# Sticking you hand in your dogs food...good idea?



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Im at my neighbors for super bowl and they just said...we stick our hand in our dogs food just so he's used to it. Is this safe? I mean he's like almost 4 now but when they got him he was 1, I would assume this is not really a safe way to "train" your dog to allow you to touch or take away their food. What are your takes on this?

To get Avery to be less possessive of his high value items I generally trade him...so if he has something I want to get away from him I offer him something else...I would never just take something from him....Idk perhaps Im overly cautious


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

I am always handle my dogs food. I just got a 8 weeks old Pomeranian and since we started RAW diet, she is growling and trying to bite when we get close to her food. I just took it away from her and try to feed her holding it. The last thing that you wants is a dog that get aggressive when you touch or get close to his food. I think it is a good idea.


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## Loki Love (Jan 30, 2011)

I guess I'm trying to understand why you'd take away their food or the need to put your hand in it? I probably wouldn't appreciate someone sticking their hand in my plate of food while trying to eat, so I don't blame a dog who lets you know they don't appreciate it either.

I'm not judging by any means - just trying to understand the purpose behind it..:smile:


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

I think it is absolutely necessary to desensitize your dog to having his/her food touched by a human hand, especially while they are eating. Trading is good too, but you should be able to take anything away from your dog whenever you want, even without giving him something else. My dog wouldn't even THINK to growl or snarl at me when I take away even his most precious possession... if it's another dog, that's a different story.  I have seen lots of food aggressive dogs before and it's not pretty, especially when it's directed at a person.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

When we had Ania in her puppy obedience class, we were instructed to randomly stick our hands in her food bowl. We also were told to make her sit and wait for us to tell her it was okay for her to eat. This would establish, "this is MY food, but I'm LETTING you eat it."

We were first time dog owners, and it sounded reasonable at the time.

However, the more I learn about training and dog behavior in general, I find myself disagreeing with this concept.

WHen you take a dog's food away if he growls, you are NOT teaching that dog not to be possessive of food. You are teaching that dog not to growl or else it's food will be taken away. 

Growling is a dog's first warning. A dogs second warning is snapping. If you take away his ability to warn by growling, your dog could easily snap at you or someone else if they get closer than the dog is comfortable with.

I'd rather just leave my dog alone while she is eating.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Loki Love said:


> I guess I'm trying to understand why you'd take away their food or the need to put your hand in it? I probably wouldn't appreciate someone sticking their hand in my plate of food while trying to eat, so I don't blame a dog who lets you know they don't appreciate it either.
> 
> I'm not judging by any means - just trying to understand the purpose behind it..:smile:


I agree, it is actually very rude to stick your hand in their food and take it away. However, if my dog is ever consuming anything dangerous, or if I have to pick up his bowl in the middle of his meal for whatever reason, I don't want him to snap at me (or anybody else). I can understand when my dog shows his teeth when another dog gets too close to his bone, but I hope that my dog would respect me enough to not feel threatened by me taking anything from him.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Julie said:


> I agree, it is actually very rude to stick your hand in their food and take it away. However, if my dog is ever consuming anything dangerous, or if I have to pick up his bowl in the middle of his meal for whatever reason, I don't want him to snap at me (or anybody else). I can understand when my dog shows his teeth when another dog gets too close to his bone, but I hope that my dog would respect me enough to not feel threatened by me taking anything from him.


A good point. We have taught Ania the "leave it" command. That way, when she DOES start eating something that she shouldn't, I tell her "leave it" and she drops it. Of course I reward her by giving her something much more desirable to eat instead.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> WHen you take a dog's food away if he growls, you are NOT teaching that dog not to be possessive of food. You are teaching that dog not to growl or else it's food will be taken away.
> 
> Growling is a dog's first warning. A dogs second warning is snapping. If you take away his ability to warn by growling, your dog could easily snap at you or someone else if they get closer than the dog is comfortable with.


Good point, but doesn't it make sense to desensitize a puppy to having his food touched, that way he wouldn't feel threatened (when someone touches the food/takes it away) in the first place?


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> A good point. We have taught Ania the "leave it" command. That way, when she DOES start eating something that she shouldn't, I tell her "leave it" and she drops it. Of course I reward her by giving her something much more desirable to eat instead.


We know "leave it" and "drop it" here too at the house! Even the cats! Such a useful command.  And of course, we always positively reinforce when they listen.


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

Julie said:


> Good point, but doesn't it make sense to desensitize a puppy to having his food touched, that way he wouldn't feel threatened (when someone touches the food/takes it away) in the first place?


It is my belief that a dog is ALWAYS going to feel threatened if you start playing with their food mid-meal. It is their response to the threat that you are changing by training them not to "react" when you do so. You are not changing the fact that they feel threatened. Merely removing a vital communication component to CONVEY that they are feeling threatened.


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## catahoulamom (Sep 23, 2010)

Ania's Mommy said:


> It is my belief that a dog is ALWAYS going to feel threatened if you start playing with their food mid-meal. It is their response to the threat that you are changing by training them not to "react" when you do so. You are not changing the fact that they feel threatened. Merely removing a vital communication component to CONVEY that they are feeling threatened.


That makes sense. They are animals. Even I feel threatened when my boyfriend starts picking off my plate (it always ends in him eating all my fries).


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

While I don't think it's okay to just put your hands in your dogs food willy nilly I do think that you need to be in control to where you *could* take food or something dangerous away at anytime.

This is very important for Duncan due to his health condition. He needs to drop anything immediately if I tell him as there could be times in life where he could get ahold of something that he shouldn't eat.

Rather than just swooping in and taking something, I always give the command "back up" (or "drop it") and "sit" depending on the situation. My dogs will stop what they are doing, drop what's in their mouth, back up and sit. This way I can take away/pick up what I need to. 

As far as feeding time goes.....I almost never bother my dogs when they eat. I don't want anyone bothering me when I eat, so I give them the same respect. My young children also know to not bother the dogs when they eat, they learned this from day one. I've done it this way with all the dogs I've had and no food aggression so far..... *knock on wood* :laugh:

Just my 2 cents! :tongue:


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

You never know if you ever going to be in a situation that you need to take the food away from your dog. My two Boxers are very gentle, even when I offer them a treat. I am always say Be gentle and they understand. Yes, I can take the food out of their mouth is I need too and they are fine with it. 
Remember that you are their Alfa and they need to respect you. if he growl to you is because you are part of the pack. 
I am also never allow my dogs to beg for food. I can be eating whatever and they not even get close to me. If it is my mom different story LOL


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

I've always preferred to leave the dogs alone while eating, but I have needed to be able to move around and do things while they eat. We had one boy we rescued who growled if we got within 4 feet of him during feeding. In this case we started by dribbling kibble in his bowl with our hand in there too. He gradually became desensitized over the course of about maybe two weeks. He had some resource guarding issues all of his life, but eventually with his food he was fine. Treats/toys, we usually traded up for something he preferred. I also had a female who had those issues with bones, she used to try and keep the bone and take the preferred treat and get them both in her mouth, she finally gave up and took what was offered in trade, but you could see the wheels spinning in her head. So I guess we've done it both ways, whatever suited the individual dog.


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

In my 15 years as a professional dog trainer I saw many instances where a problem was created by trying desensitize a dog to that same problem. Food aggression was most common. Putting your hand in the bowl just for the fun of it willl eventually get you bitten. You may do it 1,000 times with no incident but the 1,001st time will be the one.

In 20+ years of owning multiple dogs, I have never felt the need to take food away from any of my dogs. I have never known that their reaction would be if I did and never really cared. Anytime I have to get close to a dog that is eating I will always say something to him as I approach so I don't surprise him. I will usually say something like, "It's just me. I'm coming by." Never had an incident.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

That's how I feel, just let my dog eat in peace. If its a situation where I really need to get something I think he would be ok if it were me...but if its someone else...not so much, he was at my neighbors a couple of weeks ago and found something in the backyard and the guy in the house tried to get it away from him and he growled....In Averys defense he is afraid of men and its just me and him most of time so he's not really familiar with men...


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## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Have to agree, I prefer to let dogs eat in peace. Our issue with the boy I mentioned was when they were in kennels. That was when we were sometimes in there moving around to clean up and I didn't want that to be an issue. That was why we did the dribble kibble into his bowl thing. Eventually he just came to trust us being in there and it was not a problem. Once he accepted our presence I never felt the need to test the hands in the food bucket thing again. He had begun to trust us just being nearby. I've always talked to the dog if they were eating or sleeping if I ever needed to approach them during those times. I've found this usually prevented any problems from happening.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm a firm believer of the "nothing in life is free" method. I had a dog before that was really food aggressive when I got him. He snarled if I even came near the crate while he was eating, so I took his food and started chopping it up into small pieces and doing training sessions with him instead. He quickly learned that he needed to work to get his food, and he always got it from my hand, so within two days, he didn't growl at me anymore when I gave him something in the crate. I also taught him how to be easy when taking the food from my hands, how to wait for it, etc., etc. He was a really good dog when it came to training.

I don't really have any problems with Amaya at all. She's so docile and I feel as though I could take things from her mouth five times every day that she eats and never have a problem if I really wanted to. I'm not going to, though, because I feel that's wrong. Ryou is always pretty good about it, too, but I did have to teach him to sit and wait for me to give him the command, and now, since I've taught him to "wait," he also knows to drop the food if I tell him to wait again, and he always knows that if he does so, and then doesn't go back after it, he'll get to eat again real soon, if he doesn't, though, I make him wait for a good, long while before he can eat again. And I always praise him and tell him how good he's been when he doesn't try to eat it before I've given him the okay.

Every great once in a while (like maybe every two months or so) I check to make sure the dogs are still good with me being around them and putting my hands on them, near their mouths, on their food, just to be sure, because I want to know that I'll be able to take something from them if it's dangerous, or that a child isn't going to be snapped at if they pick something up at the park and a child tries to grab it from them.

Other than making Ryou wait and checking their acceptance of me every once in a while, I like to leave them be to their food as well...I just wish my kitten, Theus, was of the same mind. I swear, he's going to get a paw chomped off if he doesn't stop trying to steal the dogs' food!!!


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

I agree that it's best to allow a dog to eat unmolested but, in my family, we've always have trained our dogs to allow people to pick up their food/bones/toys at any time. The number 1 reason for this is children. No matter how watchful you are a child can end up "bothering" a dog while it's eating/chewing. For us it was a way to prevent an accident.


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## Little Brown Jug (Dec 7, 2010)

If they have something I don't want them to have I'm going to take it. If they dare curl a lip, snap or growl there will a come to jesus meeting. Not just to me but to person. They used to come to work with me, and at times had to eat their meals at the store or have a bone to chew on, people would bring their dogs or children in so I'd put the food or bone or whatever away to avoid problems. I didn't need anyone getting bitten. I just feel its a must for any dog to allow people to take something from them without snapping or growling. The same goes in the home when their are children or some non dog savvy guests. I don't need them to walk past the dog, or get too close to their face and get bitten.

My dogs respect it or like I said there is a come to jesus meeting, thus far I haven't had any issue with my current two, the last one had posession issues when we adopted him, we couldn't walk into the same room he was in without him growling and pitching a fit if he had something toy or food wise. I remember the first time I fed him, as I was putting the bowl down he grabbed my thumb and ripped it open. He calmed down in his older years to just curling his lips but would back away and leave it at that.


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

I did this with Jackson as a puppy. I wouldn't obessively do it, to the point of totally irritating him or provoking him on purpose, but I wanted him to get used to hands near his food and for him not to care about. We live with a 3yr old and I have young siblings and cousins, so I wanted him to be as safe as possible around them. Of course I was not going to be encouraging children to go and take his food away or anything ridiculous like that, but sometimes things happen, and I'd rather him be used to it than snap.

He could care less about people near him while he's eating, chewing a bone, whatever. You can pet him, put your hand in there, etc. I don't purposely allow this to happen, obviously, but one time the 3yr old (at the time was 2) took the bully stick from his mouth and he just looked confused, lol. I told her to give it right back to him, and she did. He's not possessive of anything. Anything I take from him, he gets right back, or he gets a replacement if it's something he can't have. He's never ever growled at me or shown his teeth ever, and he has not to any other human being. He has given a growl to my dads dog who got to close while chewing a bone, but in general, he doesn't care much about that either.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

when my pup was 9 weeks old (that's when he came home)
we started playing in his food. we didn't put our hands in his
food in a teasing manner. while he was eating or drinking we would put
our hands in his food. sometimes we would reach in his food and hand feed him. we also had our neighbors come over and handle his food while he was eating. when my dog was eating we also sood over him, petted him,
made noise around him, touched him with the dremel, etc. our dog is 3 yrs old now. when he eats you can do what ever around him and so
can a stranger. one day last summer my GF, her client an i were standing
in the kitchen talking. our dog was eating dinner. my GF's client bent
down and started petting our dog on the head. our dog never looked up
or reacted in any manner.

i think a dog will naturally guard his food. if the dog is use to
his food being handled i think the dog will be less reactive or non reactive.
like anything else, it's a matter of training/socializing.


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## Loki Love (Jan 30, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> i think a dog will naturally guard his food. if the dog is use to
> his food being handled i think the dog will be less reactive or non reactive.
> like anything else, it's a matter of training/socializing.


I've never once put my hand in Loki's food. He doesn't guard his food, at all - so I don't think it's a natural thing.

I have had to pick up his food in the past, remove it from him - it's never been an issue (and again - I've never had to 'desensitize' him with removing his food while eating, putting my hand in his bowl, etc).


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

If I ever need to take away anything of "value" from one of my dogs for whatever reason, I offer them something even more valuable to them. They learn quickly that "if I drop what she wants, I get something better" and it works like a charm. I rarely do this though, I prefer to let my dogs eat in peace. People are a lot easier to "train" that are around my dogs. I tell them to leave them be when eating and listen to their warnings (ie growl). This isn't aggression, its communication that is essential.


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## xxshaelxx (Mar 8, 2010)

Well, what happens when you're out in the field and your dog picks up something you don't want them to have, but it's better than the treats you're offering? I've had that experience before, where the dogs picked up a rotting corpse, and I had to chase them down to pry it out of their mouths. In that instance, I definitely don't want them getting angry with me for taking something away, because it could possibly be dangerous. What if they got into something that someone had soaked in antifreeze? I mean, there's always crazy chances of something happening out there, and that's why I'd rather be prepared for it and have my dogs not eat my hand off for trying to take something away from them that's better than anything I can offer at the time–and trust me, my dogs KNOW when I've got nothing better.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Which is why it's essential to train the "drop it" cue :thumb:

There are always "what ifs" in life that you just don't have any control over, it's just that preparing yourself and your dogs the best that you can that really matters.


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## bumblegoat (May 12, 2010)

My dog is very possessive and food aggressive. Trying to trade with him is usually not an option. Whatever he has is the thing that has the highest value, even if he is holding a newspaper and I am offering him ten hot dogs. If he actually decides that he wants the thing I am offering, then he wants both. If I offer a treat, then he till take the treat and then try to take whatever he was holding back as fast as he can. If I'm not fast enough, he might very well accidentely bite me. Usually he tries to take the thing back, and my hand happens to be in the way. So in many cases, trying to trade with him is quite dangerous.

I welcome anyone to my house and try to take something from my dog! :wink:

I just let him be and usually don't bother him. He rarely takes things he aren't allowed to anyway, and if he does it will be something edible and it will be gone before I even have the chance to take it anyway.

The only thing that bothers me about this is that it is very difficult to use toys as a reward while I am training. If I throw him a ball then that means the training session is over...


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## SamWu1 (Oct 15, 2010)

I don't tolerate posessiveness, I believe it's essential that your dog won't respond with aggression if you tell him to to release an object or food in the case that he picks up something toxic or is around kids.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

I feed Avery in his crate or outside, if he wants to guard his meaty bone I am not going to interfere nor is anyone else (though I've never really tried to take it away from him)...

I think for me drop it or leave it are essential (and we are still working on these commands) but I have grabbed things out of his mouth in the past (mostly toy particles) with no issue...I am not the type of person to plan for anti-freeze or any other such poison.

And when I have children or other dogs, putting him in his crate to eat or have high value treats will always be an option.


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## Boxers&Pom's Mom (Jan 17, 2011)

My two Boxers are fine with me handling their food. Now, we the RAW diet, I want them to learn to eat in top of a towel that I put in the kitchen floor. Emma, wants to move it to her bed; so I stopped her and get the piece of chicken and moved bad to the towel with no problem.
The 8 weeks old puppy growl like a Lion. LOL I need to work with her on that, but for now she is eating in her crate and I think she is already stress out enough trying to eat that meat. LOL


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Like once a month maybe I will take the dog's bone from him but give it right back. He doesn't care at all. If a friend's dog comes over and he is eating he immediately runs over and drops his bone at the other dog's feet. 

He will however protect it from the cats! :biggrin:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

bumblegoat said:


> My dog is very possessive and food aggressive. Trying to trade with him is usually not an option. Whatever he has is the thing that has the highest value, even if he is holding a newspaper and I am offering him ten hot dogs. If he actually decides that he wants the thing I am offering, then he wants both. If I offer a treat, then he till take the treat and then try to take whatever he was holding back as fast as he can. If I'm not fast enough, he might very well accidentely bite me. Usually he tries to take the thing back, and my hand happens to be in the way. So in many cases, trying to trade with him is quite dangerous.
> 
> I welcome anyone to my house and try to take something from my dog! :wink:
> 
> ...


Training "sessions" should be nondescript and random. They should occur throughout the day with no real stop or start time (unless of course you book time with a trainer). Training is something that should happen every day all day at random times. You may only have a safe chance to practice "drop it" once a day, week or month. It all depends on the context. Behavior modification isn't something that happens overnight and may take years to overcome if at all possible. Some behavioral issues can only improve but not go away altogether.

Have you tried using an activity as a "reward" for trade? Like saying let's go for a walk or trip to the park while he has something that you want. This has to be executed just right.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

Artie is a resource guarding terrier. He gives great warnings but I don't much like getting warned off by a grumpy terrier although I respect his feelings and don't push it. I had a lot of luck showing him the yummy trade and tossing it to get him off the guarded object. Try playing hot toy with him. Have 2 or 3 toys you can hold on to like tugs, old socks are a big favorite here. Play with one and when he gets interested play with him. Once he is completely engrossed in the game drop that toy, grab another and play with it yourself, turn away and have a great time squeaking and slamming it around. Once he drops the first toy and engages with you drop that one and go back to the first. I had to do this in the closed off hallway or Artie would leave with his treasure. This is really intense and I can only keep it up for a few minutes.

You could also take a cue from how dogs take objects from other dogs. Sassy owned all the chewys here. If I messed up and allowed Max to have one she would walk slowly to his side and slowly take away her chew from the side. No direct confrontation or chasing. I never did this, just interesting how it is properly done by a dog. She would make a pile of them and lay on top. I went to chews that only lasts a half hour to avoid the issue.

It is important to be able to take things away from your pet but be fair and trade or give the goody right back.

Sassy didn't care for us to be around her when she ate, just got stiff - no grumbles. I did a lot of food handling but the first step was dropping kibble into her empty bowl, not putting my hand in her bowl. I do provide all she got and she better know it but never did she get punishment of any kind around food.


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

I have to occasionally take things from my dogs, even their food, I like to feed them outside and sometimes they will run inside and try to eat on their bed (or mine! ). When they were pups they did have a habit of growling, but it went away. Not on it's own but I'm not quite sure how I did it.

They know "drop it" and although they won't *always* listen the first time, if I make it clear to them that I'm serious they will listen.
They do get their food back...outside.


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## bumblegoat (May 12, 2010)

danemama08 said:


> Training "sessions" should be nondescript and random. They should occur throughout the day with no real stop or start time (unless of course you book time with a trainer). Training is something that should happen every day all day at random times. You may only have a safe chance to practice "drop it" once a day, week or month. It all depends on the context. Behavior modification isn't something that happens overnight and may take years to overcome if at all possible. Some behavioral issues can only improve but not go away altogether.
> 
> Have you tried using an activity as a "reward" for trade? Like saying let's go for a walk or trip to the park while he has something that you want. This has to be executed just right.


I'm talking teaching him tricks, and how else would I do it if I don't have "sessions"?  I don't walk around with a clicker in my hand and treats in my pockets all day, so we have short sessions throughout the day. Teaching him everyday things like recalls, a drop it cue etc are another thing of course., and you take every chance you get to reinforce those behaviours.

My dog is nine years old, and believe, I have tried so many things. The only method where I have seen some progress is if I grab, for example a ball, while it is in his mouth, and then just wait him out. When he drops it I give him a treat or just throw the ball as a reward.

Of course I do try to reinforce it when he drops things willingly, but that is quite rare.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Training sessions are great! But that shouldn't be the only time you train any behavior....

As a multiple dog owner and an apprentice trainer I keep treats on me all the time unless I'm showering or sleeping LOL. I have also seen people use treat containers strategically placed all over the house so that a reward is always within reach. This is almost mandatory when dealing with behavioral issues with dogs. You never know when a dog will need to be reinforced...every event of the day should be taken advantage of as training opportunity. 

If you've found a technique that you see results with, do it as often as logically possible!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

It all depends on your relationship with your dog. If he sees you as his mentor, guide, and teacher, he won't do anything if you try to take something out of his mouth. If he sees you as this human who tries to boss him around all the time and aggravates him when he's trying to eat, be careful, be very careful. You will definately have a problem. I don't feel the need to test my dogs. I know they won't hurt me under any circumstances. Thats the relationship we have. 

Cats? Well, thats another story! :smile:


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## eternalstudent (Jul 22, 2010)

bumblegoat said:


> I'm talking teaching him tricks, and how else would I do it if I don't have "sessions"?  I don't walk around with a clicker in my hand and treats in my pockets all day, so we have short sessions throughout the day.


I have to say that I do walk around with treats almost always within reach me, it means that I at any time I can start training. Like if my pup is starting towards something that I have "inadvertanly" left lying around I practice leave and come to me. 
As for tricks I normally do a few minutes at really random intervals when I see either myself or my dog getting bored. I have found that it can be a lot easier to teach tricks than play tug in the living room:thumb:.

Dried liver is probably the ultimate treat to have around the house in little bottles as it last forever and hardly smells!!


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## Jacksons Mom (Jun 13, 2010)

RawFedDogs said:


> It all depends on your relationship with your dog. If he sees you as his mentor, guide, and teacher, he won't do anything if you try to take something out of his mouth. If he sees you as this human who tries to boss him around all the time and aggravates him when he's trying to eat, be careful, be very careful. You will definately have a problem. I don't feel the need to test my dogs. I know they won't hurt me under any circumstances. Thats the relationship we have.
> 
> Cats? Well, thats another story! :smile:


I do agree with this. Jackson and I have an amazing relationship and bond and I know he would never try to hurt me, and I really don't think he would ever try to hurt anyone else either. We have a mutual understanding and respect between us. It always amazes me when I see dogs growling at their owners over things and it seems to me that the trust is not there. I never ever boss him around, or purposely aggravate him while he's trying to eat. We are a team, the two of us. I look at it like a parent would teach their child.

My only purpose in doing the hands in the bowl thing as a puppy was just to confirm my thoughts in that he would not attack a hand near his bowl, since we live with small children and are constantly around them. I wouldn't have wanted to find out that he was possessive if my little 3 year old sister had decided to reach down to him while he was eating and for her to get bit. And when I say I put my hands in his bowl, I did it maybe all of 5 times from the ages of 9 weeks old - 6 months old and I have not felt the need to do it since. And when I did it, it wasn't me obsessively feeling around his bowl while he was trying to eat, it was just a quick little thing. He is trustworthy and not possessive, but I wouldn't really have known had I always just put his food down, walked away and assumed he wouldn't mind an accidental hand going near him.

I will add too that I made sure the trust was there with my young siblings (3 and 6, both half siblings in different homes) right from the beginning. Positive associations were always made with them. He has a great bond with each of them and loves them to pieces and would probably let them do anything to him (not that I allow this).


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

I know a lot of what I'm about to say has already been said, but here are my thoughts on this topic.

My 10 yr old dachshund terrier mix has pretty nasty food aggression. Ever since he was little if we tried to take any food item from him he would flip out. Since I got him when I was really young I didn't put any thought into properly training him and thus he has become a complete monster when someone wants to take his food. We do not trust him around anyone when eating, not even the other dogs. My sister has scars on her hand from trying to take a cough drop out of his mouth when he was only a couple of months old. I can take food from him now, it takes time and effort to get him to ease something out of his mouth, but it's a bribery thing with him, "_You give me that, and I'll give you this" _ I work with him on it, but now all I feel I can do is damage control.

I've raised a few litters of feral puppies in the last five years and I knew from the get go (because of Puck) that they needed to allow humans to take food from them - even more so because of how large they would become. It's inevitable, your dog is going to encounter a situation one day in his life where he has food(or some other extremely high value item) in his mouth and a hand, foot, or some other part of a human is around him. I didn't want these puppies going to unwitting owners with even more baggage than they were coming with so from the get go I hand fed them. When they were not hand fed I made sure I practiced taking their food from them and giving it back. All of my dogs, except Puck, will give up any of their highest value food item to a human asking for it. They drop it in your hand or on the floor, and because of the training they've had, most of the time expect it to be handed right back or to receive something of equal or greater value in return. Growling or whining for the food that was taken is a no-no, and I've extinguished the behavior by adding play or higher value items as compensation.

In the case of the cough drop with Puck, there are things your dogs may have but shouldn't have, and you need to be able to get that out of their mouth. All this leads up to me saying that yes, I think ALL dogs need to be desensitized to having hands stuck in their bowl, in their face, in their mouth...etc. If it's not possible with that particular dog because of aggression, you know there is danger involved with edible items, and therefor my trust for my dog in that situation rockets downward.

Do you want to be able to trust your dog to not bite you or the cousin's kid when they have something in their mouth or in their bowl? I do. And I can because I desensitized my dogs (except Puck) to having their food touched and taken. Honestly guys, I don't think sticking your hand in your sisters food and sticking your hand in your dogs food is a fair comparison. They're two totally different things, and most of the time you touch your dogs food with your hands anyway. I say try to make them get over it if possible. 

This shouldn't come without a warning however, puppies have their own version of guns in their mouth, and some puppies are innate resource guarders which means that desensitizing your dog to having hands stuck in his bowl is going to be a lot harder with dogs who characterize this trait. 

Do it when they are young so you don't have to go into damage control like I did with Puck. I like trusting my dogs with food around people. It makes life easier. And no, I don't think it is right for a person who does not own the dog to just waltz up and stick their hand in the bowl or face...But it can happen even if you don't want it to.


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

danemama08 said:


> Training sessions are great! But that shouldn't be the only time you train any behavior....
> 
> As a multiple dog owner and an apprentice trainer I keep treats on me all the time unless I'm showering or sleeping LOL. I have also seen people use treat containers strategically placed all over the house so that a reward is always within reach. This is almost mandatory when dealing with behavioral issues with dogs. You never know when a dog will need to be reinforced...every event of the day should be taken advantage of as training opportunity.
> 
> If you've found a technique that you see results with, do it as often as logically possible!


Natalie, like you said, strategically placing treats about the house is a wonderful way to start phasing food out of view in your training sessions not to mention it makes things so convenient for random training. Awesome advice, this is something we teach in class to our students.


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## bumblegoat (May 12, 2010)

CavePaws, my situation is similiar to yours. I was young when I got my dog (I was 12) and didn't know how to train him properly. Fortunately my dog chooses to run away with his toy/food before resortion to aggression.

Now, I know how to handle this "problem" so it isn't that much of a problem these days. As I said before, the only thing that bothers me slightly is that this makes it very difficult to use toys as a reward.

ETA: I can't really have treats laying around the house. I do have them in my room where we spend most of the time, but I share the rest of the house with my brothers. There are toys everywhere though, so if I really need something to reward with there is usually something I can use. If not, I always have myself!


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## CavePaws (Jan 25, 2011)

That's what Puck does. He runs and hides with something or high value, mainly because he's small and Indi is pushy and will fight him pretty badly over food if he gets ornery. Which has thankfully stopped now. But he still does it, running away that is. I prefer to let him run away than bother him about it. Sad to say, but he is my old dog boy (had him since I was 8) and he gets away with a lot more than the others...who are between 35 and 50 lbs more than him.

Have you tried using a bait bag for him that he can't necessarily get into without you opening it up for him? Here is a link to some. Haven't tried it with Puck but it may be worth a try for you and your terrier. :]

Clean Run: Dunkins Stuffer Toy

I'm partial to these and am probably going to buy one for Indi since there is a tug rope on the end. Keeps your hands away from his mouth. I'd teach drop it on command if he doesn't already know it. I would also teach tug on command. "Tug it" - "Leave it" WITH treats at first, since you said it's a bit hard for you to use toys as a reward when food is involved.


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## sassymaxmom (Dec 7, 2008)

That only works if the dog doesn't run away with it. Sassy would even open up Tupperware cups and could get treats out of a tennis ball with a slit cut in it so treats would fit in.

You could make a treat toy from a short piece of PVC threaded pipe with caps at either end. Thwarted Sassy very nicely! Drill a few holes in the pipe so the smell gets out?


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

my dogs name is Loki.



Loki Love said:


> I've never once put my hand in Loki's food. He doesn't guard his food, at all - so I don't think it's a natural thing.
> 
> I have had to pick up his food in the past, remove it from him - it's never been an issue (and again - I've never had to 'desensitize' him with removing his food while eating, putting my hand in his bowl, etc).


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## Loki Love (Jan 30, 2011)

doggiedad said:


> my dogs name is Loki.


 I've met quite a few Loki puppers lately!


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