dog food assault is one of those dog behavior problems that is hard for us humans to understand. It just doesn’t seem to make sense for your dog to consider you a threat to his food supply. I mean you fed him the food in the first place, and if you feed your dog the same kind of food I feed him, he’s not that attractive anyway!
But what is your dog thinking?
If your dog looks at you, he growls, growls and gets between you and the food he is telling you “this is mine, go, find yours.” Basically he is telling you that he considers himself to be the golden alpha dog leader In your home. Dog food aggression (sometimes called dog possession aggression) is a dominance issue, it’s serious, and it needs to be addressed immediately. it just won’t go away.
We’ve all made the mistake of laughing and even cheering on our rambunctious pooches when they first show the “cute” signs of dog food aggression. Don’t fall into this trap! Food or toy aggression in dogs should never be tolerated as you never know when it can become something more dangerous to you or a member of your family.
Why Does Your Dog Show Dog Food Aggression?
dog possession assault It can be triggered by a number of factors, but in most cases it can be attributed to one of these common causes:
- Your dog is desperate for this food, in his mind he doesn’t know if or when he will get more food. Therefore, you protect or store your food, just as you would have done in a state pack In nature.
- Your dog may begin to see you as someone who always takes good things away. he comes to see you more like a threat than a provider (you have to turn this thought around).
- Dog food aggression can be part of the general confusion regarding who is the leader in their owner-dog relationship. It is often not an isolated incident, it is something that needs to be rectified.
- Your dog may not even understand that his dog food aggression is unacceptable behavior. In such cases, it is obvious communication interruption between human and dog.
General Rules for Correcting Food Aggression in Dogs
- If your dog is leading your aggression towards other dogs the best solution is to simply separate them at mealtimes. Feed them in different rooms or in their cages.
- Involve all members of your family in this food aggression training for dogs.
- Take control of feeding time. You control the time and place of dinner – own the food!
- make your dog earn any food. Just simple tasks like sitting or staying still are fine.
- Make it clear to your young puppies that it is good to have people around when eating. If you do this from day one, you will almost certainly avoid problems with dog food aggression.
- If you come across a dog food assault, it’s a good idea Feed your dog after you and your family eat. Again, this is a throwback to your dog’s pack mentality, where the alpha dog or leader of the pack (which is you) eats first; your dog will understand this technique.
- Don’t let your dog “win” the food with his growls, this would reward the very behavior you are trying to eradicate. However, do not harass or intimidate your dog, it is much better to make him really like having you around at mealtime (follow the tips below to achieve this).
- Never respond to dog possession aggression with self aggression. In essence, what this does is lock you and your dog into a battle of wills. Your dog’s next move will most likely be to increase his aggression level to counter your action.
Dog Food Aggression Training Techniques
First, be careful. If you think your dog poses a real physical threat to you or your family members, I advise you to seek professional help. Talk to a professional dog trainer or animal behavior specialist.
Below is a list of training techniques that could help your dog overcome his dog food aggression. Remember that all of these techniques are designed to recondition your dog so that he enjoys being around you at all times. Mix it up, show your dog who’s boss.
- Hand feed your dogseven stick your hands in your dog’s bowl while he eats.
- Pet and pet your dog while he eats and at the same time speak to him in a reassuring tone. All you’re doing right now is showing your dog that it’s good to be around you.
- stand at a distance your dog is comfortable with, then gradually reduce this distance over time. You can throw some treats into (or near) the bowl as you slowly reduce the distance.
- Leave your dog’s bowl with nothing in it, your dog will look at you as if you are crazy. Then he will literally beg you to come and fill his bowl.
- Feed your dog as usual, but retain some pieces of their food. When he’s finished licking the bowl, he’ll look back at you, then you can walk over and give him the remaining food.
- Leave some of your dogs very favorite treats in his bowl every time you walk past him. After a while of this, your dog will appreciate seeing you approach the bowl.
- When your dog is eating, call it to youwhen he gets to you, reward him, make him count, and then let him go back to the food bowl.
- While you prepare your dog’s food put him in a low or sitting position, just release it from your command once it has left its bowl. By doing this, you are controlling mealtime and establishing (or re-establishing) his role as leader of his dogs.
- Work with another family member on this technique. Put your dog in his collar and leash and have him sit with your helper while you prepare the food. When you’re ready, release the dog from him and leave him his food. again you are controller the situation.
- Try the “exchange method”. What you do is take away the food or toy that your dog keeps, and replace it with something better. You can use an obedience command like “give” or “leave” to encourage your dog to release the precious resource he is protecting. Then you take this resource (the food or the toy) and give the trade item to your dog. Once your dog is done with the new item, he can return the resource he took from you. This technique shows your dog that he will receive something great for giving something up, it will recondition his thinking.
- Every time you are with your dog, have him in a pinch or spike collar with a leash attached. Anytime you show signs of dog food aggression, immediately administer a correction to your dog by tightening the leash. What this does to your dog is create a negative association with the act of his food guarding shenanigans.
