[NeoBodhi]

I gave my puppy his first piece of raw chicken tonight. So far I have fed him by hand for training or given him food in kong toys. Today when I gave him the piece of raw chicken he growled at me when I went to pet him while eating. Then he ran off with the piece of chicken.

That was a big shocker. I thought I had pack leader status. As much as I did not like having my puppy growl at me it was awesome to see how much he loved his raw food. Maybe I did the wrong thing, but after the growl I chased Chester down and took the chicken from him. That was not an easy thing to do. I had no idea how much jaw pressure he has when he REALLY wants something.

In the end, I took the chicken away a few times and had him follow a few commands to get the chicken back and eventually I got him to come when called and eat the chicken at my feet and allow me touch his face and the piece of chicken without any growling. I hope I did the right thing and re-established myself as the pack leader.

What I learned from this though is that my puppy loves raw food. Now I would feel a bit guilty giving him anything else.

[Curbside Prophet]

The value of the resource has some function in maintaining and controlling priority access over resources. Obviously the raw food has a higher value to your dog than other resources. Him growling is simply a cue for you to assign a higher behavior value (how much he has to work for the resource) on that resource. Ultimately I think you did the right thing in making him work for his food, though I would not have chased him down. Simply abandon him, and when he returns to you ask for a lot of behavior in exchange for that valuable resource. The growling is not a symptom of your status as it is your dog's valuation of raw food. Your dog doesn't really have a say in how much you make him work for the raw food, now does he? That's your role as his "pack leader", and nothing he does can change that. It isn't even a question.

[NeoBodhi]

Originally Posted by Curbside Prophet

The value of the resource has some function in maintaining and controlling priority access over resources. Obviously the raw food has a higher value to your dog than other resources. Him growling is simply a cue for you assign a higher behavior value (how much he has to work for the resource) on that resource. Ultimately I think you did the right thing in making him work for his food, though I would not have chased him down. Simply abandon him, and when he returns to you ask for a lot of behavior in exchange for that valuable resource. The growling is not a symptom of your status as it is your dog's valuation of raw food. Your dog doesn't really have a say in how much you make him work for the raw food, now does he? That's your role as his "pack leader", and nothing he does can change that. It isn't even a question.

Awesome advice, thanks a lot I have never chased him down before and hopefully never have to do it again. The last thing I want to teach Chester is that by doing something I think is bad will result in me chasing him, which he might think is fun. In this case, he did not enjoy being chased and I didn't enjoy chasing him. He was harder to catch than a cat, the little guy has some moves! He would make a great running back in football.