food aggresive dog

kizzy · 12-15-2007, 08:13 AM

i have a 2 and half year old staffordshire bull terrier, he is the most nicest dog apart from when he is eating, you can go next to him or his bowl untill he is finished other wise he starts to growl and snap at us, i have a 4 year old and am worried about this problem, is this something that cud lead to him biting? is there a way of fixing this problem because i would hate to have to get rid of him.
thanks

willisandtravis · 12-15-2007, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kizzy

i have a 2 and half year old staffordshire bull terrier, he is the most nicest dog apart from when he is eating, you can go next to him or his bowl untill he is finished other wise he starts to growl and snap at us, i have a 4 year old and am worried about this problem, is this something that cud lead to him biting? is there a way of fixing this problem because i would hate to have to get rid of him.
thanks

I'm new here, and hopefully someone can give you advice on training him not to do this, but in the meantime to keep your 4-y/o safe, maybe you could feed him in the garage? Our dog is not food aggressive, but we feed him in the garage just to be sure that he doesn't snap or bite our 5y, 3y, and 9m-olds. Sorry I don't know how to train for this.

kizzy · 12-15-2007, 08:43 AM

we don't have a garage, at the moment we are just keeping our son away from him when he feeds, but he also does it to me and my husband

TooneyDogs · 12-15-2007, 09:30 AM

The problem can be fixed but, it will take some work on your part. Does he take treats from your hand (nicely)?

Anela · 12-15-2007, 09:54 AM

The problem should have been fixed early on, now the dog knows it can do this and get away with it, even though you should see it as an unacceptable behavior.

I would say that you need to make the dog work for it's food. Put him in "sit" and perhaps "down" before putting down the bowl. If he does not comply don't put down the food. When he does, give him a piece of food from your hand and use tons of praise and continue doing this. If he get's up, stop. If he growls, state your displeasure and give him a scolding. If you can't make growls stop, scold and give a time out for at least 15 minutes in a closed bathroom or small room. Completely ignore the dog, then let him out and make up to him. Repeat the time outs if the growling persists.

If you have an issue with giving him treats, you also need to make him work for these in the same way. Time outs and your scolding will let him know that there is a price to pay for this behavior. Your praise when he stops will let him know that you are pleased.

The four year old is a major issue, there could be a serious injury. Last week when guest's came with a 2 year old, all of my dogs were laying in the living room chewing on their bone while the kid was running all around them bumping into them etc., all of this and I have no kids in the house.

When ever I introduce a new dog into the house, I always get them used to me putting my hand in their bowl when they are eating, and I sometimes take it away and instantly give it back just to assert my alpha position. I have also mixed up their food on occasion and had to take it away, this is always done without incident.

I have three large females, they all visit each other's bowl after meal times with absolutely no issues.

Anela

darlin · 12-15-2007, 01:51 PM

I have four dogs, three big ones, and they eat in a very busy part of my house. I trained them all from the beginning to eat without aggression. Three of them were no problem, but my shelter dog was showing some aggression. I started feeding him by hand and taking his food away while he was eating. He now will step from his bowl when a human of any age approaches his bowl. I pet them all when they eat and call them away from their food. So far there hasn't been a problem. I have a very busy household that has people of all ages in and out all the time and i can't have aggressive dogs around. they can all also be in a room with people food and not touch it. I don't let them fixate on their food bowls. After they are done two of them go to each bowl and make sure it's clean and they never fight.

whimsy · 12-15-2007, 04:02 PM

I'm exactly in Darlin's position. Agression is never tolerated in my home. I can pick up bowls, play in the food and so can anyone else who happens to be here. My dogs also clean each other's bowls and no fighting. Afraid you have a very serious problem on your hands, especially regarding your child. First thing, do NOT feed that dog alone in any room, it will make matters worse. Put your dog on NILIF immediately. The idea of making him sit or down before his meals is to show you are in control. You might need a broom or something similar for feeding time...you be the one to feed..when you want him to back off and if he growls you will have to really light into him with the broom, hard enough to make him realize you won't back down...he might sense that you fear him. This has to be kept up till he will back off immediately and will allow you to take his bowl or do whatever...keep your child at bay for now but do not be the exclusive one to be in the room when he is fed...you be Alpha first, then hubby, only introduce your child when he is totally bombproof. At this age you might need a proffessional to come in and help. If this isn't cut to the quick his behavior will soon expand to other areas he feels like taking over.

scintillady · 12-15-2007, 07:54 PM

I had a small rescue dog, Susie, who was extremely picky and extremely submissive, except when she had a meaty bone, which she got a few times a week. She would growl, even at me, if I tried to take it or even get near it. I have no kids at home, but I was worried that if I ever had grandkids this could be an issue. Unfortunately, Susie died when she was 11 years old. (I only had her 2 years, but I like to think that at least she had 2 good years). Now I have another rescue dog, Ruby, who is an 80 lb. Rottweiller/Lab mix, and she is obsessed with food. However, she is not aggressive over it in the least. Anyone can take anything away from her without her growling This is totally opposite of what most people I know would say about Rottweillers. She looks scary, but she is the most mellow dog around.

kizzy · 12-16-2007, 03:16 PM

thanks to you all for your advice, i am not the dogs first owners so he came to me with this problem, i cant understand it the previous owners have done a great job at training him in every other way apart from this i don't understand lol, puppy training classes and everything lol he knows i am the boss in every other situation, he will wait nicely for is food will take treats nicely does all his commands this is the only problem, i am going to try some of your advice and see what happens

hippopupamus · 12-16-2007, 04:34 PM

kids should also be trained not to bother the dog while he's eating.

Inga · 12-16-2007, 05:07 PM

I agree with the no kids by an eating dog. I don't care how good your dog gets don't let your kids by him when he is eating. Teaching your kids to leave a dog that is eating something could save them a serious bite from someone Else's dog someday as well. I have successfully gotten dogs over the food aggression thing by putting a few kibbles in the bowl let him eat then reach down and put a few more kibbles in and keep repeating this. The dog learns to associate the hand and your nearness as more food coming to his bowl and that is a good thing. Never tease him with his food. This process takes time. I would also be adding in the sit before I give you anything, or lay down. Practicing NILIF in all aspects of this dogs life. In the meantime use caution a dog bit from any dog is serious business.

kizzy · 12-16-2007, 05:38 PM

my little boy doesnt go never him when he is eating, he is like this with me and hubby too even if you just walk past him.

what does NILIF mean??

he has food available all day should i stop this?? he always sits before he gets his food .

wvasko · 12-16-2007, 06:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kizzy

thanks to you all for your advice, i am not the dogs first owners so he came to me with this problem, i cant understand it the previous owners have done a great job at training him in every other way apart from this i don't understand lol, puppy training classes and everything lol he knows i am the boss in every other situation, he will wait nicely for is food will take treats nicely does all his commands this is the only problem, i am going to try some of your advice and see what happens

Something you could also try is feeding him in a crate. When a dog is 2 yrs or older it might be trainable for this problem, but you know I don't think I would want to gamble with my child's well being. You said you didn't have a garage use a crate. If he is not cratebroke put bowl just inside crate at 1st and then gradually moved further in until you are able to shut crate. If I know one thing, it's that kids and dogs are not to be trusted with something this important. I know this could be a pain in the butt doing this but you would never forgive yourself were an accident to occur. I tell people all the time there are no dogs smarter than a 2 or 3 yr old child. Like it or not that's what you have to work with. This is just another option for you to try. If I read correctly you are the dog's 2nd owner so you can't be sure exactly what happened to cause this problem in the 1st place. Former owners of dogs don't always tell you everything. Better to safe than sorry. I apologize for being so long winded.
Good Luck