[copperbear]

I have a 2 Year old Male lab mix that I from a shelter Back when he was 1 year. He was very scrawny and came from a situation where he had to fight other dogs if he wanted to get a proper meal. Hes is very sweet and shy. Hes comes leaps and bounds from when we first got him and he is great with other dogs and even cats.

My dog has no food aggression what so ever towards people. I can reach down and take his food away and he will just back away. But we recently adpoted a kitten. She was 8 weeks when we got her and nows shes 4 months and her and my dog get along famously. Even sleep together.

Getting to my actually question.

My cat is still very curious and wanted to know what the dog was doing when hes eating the cat went up and sniffed his bowl. And my dog growled as a warning and when she got to close barked at her and growled and snipped trying to get her away. After this incident i put the cat in the bedroom while feeding the dog. Or i feed the dog in his kennel if the cat is sleeping.

I know some way of training a dog to be ok with humans and food like a fake hand to simulate someone taking their food and slowly work with them. I have tried using a stuffed cat as the same kind of thing but my dog knows its not a real cat. Hes a acutally afraid of it.

So my question is has anyone else had problems with this and what is a good way to help him understand that he doesnt have to fight for his food anymore without putting my cat or my dog in danger?

 

[wvasko]

Due to his past this could be very tough, some things can be trained others just change the program. If a dog here does not finish his/her food in 15 minutes the food is picked up. Much easier program to feed dog in his own space separated from cat. This eliminates danger completely as dog can't bite what he can't see. I like quick fixes but I'm sure others will have different programs for you.

 

[copperbear]

Thank you for your help. Its not the biggest deal having to do that everytime. Im sure as the cat gets older she will become disinterested. My dog eats his food in about 1 second so its not long. I was just wondering if there was a long term solution.

 

[Losech]

My Shiba would seek out the other two dogs when I was preparing his food, before it was even given to him, and would attack them viciously. He was very violent, and on occasion, redirected onto me when I was trying to get him away from them.
I started feeding him in my room with the door closed. I tied his leash to my desk so he couldn't reach the door, or he'd dig at it like mad. Then I'd stand there and wait for him to calm down before he got his food. Once he was calm, didn't have to be sitting but that was nice, he got the food. Once he started eating, I did not touch it and let him finish. I though that part was important, that once the food was his, it was HIS, and nobody, not even me, was going to take it from him.
I also did this while feeding the other two. Whenever it was time for the Girls to be fed, Conker was put into my room with the door closed.
It took months for him to get over his food aggression. I just had to be very patient with him and only give him food when he was no longer growling, or showing teeth. Now he can eat with the door open, or right beside the Girls, but don't do that since I would rather not push him. He is fine with the door leaning closed but not closed fully now and shows no signs of aggression anymore. For him, separation from other dogs is best while eating.
I do not leave food down, since one dog will get fat, and another will have nasty digestive reactions. They get 10-15 minutes to eat the food, and if they don't, it gets picked up and put away.

I will say this, though. I do allow my dogs to give a growl when another gets too close to their food bowl. I don't want my dogs to share from their bowls, since each dog eats a different amount/different food, so I can't have that. A little bit of protection is fine, but outright attacks are not.

 

[copperbear]

Thanks for your input. My dog is very calm during feeding and is only get upset when the cat is actually sniffing or touching his food somehow. If she just walks by the dog doesnt care. Im having a hard time isolating the situation to teach from because the only time he is aggressive is when the cat is right in his face. Im going to go ahead and assume the best course of action for both dog and cat is just to put the cat away when the dog eats

 

[wvasko]

Im going to go ahead and assume the best course of action for both dog and cat is just to put the cat away when the dog eats

Good decision, it's really a no-brainer unless you enjoy gambling.

 

[hanksimon]

One of the things going on is that the kitten seems to have no clue about the warning. He sounds well behaved, giving appropriately escalating warnings. Also, if he had wanted to hurt her, he could have done it very, very quickly. I think that if he had done this to a puppy, the puppy would have rolled over backwards and shrieked bloody murder when snarked ... even though the dog didn't touch...

I don't mind gambling with other people's stuff. The kitten needs to learn to back off when the dog growls... and I think he'll growl less. ... But, I agree, for the moment, keep them separated while he's eating... He'll find other reasons to snark her so that she'll learn.

 

[Pawzk9]

Honestly, when it's food aggression towards other animals, I think management is easiest. Continue to feed the dog in a closed room where the cat can't get during dinner, or feed in a crate. Cats can be contrary and can intentionally irritate the dog. I suspect the cat's not just curious about what the dog is doing.