03:06 |
| I swear, these threads are so enlightening. I seriously thought that was NORMAL. I have never had a litter that wasn't highly food aggressive. They sound like little Tasmanian Devils when they eat, mauling each other the whole time. I always thought it was adorable. Then, they come in the house when they're older, try to attack me over their food, get the little "chat" about how that's not such a great plan, and we move on and live happily ever after. |
by Avery Hill Kennels on 28 April 2011 - 03:21 |
| I believe it different in "cute" little 6,7.8 week old puppies and a 5 month old! I have pups I held back from my last litter and they are highly food aggressive and YOU CAN NOT beet them off each other !! So it also depends on the the "dog"/"puppy" and the experience with food aggression.(For the human experiencing it/dealing with it) |
Avery Hill Kennels by Jenni78 on 28 April 2011 - 03:46 |
| Why would you beat them off of each other? I never intervene with bitches w/pups or with pups and their littermates. When they are in "my world" in my house, I teach them what is acceptable and what is not. |
by windwalker18 on 28 April 2011 - 04:10 |
| I've 6 dogs that are fed @ the same time... 4 GSD's... Two eat in their crates the others have specific areas that they go to in the LR and kitchen to get their dish. Each does a Sit, WAIT til I place the dish on the floor and surrender it to them, and I can retrieve any dish or object from any of my dogs.... now how they'd feel about someone else, or a dog that's not part of the family being present I can't promise. All my dogs eat like there's no tomorrow... I crack up at the Animal planet shelter stories who proclaim "This Dawg ain't eaten in days, cause that's the only reason one would chow down like that!!"... well they've never been around my dogs cause every meal is gone in like 3 minutes. Even youngsters who eat 3-4 times a day eat quickly and polish their bowls. I had one rescue once who poked... but when I collared him and let the Alpha dog in my household finish his dish a couple of times he learned to eat when it was given. Eating Agressively and Food agression are two different things completely. Personally I want meal times to be peaceful, each dog in it's place and eating from their own dish... Now throw a chunk of meat into the yard when several are outside together playing and I suspect that things would take an ugly turn. |
windwalker18 by Avery Hill Kennels on 28 April 2011 - 04:19 |
| OK to answer the beat them off of each other is because YOU could not separate them. And yes in my life MY RULES goes HERE! , but and yes there are exceptions to the rules. ALL my dogs I can just snap my fingers at if I even see food aggression and "it" will stop, but a couple of 5 month old "very food aggressive" puppies IS a different story ! And it depends on a persons personal experience. As with what they can and can not take/accommodate and the drive of the dogs in question. If someone had 1 puppy with "food aggression" is MUCH different then 4 puppy's with "food aggression" And you also must take in to consideration of "the person" handling the dogs/puppies in question. Some people do not have the skills/personality to deal with dog/puppies with such aggression and should NOT be treat as if they are inadequate because they were not prepared for the Task. JMHO |
by realmccoy on 28 April 2011 - 13:59 | |||
Hey I had a bit of a problem with that too, I asked Lady Frost for some suggestions after seeing her/ this post on another thread, I had to ask how she does it.
I taught my puppies the Leave It command with treats. Then during feeding I moved their bowls further apart and stood between them so that they didnt move to each others bowls to start a fight, it worked after a few corrections (had to pull them apart by their fur and pick them up twice and say No when they went at each other) There were some scratches and a little bit of blood, but they got the point and can now eat in harmony. | |||
realmccoy
by LadyFrost on 28 April 2011 - 14:36 |
| realmccoy... :) great, I was wondering how it was going.....I am glad its working out... Just make sure you enforce leaving part after being done...I have a VERY slow eater and 2 that inhale their food so this works out great, slow eater does not have to feel intimidated and can finish her food in peace...while others are not standing over her drooling... |
by NIKKI04 on 28 April 2011 - 15:39 |
| I guess I should have made myself more clear... 1st it's not my pup, it's a friend of mine and she is a first time GSD owner... And No the agression is not towards other pups .. I know that is expected it's towards THEM humans!!! I think he is definitely testing them... Any suggestions for corrections to be given to him??? There is an 11 yr old boy in the house he loves the dog but he is getting a little intimidated by him , the dog bit him on the thumb nail. The boy really wants to take charge of him and teach him no!!!! |
by Teufel Hunde on 28 April 2011 - 16:00 |
| I feed several dogs (3 Sheps, 2 mutts)at once in the same area. They all have to sit and wait at the kitchen entrance while I make their bowls. On command,believe it or not it's oogedy boogedy thanx to my grandson, they are released to go to their respective bowls. They are allowed to grumble and warn other dogs if they come too close to their bowls, but not take action. (Wouldn't you grumble if someone tried to grab something off your plate?)The bowls are lined up about 3 feet from each other. When finished they go wait for the others by the door to go out where they all sit and wait until released . I've been doing this for years with several different sets of dogs with no problems. Right now I have a new pup that eats slower than the big guys and grumbles the whole time. The other dogs do not dare try and take his food. When I first get a dog/pup I take the bowl/toy/treat/bone etc away several times while they have it. I've raised dogs around 3 sons(now grown) and now a grandson with no problems. I have however always included the kids in the care/feeding of them. I have never had aggression to humans with food with my dogs. I've had fosters come through that I had to work with, but I've always been able to break it with higher value training and hand feeding .I supply the food, I decide when you eat it! It's my world and they live in it. |
Teufel Hunde by desert dog on 28 April 2011 - 16:40 |
| Nikk104, The way I was interpeting your post was pups were aggresive with each other while feeding. The owners first should take control of the pup by making him or her sit and wait till they put the pan down, then leave it alone until it is done. I would not let a kid or adult screw with my dogs while eating. Eating is a means of survival for a dog or should be. I welcome a dog that will fight to survive, if he won't it will show up in other weakneses. But at the same time dog has to see you as his source, you either control dog or dog controls you. That young kid should be taught how to take authority over the dog and it has to be someone other than his parents because obviously they don't know either. A young kid can get to where they don't want anything to do with dogs if they ever start getting afraid of them and thats a shame. A good way to handle dogs is they must be taught that nothing in life is free. To get something they want, they should do something to earn it. If they want to be fed, sit and they will get it. It doesn't take long. And again once you give it to them it's theirs, leave them alone till they are done. Hank |
by Teufel Hunde on 28 April 2011 - 16:45 |
| How many pups do they have? Is this a litter that they still have at 5 months? I'd be more concerned about the boy getting nabbed on the finger. How did that happen?Food? |
by Vixen on 28 April 2011 - 16:47 |
| I would not care to give instructions over the internet, by text alone, not knowing either the family involved or the dog. I would add that I would never expect my own dogs (whatever age) to show aggression towards myself while eating or towards one another. They respect me and they respect our Family Pack Rules. They eat together in the same room. Also when we are on holiday (we may even be in a small galley of a boat), so they need to eat respectfully together. If you wish to see a photo, please refer to the List Classified section, under Trainer (UK) dated 9th March, and see my three GSD's eating their raw Marrow Bones very close together. Vixen |
by Jenni78 on 28 April 2011 - 18:34 |
| Nikki, the thread got on this track because of Sitasmom's post, not really yours. Sorry about that. I was responding to her, not you- I was pretty aghast that someone would have GSD pups who WOULDN'T be willing to kill each other over food. Apparently, Hank and Wade and I see things just a bit differently than others. I see nothing similar about puppies brawling over food and people having a problem w/"food aggression." It's no different than any other OB issue- if you don't like it, correct them. Put a prong collar and leash on him (gee, there's a novel thought) if he can't be civil (human meaning) while eating. Correct for unacceptable behavior and reward for desired behavior. Pretty black and white. I have found that some of my most food aggressive dogs have turned into my favorites; I like a dog w/some backbone, w/some fight, and I have never, ever, not even once, had an issue w/these dogs and my son or myself when it comes to them eating. I teach them over a period of a couple days (and I don't do it nicely) that they will not maul me as if I'm their littermate. The really tough ones might take a week to learn it, but after that, no problem. But if you're not willing to be as serious as the dog, you're pretty much screwed and will continue to tiptoe around your eating dog. And I don't see the big deal about adult dogs eating their own food and not getting into fights. All my dogs are possessive and aggressive over food and they know any dog they approach will jump them for that kind of infraction, and besides, I'm standing there if they're near each other, and a simple "leave it" ought to be enough to keep them minding their own business. But you won't have that kind of control if you won't demand it, which is where so many people get into trouble. |
by LadyFrost on 28 April 2011 - 19:39 |
| Jenni, well said.... NIKKI being nice and asking nicely full grown dog will not work...gotta get it corrected as soon as possible I say you are 5 months behind already... and you will have to remind them now and than of who owns whom...if you let it slip once it will take you twice as long to get it back on track... |
by Red Sable on 28 April 2011 - 20:34 |
| NIKKI is not 5 months behind as it is not her dog, but a friends. |
Red Sable
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