Sudden Food Aggression - Page 1

Hi everyone,

Just needing a little help on behave of a friend. she has 7 year old male gsd that has pancreas problems and has to feed him fresh pigs pancreas, which was instructed by the vet.

He has started nicking food off the tops in the kitchen. (thinking this is due to the meds he is on for the pancreas problems)

The problem is that when he is caught with the food he turns aggressive. The other day she took a cup of tea out to her son who was doing a job in the garden. the dog had nicked something off the top in the kitchen and when she put one foot back in the door to come back in the house the next thing she knew he had his teeth around her ankles.

we were just wondering whether people think he is doing this because he thinks she going to take the food off him?
does anyone think of any other reason?

Any Advise would be helpfull thank you.

Lauren

She needs to talk to her vet, may even consider one who specializes in diet. 
I would only be guessing, that something is lacking in his diet, either the amount of food, or vitamin or mineral and he is trying to steal what he needs and willing to fight for it. Food survival is a very basic instinct. This is a new behavior, a lot of us have "counter surfer's"  but they are not willing to fight for the food and will give it up when caught. If this is the case, or the meds, this could become alot more than she can deal with.
The only agresssion is with food? Has she had this dog all of his 7 years and never an issue prior? 
She really needs to seek help from the vet. DO NOT IGNORE THIS..

How long has the owner been adding pancreas to the dog's diet? How old was the dog when the pancreas problem was diagnosed and how was it diagnosed? The dog, if it has a pancreas problem and needs pig pancreas to supplement his own lack of enzymes is probably very, very hungry. However, the dog may also never have had proper limits set before. When the dog was feeling ok, perhaps it was not so hungry and it did not need to take food from the counter or table. So there may never have been an incident in the past where the dog was corrected for this or food taken from him.

This is not going to get better without some training and some additional intervention. Have your friend come here, or PM me privately and we can sort it out. I would, in the meantime, suggest your friend increase the food intake for the dog, to perhaps feeding it three times a day. Behavior modification for the humans involved is also necessary. When food is being prepared or eaten, for now, put the dog in a secure area. What I will want to know is what is being fed, how much, other meds, and what the owner did when the dog was aggressive.

 Sounds like this dog is ravenous and is trying to protect 'his' food, probably due to the pancreatic insufficiency (which may not be getting sufficiently addressed--dog's TLI level needs to be checked to see if he's getting enough supplementation via the amount of pig pancreas being fed).  Also suspect the dog was initially corrected in some fashion for having stolen food, so he's on the offense now--they can try always keeping some sort of treats/food on their person or within easy reach, and when someone encounters him in the midst of or right after a theft, instead of responding negatively to him they can immediately toss a handful of treats/food to him...rechannel his perception so he begins to anticipate *more* food from people when they approach, instead of anything negative.

Might also consider free-feeding this dog, always keeping food in his bowl so he can eat whenever he gets hungry, but the pancreatic insufficiency issue really needs to be completely controlled in addition to this...

And of course, they need to start using their heads and not leaving any food items in any location the dog can access (even if it's a place that would be hard for him to get to--he'll start climbing chairs if he has to, in order to get additional food, especially if they get good about not leaving stuff in easy places).

Try spraying the dog with that water bottle.

Ever wonder of the dog is in pain?

I'm sorry,
I would put the dog down if it bit someone in the houshold.

GOOD owners don't consider dogs to be disposable items that immediately get discarded if they 'malfunction', Moons.  GOOD owners look for the cause of the problem, seek out solutions, and only resort to euthanasia when there's no other options and it's the best course of action FOR THE DOG--not just for the owner's convenience.

I love my dogs,
if one of them bites a family member I would have to decide one way or the other.

Malfunction, thats a clever word.

My remark stands,
If the dog bit a member of my household yes I very possibly would put it down.
It has nothing to do with convenience.

i have a dog whos seven year old was diagnosed at 7 months with pancreas problems so have been feeding him pigs pancreas as instructed.
we feed him twice a day and has been a pleasent enough dog for six years. over the past month he has suddenly become very aggressive and has started taking food from anywhere and everyewhere possible.
please can someone help???

You are getting some very good advise, If he is suddenly taking food and willing to fight for it, he is starving. YOU NEED TO SEE HIS VET AND HE NEEDS MORE FOOD. If he has gone this long and no issues prior, something in his body chemistry has changed and he needs more help than we can give him over the internet. He may not be digesting what he is getting, which would also cause starvation. Please take him to the vet.