siberianandy Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 we noticed that suka was showing signs of food agressin whilst eating with you started stroking him he would start to freeze and even growl and bark at you. he is 15weeks old and thought right nip this in bud before it gets serious. so this is the method i used you may or maynot agree with it but it worked for me. well i would but his food down let him eat for a while then i would start stroking him first on his head then round by his chin he would freeze and then growl so then i would give him a stern no and take the bowl away. then he would look round for his food so i waited to he calmed down and give him his bowl back. after using this method for a couple of days he seemed to snap out of it i can now stroke round by his face and chin and he will just carry on eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 we noticed that suka was showing signs of food agressin whilst eating with you started stroking him he would start to freeze and even growl and bark at you. he is 15weeks old and thought right nip this in bud before it gets serious. so this is the method i used you may or maynot agree with it but it worked for me. well i would but his food down let him eat for a while then i would start stroking him first on his head then round by his chin he would freeze and then growl so then i would give him a stern no and take the bowl away. then he would look round for his food so i waited to he calmed down and give him his bowl back. after using this method for a couple of days he seemed to snap out of it i can now stroke round by his face and chin and he will just carry on eating. Glad that his resource guarding is under control Resource guarding (aka food aggression) is a common problem that can definitely escalate if it is allowed to. I generally don't recommend taking food or patting the dog excessively while it's eating as a way of teaching them not to resource guard, some people have success with this method but for some dogs, it can make their possessiveness worse as they think every time you approach them when they are eating that you are going to take their food from them. Then when the dog lashes out/bites a person when they approach them when they are eating, the owners are often surprised as they think they did the right thing to prevent that very behaviour. But it sounds like you did it in a no-nonsense fashion and didn't muck around, just took the food, and gave it back to him when he was calm, which is good and you are seeing a positive change in his behaviour which is even better! A dog should be very comfortable with you around them while they are eating, they shouldn't feel threatened by you or feel they need to 'protect' their food. A good way to ascertain if your dog is comfortable with you around them when they are eating, is to give your dog their food and then see if the move around the bowl to look at you while they are eating. If they are looking at you over their food bowl, they are keeping an eye on you (so to speak) and this is a common sign that they aren't comfortable with you being near their food. My dogs sit and stay for their dinner, and have to look at me (not the food) when they are in the stay. This shows they are looking at me for permission to eat, and they stay until I give the ok As I mentioned in the other thread, I have also incorporated other commands when they are staying such as down or the recall command - they have to come to me when I call them and walk past the food bowl. Daisy is getting really good at it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 Im sorry but I dont know much about dealing with food aggression. However I was watching ceasar a few days ago and he had a similar situation. I cant remember what he did but will try and find a vid of it or maybe he may have an article on his site and will let you know. For now I found this article about food aggression which explains about it, what signs to look for, why they may do it and tops on correcting it: http://www.dog-obedience-training-review.com/dog-food-aggression.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakersmama Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 One thing I read if they are food guarding is to reach in every now and then and drop a special treat in their bowl. That way they associate your presence and/or hands reaching for the bowl as a positive thing. I thought it sounded like a good idea, and did it a couple of times just in case, but he hasn't really shown and food guarding behavior. Sneakers seems to just wander off while eating so we're working on the opposite problem - if we do more than go in the other room and sit or stand and watch him eat, he stops and comes to see what we are doing. I tried picking his food bowl up and making him wait until the next meal, but the next time I fed him he decided it was a good idea to knock the food out right away, then wander around to see what we were doing... Probably should feed outside, but I"m afraid any leftovers I don't get to right away (or are poured out <L>) will attract those darn squirrels (that he still just watches...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqwidge Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 we stared to notice this, as if we were to put our hand near the bowl she would stick her nose hard in the bowl trying to stop us taking it...we did a very similar thing to andy, but i also stopped her eating, put my hand in her bowl picked up a few kibbles, and left my hand in the bowl so she could eat them out of my hand, but in her bowl if that makes sense? Seemed to work anyway, and now we can pet her and be near her...haven't put my hand in her bowl for a while, but will do it tonight to see if it is resolved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 I've found that this can develop into other things - for example, Kimba used to be like this, probably around the same age as well, then he was eating something he shouldn't have got and i went to take it off his and he snapped at me. i imediately, scruffed him and put him in the down position and told him a stern NO. Then removed the item from his mouth and he lay on his side for about a minute. I gave him a chew about an hour or so later and tried to take this from him, he did it again! So went through the process again - left it an hour and did it again - no snapping, or growling. i think it's important to be able to take something from your dog if you need to - eg if they're eating something poisonous you can't just let them through worry that they will attack you. personally, i would train every dog i ever own that if i want something, i will take it from them and they have to accept that. just my opinion though and I know everyone's different and every case is diff just giving my personal experience and view Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 One thing I read if they are food guarding is to reach in every now and then and drop a special treat in their bowl. That way they associate your presence and/or hands reaching for the bowl as a positive thing. I thought it sounded like a good idea, and did it a couple of times just in case, but he hasn't really shown and food guarding behavior. that sounds like a good idea and that it worked for you the best thing to do is to stick to the same routine of this as changing it all the time may make it worse. Sneakers seems to just wander off while eating so we're working on the opposite problem - if we do more than go in the other room and sit or stand and watch him eat, he stops and comes to see what we are doing. I tried picking his food bowl up and making him wait until the next meal, but the next time I fed him he decided it was a good idea to knock the food out right away, then wander around to see what we were doing... Probably should feed outside, but I"m afraid any leftovers I don't get to right away (or are poured out <L>) will attract those darn squirrels (that he still just watches...). Again, stick to your routine of taking it away if he wonders of. If he does push all the food out of his bowl then just clean it up and dont pay any more attention to what he is doing but if you see him doing this then correct him by taking the bowl away from him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sneakersmama Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 He's actually picking the bowl up with his teeth and tipping it, so it's all of the food. That's what I'm doing - big mess, though. He is very food-driven otherwise. He'll do anything for a tiny bite of treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex T Posted March 16, 2009 Report Share Posted March 16, 2009 My dogs sit and stay for their dinner, and have to look at me (not the food) when they are in the stay. This shows they are looking at me for permission to eat, and they stay until I give the ok As I mentioned in the other thread, I have also incorporated other commands when they are staying such as down or the recall command - they have to come to me when I call them and walk past the food bowl. Daisy is getting really good at it! We do this with Isis, at first she used to ignore us and go straight for the food, bt we just took her back to her place and told her to sit and wait! Initially it was only a fe seconds until we relased her, but now we can go forabout 10 minutes in the wait posotion (with or without food). We are now also fairly confident at popping to bin out of the front door and telling her to wait with the door open! She just sits there and waits for us to release her! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 i think it's important to be able to take something from your dog if you need to - eg if they're eating something poisonous you can't just let them through worry that they will attack you. personally, i would train every dog i ever own that if i want something, i will take it from them and they have to accept that. I agree with the above My dogs learn that I control resources like food and they will happily relinquish anything they have to me, food/treats/toys etc. They should feel comfortable when you are around them when they are eating. However, after I go through our nightly feeding routine, I do leave them alone to eat in peace (which is what the alpha of the pack does once he has eaten). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sqwidge Posted March 17, 2009 Report Share Posted March 17, 2009 omg if i move away from Eika at the moment she just follows me! So i have to sit and wait with her. I do sometimes go away but if i know she hasn't eaten too well that day i stay with her! i'm such a sap sometimes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malamute Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Food agression Anyone had any 'experiences' with food agression. We gave Blizzy (now 20 weeks old) a knuckle bone last night which he settled down to gnaw on his bed in the lounge. After about 30 minutes he'd moved a bit and ended up off his mat. Deb got up to move him and his mat back to where he started. The resultant growl was sudden and surprisingly viscious. Deb backed off quite shocked and a little scared. I went in and he growled and snarled at me. I ended up grabbing him by the scruff of the neck and throwing him in his crate for 10 minutes. When we let him out he was perfectly calm and huggable as usual. I gave him the bone back and after about 15 minutes went to give him a hug and a scratch. He stiffened up but didn't growl this time. To avoid confrontation I went to the kitchen and got him a piece of jerky, which he loves. He heard me and trotted through to the kitchen to see what I was up to. We went back into the llounge and I picked up the bone and offered him the choice of either - he chose the jerky, and the bone went into a tub in the utility room out of the way. He chomped on his jerky quite happily then came for a hug and a scratch as usual. Anyway, when he is fully grown, probably 30KG or so with one hell of a set of chompers I don't want him taking a chunk out of me, Deb or worse still Conar, our 4 year old who adores him. I think I handled it reasonably well but any suggestions or advise would be well appreciated. Sorry the post is so long!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 This sounds like typical resource guarding to me. It is very common to have a dog who is possessive and feels the need to 'guard' resources. What have you done to teach him you control the resources? My dogs learn from very early on to look to me for permission to eat. Some people suggest taking food from the dog every meal to teach them not to resource guard, I don't prescribe to this line of training for a couple of reasons. I don't want to tease my dogs with their food by constantly putting my hand in their bowl, or giving them the ok to eat and then taking it back, giving it back, taking it back etc. This can actually make the dog possessive because they learn that every time a person comes near their food, it is going to be taken from them. The alpha dog in wolf packs and wild dog packs always eat first, then gives permission for the rest of the pack to eat - the alpha then leaves the other dogs alone to eat in peace. That's not to say that you shouldn't be able to take food from your dog, absolutely you should with no worries at all. Even when my dog takes something very high value (say a bone) into her crate, I can reach my hand in and take it out of her mouth with no fuss or resistance whatsoever. I just get a bit worried sometimes when the above method is suggested because while some dogs may tolerate it, other dogs will not and I have seen a lot of resource guarding stem from well meaning but misguided owners who use the above technique. Do you practice NILIF (nothing in life is free) in your house? The basic concept of NILIF is that your dog must "pay" you for everything it wants, from attention to food, treats, a game of fetch, etc. Dogs should learn that we as the alphas are in control of all the resources, and that we give them to the dog when we chose. It might also help you to teach your dog the 'give' command, so that he learns a release word for items that he has. I think you did the right thing by trying to avoid confrontation on the second go - you don't want to address aggression with more aggression, in case the dog tries to take you up on the challenge. Does he have to sit and stay for his dinner? My dogs must sit/stay for their dinner but they also must look at me, not at the food bowl, while they are in the stay. It shows that the dog is looking at you for permission to eat. Don't feel too stressed about it - resource guarding, while a serious issue that can escalate if it isn't addressed, is a common problem that can be sorted relatively easily with the right training Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BingBlaze n Skyla Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 hi sorry i cnt help u as if blaze has sumthing we want he gives a lil growl n moves what ever he has away from us or he will just chomp down on his food n not move his head till we go away i can c y u wud wanna stop this tho if he has sumin n ur 4 yr old goes to grab it (cuz hes young and doesnt realise) or even if he just goes 2 stroke him i think the best people 2 ask are smeagle, raindog and sibewolf as they give great advice! see lol smeagle beat me 2 it told u she gives great advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malamute Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 This sounds like typical resource guarding to me. It is very common to have a dog who is possessive and feels the need to 'guard' resources. Do you practice NILIF (nothing in life is free) in your house? The basic concept of NILIF is that your dog must "pay" you for everything it wants, from attention to food, treats, a game of fetch, etc. Dogs should learn that we as the alphas are in control of all the resources, and that we give them to the dog when we chose. It might also help you to teach your dog the 'give' command, so that he learns a release word for items that he has. I think you did the right thing by trying to avoid confrontation on the second go - you don't want to address aggression with more aggression, in case the dog tries to take you up on the challenge. Does he have to sit and stay for his dinner? My dogs must sit/stay for their dinner but they also must look at me, not at the food bowl, while they are in the stay. It shows that the dog is looking at you for permission to eat. Thanks for all that. He does sit for his food but doesn't always eat it straight away and often returns an hour or more later to eat it. Perhaps I should remove it after 15 minutes or so?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks for all that. He does sit for his food but doesn't always eat it straight away and often returns an hour or more later to eat it. Perhaps I should remove it after 15 minutes or so?? yes you should deffinantely do this put food down and if he don't eat after 15 mins take it away until next mealtime then give him the same meal we had to do this with our pup now he will chomp down on it all in bout 5 mins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Thanks for all that. He does sit for his food but doesn't always eat it straight away and often returns an hour or more later to eat it. Perhaps I should remove it after 15 minutes or so?? Yes definitely! I don't leave food down if my dog's aren't hungry. If they haven't eaten it after 15 minutes I take it away and give it to them at the next meal time. You also don't want to create a situation where you little boy might walk over to the dog's food bowl when it is on the floor when your pup is in the room and have an resource guarding incident. I'm sure you take precautions against those sorts of things but you just never know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberianandy Posted March 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 can i also direct your attention to this thread on the same issue http://www.husky-owners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1568 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I agree with what everyone's said so far, the only thing i personally wouldn't have done would be to put him in his crate. You don't want him to see the crate as a tool for punishment especially if he sleeps in it at night. his crate should be a safe place for him where he should be able to retreat to whenever he wishes. I have always taken food away from mine not every time I feed them, maybe once every few weeks, just so that I know if a child ever went to them to take something off them that they'd be ok really. My friend came up over the weekend and I had given Kimba and Kaiser a pigs ear each, her little boy (aged 4) went up to kaiser and tried to take it off him. kaiser growled and snapped towards him so i imediately removed the treat and told him NO and kept him on the floor and asked the boy to come over and stroke him, mainly so HE wasn't afraid of kaiser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex T Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I agre with whats already been said. We only leave Isis's food down for about 10 - 15 minutes - if she walks away and pays no attention to it, it gets put away - mainly to prevent our other dog from eating it! We also make Isis sit and wait with her attention on us before she gets prmission to it! If she doesnt give us the attention she doesnt get the permission to go and eat! Only had 1 case of her growling and resource guarding - which was the first tim she had a bone, took it off her straight away and made her wait to the following day before she got given it again. In her case that was enough to prevent her doing it again - or at least i shoul say she hasnt done it again yet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Funny..I am dealing with Maddie and this right now. It started about a week ago (she is 18 weeks). She is fine with her kibble, we actually free feed our dogs, they are in perfect weight, and she does not guard her food. In the past week however, she is resource protecting her treats. She did this last night with a stuffed animal and then a bone. Each time, I separated us from the other animals (in the bathroom....) and repeatedly handed her the item, let her chew, and then took it away (once I used something other than my hand). Eventually she got it. I think part of what she is doing is also testing her boundaries, so I am really glad to nip this one in the bud. Mugs on the other hand, I could take a leg of lamb out of his mouth, with my mouth if I had to, and he wouldn't bat an eye..and he is part chow/husky (we call him a Lakota chowsky). I am hoping that she is going through a phase and that we are nipping it. Other than that, she really does not display dominant behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bec Posted April 6, 2009 Report Share Posted April 6, 2009 Funny..I am dealing with Maddie and this right now. It started about a week ago (she is 18 weeks). She is fine with her kibble' date=' we actually free feed our dogs, they are in perfect weight, and she does not guard her food. [/quote'] The free feeding thing is interesting. I would never free feed - maybe it is just because I have food driven dogs and no matter how much food I put down, they would eat it all very quickly in one sitting! But then again, I feed raw, so I wouldn't leave food out for that reason too. How do you know how much food each dog is eating? How do you teach them that food is a resource that comes through you? My 10 year old chi cross would never get any food if I free fed because the other two would eat it all before she had a chance to get any. I'm always interested to hear from people who free feed successfully because I've always been taught it is just something you don't do (unless there are health reasons). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 Neither dog is over weight. I have always free fed. They seem to know how much they need and do not exceed it. I free fed my previous dog (who was half husky/half border collie) and he was always a little under weight if anything. Mugs, who was a stray I rescued from a Reservation in South Dakota, was emaciated and wormy when I rescued him. He has survived on road kill (most likely had to eat cats and dogs). He was about 6 months old. For the first week of free feeding, he ate a lot....but then he just regulated himself. He is now in fantastic shape, perhaps a tad under weight, but he hikes for 1-2 hours a day. As far as food driven, every evening the dogs are hand fed their favorite biscuits...and they have to work for them. So they do get reward for behavior and they definitely know it is us that feeds them. I think that because they are free fed, they know it is always there if they need it, they do not compete over it. I also feed them a high quality good (Nutro Max organic food) so perhaps they need less volume to get the same amount of calories. It also does not contain corn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siberian_wolf Posted April 11, 2009 Report Share Posted April 11, 2009 we used to free feed Gizmo but when Marley and Bandit arrived I found that they would eat all the food and Gizmo wouldn't get any so we stopped that and now feed them after their morning walks and then again after their evening walks and if they dont eat it in one go we remove the bowl (so no one lese can eat it, mainly) and feed it them again in the next sitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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