Food fight

[dj_girl]

Hi. Rascal, my 13 week old boxer is too overprotective over his food. When my rat terrier gets too close to his food, Rascal gets snappy. Is there a way I can stop that from happening besides keeping Rascal and my other dog apart while feeding? Also, this might be on a separate note, but when I caught Rascal chewing on my shoe, I said 'NO' and picked him up and when I did he tried growing and snapping at me. I said 'NO' again in a more firm tone and gave him time out for a couple of minutes in his crate. Did I handle that correctly or is there another way to keep a young pup from being too agressive? I will greatly appreciate your help. Thanks!

[TheDuke]

Originally Posted by dj_girl

Hi. Rascal, my 13 week old boxer is too overprotective over his food. When my rat terrier gets too close to his food, Rascal gets snappy. Is there a way I can stop that from happening besides keeping Rascal and my other dog apart while feeding? Also, this might be on a separate note, but when I caught Rascal chewing on my shoe, I said 'NO' and picked him up and when I did he tried growing and snapping at me. I said 'NO' again in a more firm tone and gave him time out for a couple of minutes in his crate. Did I handle that correctly or is there another way to keep a young pup from being too agressive? I will greatly appreciate your help. Thanks!

I think the best thing to do is seperate or crate when they are eating. Some dogs will never do well eating with another dog close-by although someone may have some other suggestions. On the other hand, he must be taught that he needs to relinquish anything to humans. I would on hand feeding him his food to prevent/treat food aggression. I would also give him something in exchange for an object he has that is inappropriate.

Practice giving him a toy then showing him a treat and giving that to him when he lets go of the toy. Hopefully this will teach him that he will get something better if he lets go of the other item. You always want to give them an alternate behavior and never give a time out in his crate. You want his crate to mean good things and be his personal retreat, not somewhere he goes when he is punished.

[elmwood]

About your pup being aggressive when eating, it is normal. I found with my pups, that getting myself between them and their bowl while eating did the trick. It showed them that they are not the dominant one and I am. Once I was comfortable doing this, I then began to come back while they were eating, putting my head down near there bowl, acting like I was eating their food with them. I haven't had the problem since. Is it right? I am not sure, but it worked. Good luck.

[Jan]

Originally Posted by dj_girl

Hi. when I caught Rascal chewing on my shoe, I said 'NO' and picked him up and when I did he tried growing and snapping at me. I said 'NO' again in a more firm tone and gave him time out for a couple of minutes in his crate. Did I handle that correctly or is there another way to keep a young pup from being too agressive? I will greatly appreciate your help. Thanks!

That is what I would be most concerned about. You should be able to take anything away from your dog without that kind of reaction. You need to start working with him right away. You can start with some take it and leave it games. You can use anything that the dog values. You don't want to start with something that they value too much. You can work up to those. Try and pick two things of equal value. Say "take it" and give him the toy, but don't let go of it. Let him chew for second and then say "leave it or give" and offer him the other toy. You don't want to pull the toy from his mouth, but to offer it willingly in exchange for the other toy. You can also try exchanging the toy for treats. You can work up to doing it with a couple of pig ears, which some dogs really value. You never want to give them the pigs ears to eat, but they can be useful to play this game. It would be a good idea to have you dog on a leash, so that they can't grab the item and run off with it.

Good luck!