Food Aggression?

[xchairity_casex]

what i did with Cesar when i first brought him home is even though he had no food aggression i would give him a small bowl of kibble (he was fed kibble by the breeder so i had him on it for a while) i would walk up to him not talk and reach my hand next to his face and drop a yummy treat then walk away i would do this also with kongs stuff a slice of bread into a kong then use a bit of hotdog to drop always start out with boreing food and use yummy yummy treats so the treat is better then the food. once they begin asociating your coming near food to give a yummy treat they will begin letting go of the toy or bone or stop eating to take the treat once they are at that point take the bone/kong or food away while they eat the treat then give it back and walk away.

another excersize i did after this one was to stomp on the floor while going towards him then giving a treat and stomping away then i would grumble and stomp towards him then i would hoot and hollar while stomping towards him why did i do this? becuase if he takes lets say a piece of chicken bone from the trash (from say fried chicken) while im not watching i have the very bad tendency to freak out and rush at him saying "NO! let go of that! let go of that!" which can make a dog freak out and try to swollow it whole before you take it from them. so now Cesar thinks if i go stomping or freaking out at him for having somthing he isnt supposed to have he happily drops it and turns around to get a treat becuase that behavior from me isnt scary anymore it means he gets treat.

i know people do not like Cesar millan or his techniques but of them i use and am very pleased that i did was to teach both dogs that food means to relax and that food is controlled by me.
how i do this is both dogs get a work out before eating or drinking 2 hours i try for. then i offer them water i make both dogs sit and relax if they are anxious or excited i just wait holding th water thats it i dont give a command i dont talk to them i just stand there and wait the dog who is the calmest i set the water down and let them drink once theo ther dog is calm i allow them to drink also.
while im prepareing the dogs food they CANNOT hover around me they cannot focus intently on the food or dishes they cannot bark or whine they cannot pace or pant ehavily becuase the second they begin doing that i stop prepareing the food and stand there if i have to stand there and wait 30 minutes so be it i wait i dont scold or make them lie down i just wait untill they are relaxed then i go into the living room with both dogs food dishes and i sit on the couch becuase its more comfortable for me and i hold the dishes if i did a good job making them wait i only have to wait a few minutes before setting the dishes down if not or in the begining i wait they cant focus on the food dish they cant nose it or jump on me whine,bark protest they have to just relax and be calm once they are i set the food dishes down right next to each other and sit there relaxed and comfortable untill they are done eating if one is done eating first they CANNOT hover around the other dog or try pushing into there dish they can walk away to get a drink or lie down or even be petted by me once both dogs are done eating i get up and remove the food bowls to the counter to be washed.
this does take alot of time and effort on the owners part but it does if your able to see the signs i also do not allow the dogs to suspiciously eyeball eachother while eating (which Cesar did at one point) if they stop eating to eyeball the other dog,person,cat i say "uhuh" and point to the food bowl. before i started doing this Cesar did make the attempt of snapping at Kira and one of the cats while eating since doing this excersize EVERYTIME the cats are even able to come rub against him while hes eating of coarse I will shoosh them away just becuase im sure its annoying for him.

why do i like this becuase
you dont have yell at your dogs
you dont have to be hands on or physical
your establishing that food is yours and you control it
your asking for a specific behavior and rewarding that behavior (calmness)
and your gaining there trust around food as well as the OTHER animals trust around its food.

[Rodeo]

I agree with the leave it command.. VERY useful in many different circumstances.

Mine aren't food aggressive. They WILL growl at the cats but won't actually hurt them for getting too close. Duke, however, will scarf down his food much faster than usually if there is a kitty lurking nearby.

[Dude and Bucks Mamma]

When we first switched from kibble to raw, Dude got really possessive of his food. I completely understood so, instead of scolding him, I let him eat in peace and didn't even try to work with him on it until he was on his third protein. By then, he had grasped the concept that his new food was not something that he needed to guard because he would continue getting it every day. I never actually had to work with him on it. I just gave him time to adjust to his new food. We have no issues with Dude at all. We can reach down and take whatever he has and he will just look at me like, "Can I have that back when you're finished with it?"

Buck is a work in progress. He is slowly but surely getting better. If it's something like a calf leg or a yak chew, he couldn't care less if we take it. His actual meals, on the other hand? Yea right. He is getting better though. He lives to eat. He was also raised on raw so it being higher in value in comparison to kibble isn't as much of a factor. He is VERY food motivated and he will do anything for even the smallest morsel.

We do feed separately to avoid any fighting unless we are both home to give our full attention to one dog each.