# Food Aggression?



## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Are your pups more aggressive with protecting their raw food than they were with kibble, or are with treats? My guys are, which I don't love. Or, Corona's other reaction is to simply swallow the food whole as quickly as she can if she feels threatened.

Not that I play with their food or want to mess with the dogs while they're eating.. but if I ever give Corona a big bone to chew on and then need to take it away, or something like that, I don't want it to be a big issue.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

Lucky does when she is outside with the others. I just call her back in the house when I see her acting that way. Shadow is just a puppy, but he seems to be acting like he may be that way also. I will have to work on stopping that, but neither one acts that way to us if we reach down to take something from them. It seems to be more of a possesion thing with the other dogs.


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

I can take raw food away from either of my dogs but they do growl if the other dog or one of the cats get too close to their crates while they are eating. Buster has been on raw since we brought him home. Lola ate kibble until December and she never growled at the cats when they got near her crate when she ate dog food.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

Do your dogs know the "drop it" or "leave it" command?


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

Willow has been known to show some food aggression towards the other animals even with kibble so I decided it is best (and less hectic IMO) to feed separately As long as *I* or another person can reach in just in case it doesn't bother me too much. That's just me though.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

I CAN get the food away from Corona, but she'll growl and snarl until the item is in my possession. I never taught her a "drop it", I've never really needed to and she very very rarely has toys, or anything inedible, in her mouth.


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## jdatwood (Apr 13, 2009)

CoverTune said:


> I CAN get the food away from Corona, but she'll growl and snarl until the item is in my possession. I never taught her a "drop it", I've never really needed to and she very very rarely has toys, or anything inedible, in her mouth.


I personally think EVERY dog should know the command. You never know when your dog might come across something you NEED them to drop.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> I personally think EVERY dog should know the command. You never know when your dog might come across something you NEED them to drop.


TOTALLY agree....heck even my cats know "leave it"!!!LOL :lol:


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Mine have shown aggression towards each other but they did on kibble also. We feed separated and avoid issues though I do occasionally tell them to leave it so I can pick it up just to remind them and check that I can remove the food. Not often as adults as I don't liek to mess with their food but once in a while and much more often as pups.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Raw foods are way higher in value than kibble...so their drive to protect it is usually higher. I allow my dogs to be possessive of their food from each other. We have yet to have a fight started by food. Each dog goes to their "spot" to eat...if another comes too close they're going to growl or move away with their food. 

I do not however let them be possessive of their food from me. If I tell them to drop it they do. Sometimes reluctantly. But I always give it back or give them something better. I don't harass my dogs during feeding times at all, I give them space and time to finish their meal. 

What you can do to teach a drop it is give them something, then offer them something better. As soon as they dip the original item, reward them with the better thing. Once they get the hang of it you can name it by saying "drop it" or whatever you want the cue to be. Then they should learn by association that if mom says drop it that means drop whatever I have because I should be getting something better if I do.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> I do not however let them be possessive of their food from me. If I tell them to drop it they do. Sometimes reluctantly. But I always give it back or give them something better. I don't harass my dogs during feeding times at all, I give them space and time to finish their meal.


 Exactly! IMO it is best to make sure that humans are able to get the food with or without a drop it command (my dogs know drop it, but not all humans do lol) In some cases a child may go for the dogs food which is why it is best not only to train the dogs, but to also train all humans in the household to know the dogs feeding time is THEIR time!


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## jenv101 (Oct 13, 2010)

DaneMama said:


> Raw foods are way higher in value than kibble...so their drive to protect it is usually higher. I allow my dogs to be possessive of their food from each other. We have yet to have a fight started by food. Each dog goes to their "spot" to eat...if another comes too close they're going to growl or move away with their food.
> 
> I do not however let them be possessive of their food from me. If I tell them to drop it they do. Sometimes reluctantly. But I always give it back or give them something better. I don't harass my dogs during feeding times at all, I give them space and time to finish their meal.
> 
> What you can do to teach a drop it is give them something, then offer them something better. As soon as they dip the original item, reward them with the better thing. Once they get the hang of it you can name it by saying "drop it" or whatever you want the cue to be. Then they should learn by association that if mom says drop it that means drop whatever I have because I should be getting something better if I do.


This. We worked with ours in the beginning to stop the growling at us if we went to take their food or pet them, etc. If they growled, we took the food away briefly, asked for a sit and wait and then gave it back. Worked pretty good. I allow them to growl at each other, but not at us. Now that we have it under control, I usually just trade them for a small goodie if I need to take a bone away.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

Will she take other treats while she's eating? I know to combat food aggression with kibble fed dogs I'd approach and drop something yummy into the bowl, usually leftovers from my own dinner. I might start by just dropping, then actually reaching down into the bowl and handing it to the dog, and then pushing his face to the side before giving the food to him. When you come to the bowl it means he's getting something yummy!! He looks to my incoming hand to see what I have, he never thinks to guard because he knows I always give a treat, that's what hands coming to the bowl means.

So if your dog is happy to take other foods while eating her raw meals I'd approach her during each meal and as soon as she starts to get a LITTLE bit concerned about you being there (and not a moment later) toss something she likes at her and let her eat it, then walk away. Eventually you will be able to get closer and closer before she starts thinking you might want to take her food, and instead you'll toss more food at her YAY! You'll be proving her wrong. Eventually you'll be able to lean over her and hand her the treat without her getting upset. Then eventually pick her food up to hand her the treat, then return her food to her. Don't push to do it too quickly, you don't want to risk getting bit or making her worse.

If you ever do need to take something I would try to find a way to trick her if possible. It's like when my dog steals something, I usually toss a bunch of treats on the floor or run around the house with a toy to distract him from his item without speaking to him (people tend to use a certain voice when they are going to trick the dog or are upset with the dog and they learn this, you want to pretend you don't even notice they have something). He'l be enticed by the distraction and leave his object. I then entice him into another room with he distraction (so play tug int he kitchen or toss a bunch of treats in another room) and have someone else pick up the object or close him int he room quickly while I pick it up and then come back and continue playing/give more treats for a little bit. I never want him to see me take the object away.

Obviously you may NEED to take it away and don't have the time to trick her, but you want to make sure that is extremely rare or else you risk the issue coming back because she will start thinking you want to take her things away again. 

Tucker would guard stolen objects but now, after teaching a drop it command, teaching him to bring me objects on command, and never taking them directly from him, he will now happily give me his stolen things. If I ever see him with anything he is not supposed to have, but that is safe for him to have and isn't important (so like plastic cups, napkins/tissues, random plastic things, etc.) I ask him to bring them to me and put them in my hand and he does, then I give him a treat and return the object to him. So not only can I take these things, he'll bring them to me himself. If he can't be allowed to have it back I trick him so he never sees me take it. 


So yeah, a lot of words but my main point is make a point of teaching her you approaching her food is a good thing, and try your best to never let her see you take her food if you need to. That way, on the very rare occasion that you have to take it directly from her, she will not be expecting it and so she won't display aggression, she'll just think it's part of your usual treat giving routine.


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

Sadie has always growled when she eats and charged at the dogs if they get close she did this on kibble and raw. She will drag her piece away and go under a chair or in her kennel then she tries to steal everyone else's. Thankfully she eats her raw way faster than kibble she is all talk anways. I can also take anything away from them if I need to without issue except sometimes sadie tries to put a death grip on it.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I have all of my dogs in my kitchen, they all know there spots to eat. I think they would get aggressive if one of the other dogs tried to get food from them, but I make sure that I can take anything away from them, they know I give it to them and I can takith away!!!! So they are always good with me.


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## barneysmom2510 (Oct 12, 2011)

Chocx2 said:


> I have all of my dogs in my kitchen, they all know there spots to eat. I think they would get aggressive if one of the other dogs tried to get food from them, but I make sure that I can take anything away from them, they know I give it to them and I can takith away!!!! So they are always good with me.


 Sadie mostly does this to lola she is lightning fast. The little ones are fed together. Barney my 6 month old basset is seperated they would not want him the same room when they are eating.


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

I know some people advise taking away food if their dog growls over it, and I know it can work for some when the dog realizes growling means loss of food, but I wouldn't recommend it as it could easily backfire. The dog growls because she thinks you are going to take her food, so you take it and confirm her fears. She doesn't think growling caused you to take her food, she thought you were going to do it all along, she just thinks growling failed to protect her food. So if growling clearly isn't working you might have a dog that starts biting instead. Just something you may want to think about before trying something like that.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Maxy24 said:


> Will she take other treats while she's eating?


At this point, no. If I come anywhere near her crate, she'll just gulp the food down as fast as she can, which makes me worry about her choking or getting a huge chunk of bone in her gut.

I'll see if I can find a way to play the "trade me" game though.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

Scarlett_O' said:


> TOTALLY agree....heck even my cats know "leave it"!!!LOL :lol:


I even taught my house rabbit "leave it" .


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

CoverTune said:


> At this point, no. If I come anywhere near her crate, she'll just gulp the food down as fast as she can, which makes me worry about her choking or getting a huge chunk of bone in her gut.
> 
> I'll see if I can find a way to play the "trade me" game though.


I start out with toys, never something edible, and them getting treats, then I work up until they are MORE THEN WILLING to hand over their meals because they know of the YUMMY treat that Mommi has for them!:wink:

HOWEVER.......Is the crate covered?? 
It sounds to me like she feels VERY vulnerable in it...I would suggest leaving her be when she is in her crate, no matter if she is eating or not, and covering it if there is some reason(placement or something) that you DO have to walk by it regularly! 
For me/my dogs the crate is their "safe zone" unless TOTALLY needed I do NOT mess with them in their crates.....when they are eating they are left to eat, etc.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

She's really not into toys, so I don't think that will work.

Hmm.. no, the crate isn't covered, I could try that. I definitely don't mess with the dogs in their crates, they're allowed to be alone in them.. though they're only in them for 3-5 minutes at a time.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

CoverTune said:


> She's really not into toys, so I don't think that will work.
> 
> Hmm.. no, the crate isn't covered, I could try that. I definitely don't mess with the dogs in their crates, they're allowed to be alone in them.. though they're only in them for 3-5 minutes at a time.


Ya I have to have Dixi's covered, at least 3/4 of the way(with just the door uncovered) if Im the only one in the room....if the other dogs happen to be loose while she is eating she has to be totally covered or she freaks out. (Whines, buries, digs, etc to keep her food "safe".) 

And I would suggest leaving them(or her at least) for a little longer....just so that she knows that she is ok to go slow. Make it so that feeding time is 10-15 minutes of alone time in the crate....IME that makes them eat slower and be more relaxed when they KNOW that they have time!:wink:

And does she have ANYTHING other then food that she likes??
To be able to work on the trading up training??


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Louis became possessive/aggressive with his raw meals; he never showed any signs whatsoever on kibble. In fact a lot of time he wouldn't even finish his kibble...He's not even the least bit aggressive with his toys either. I didn't want to get bit and I didn't want to allow it, so with the advice of everyone here I slowly taught him to relax around me while eating. I try not to take anything away if I don't have to, and when I do I always trade it with something of extremely high value. At one point I couldn't even get to close to him or even touch him without him snapping and growling. With lots of praise though, I can now rub his head and face all I want while he eats :smile: It took awhile though!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

CoverTune said:


> She's really not into toys, so I don't think that will work.
> 
> Hmm.. no, the crate isn't covered, I could try that. I definitely don't mess with the dogs in their crates, they're allowed to be alone in them.. though they're only in them for 3-5 minutes at a time.


At this point I would start with a "wait" cue and go from there, basically an adaptation of "its YER choice" game. Start out with only ONE dog and you alone while training this. Get a raw meaty bone of lesser value (not the favorite thing as it may cause too much stress). Either stand up and block with your legs and feet or sit on the floor with the dog. Set it down and block the dog from getting it with the back side of your forearm or your foot/leg depending on if you're sitting or standing. Don't use your hand at all, but instead use your arm like a shield. Don't allow the dog to get near the food until they sit back and wait patiently. Then pick up the food, if the dog moves forward to get it, immediately drop it and block it again. Once the dog sits back once more, pick it back up and start moving it toward your dog. If the dog moves forward AT ALL, start over. If your dog sits still continue moving it forward until its basically at their nose. Say something like "eat" or "get it" or whatever you'd like. 

I think being more controlled with handing out food will cure most of your problems with food possession/aggression. If they learn that food ISN'T free, they will respect you a whole lot more. 

I drop food on the floor all the time and the girls don't go for it. They immediately give me eye contact, waiting for their cue from me as to if its ok to go for it. My release word is "ok" WITH eye contact. Only the dog that has direct eye contact with me can go for it (this took a long time to train!).


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

She DOES have a very good "wait".. I haven't tried it with the raw food yet, but I definitely can.


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## IslandPaws4Raw (Sep 7, 2011)

jdatwood said:


> I personally think EVERY dog should know the command. You never know when your dog might come across something you NEED them to drop.


All my dogs know "drop it" if they pick up something they shouldn't have. Ari makes me laugh though, because if we're out somewhere and he finds a rib bone or chicken bone on the ground he has a REALLY hard time giving it up. He gets "lock jaw" and will hold on for dear life, all the while his eyes get bigger and bigger when I say drop it. He knows he shouldn't have it but it's like " JUST.......CAN'T.......DROP......IT" and the eyes get bigger and bigger because he's so obedient.....he's one of those dogs that never wants to get into trouble.....


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## Maxy24 (Mar 5, 2011)

If you sit next to the crate with the food, THEN hand it to her while you are sitting there (don't face her/watch her, talk to her, do anything other than sit there), will she still gulp it fast even though you aren't actually approaching, but are already there before she gets the food? If she is okay with that it might be one way to get her used to your presence enough to start tossing in treats.


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

The 'wait' command works wonders! I also use 'ok' as my release word. I feel mean dangling his dinner in front of his face or putting it on the floor as he sits there and stares at it, but at the same time it's super cute too. Sometimes if I say 'ok' too fast or he's not sure he heard me right he will hesitate and not go for it, it always makes me giggle. He will sort of look at me like, "Am I or am I not allowed to have it now? :frown:" 

I've noticed it makes him less greedy too. If I feed more than one piece of meat, he used to try to stuff both pieces in his mouth at the same time, and pace around all distressed if he couldn't get both pieces in. Now I've taught him to go put it down on his pad and then he will run back to me and sit and wait for the second piece. You want to build their trust in you so they aren't getting the impression you are always taking their food away for no reason.


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

I tried "wait" this morning, and what a good girl, she did it! Even with that meaty bone sitting just inches away.


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## doxieluv (Aug 8, 2011)

my dogs are only about four months apart so they have grown up eating side by side simce the second week and not having any issues. when they were on kibble though, i used to feed them out of a double feeder and have a larger separate dish for water. sometimes they would randomly decide to swap meals if i wasn't watching them. no aggression or protective behavior though. so when i started feeding raw i really wanted to make sure they were getting the right amount so i separated them into a a divided play pen.

if they see me taking something away (to adjust the size) they do seem to try to hurry more often until they see that i'm bringing it back. they never did that with kibble. Colby also finishes his meals much faster than Rayne on raw when the opposite was true for kibble. so now he has been known to look over at her still eating after he's already finished and whine a little. i make sure they're sitting calmly before i put the dishes down because Rayne gets really hyper as soon as i start pulling things out. the first dog that's patiently sitting and looking at me gets the bowl down first so it sort of became a competition to them.


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## xchairity_casex (Oct 8, 2011)

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.


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## Rodeo (Sep 11, 2011)

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.


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

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.


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