Your Questions About [get Your Dog To Eat]
Laura asks…
How do I stop a dog’s food aggression to other dogs?
I decided to take in a stray and he is a very sweet dog. I’ve taken to the vet to make sure he is healthy and what not. He is very playful and has not barked nor growled at my other 2 dogs. All 3 dogs are around the same age. The only issue I am having is the stray has food aggression and snaps, growls and sometimes chases the other two away if they get too close to him and his food. My dogs are not ‘eat in one sitting’ dogs, they tend to nibble throughout the day so I am not sure how using ‘feeding times’ would work with them. I am afraid if I try to do feedings time to help the stray with his aggression the other two will not eat as much as they should and begin to lose weight. What should I do?
I should also add that he is not aggressive at all towards me with his food. I actually took the bowl out from under his nose when he was being aggressive towards the other dogs and he just looked at me and didn’t growl nor try to snap at me.
admin answers:
This is a form of resource guarding; you can work with your dog to ease up but it will be difficult with other dogs in the home. You may have to resort to feeding times, and put the food up during the rest of the day so they all get used to eating on the same schedule. Check out article below for training tips.
Chris asks…
DS: A hypothetical scenario involving one of your dogs, and possession aggression. How would you resolve this?
If one of your dogs began exhibiting food aggression towards you, how would you handle the situation (assuming this is a behavioral, not medical, problem)? Would the temperament, size, or other characteristics of said dog influence your decision? The intensity of the growls/bites, etc? Feel free to play around with the different variables.
admin answers:
Handfeeding piece by piece of food…regardless of size/breed/temperment/growl/biting
No excuse for aggressive behaviours when eating.
Take the alpha role and “share” your food with your dog (ie: meaning the kibble belongs to YOU
Make the dog work for each piece. Sit – lay down – paw – wait – stay etc….YOU OWN FOOD, not dog!!
David asks…
One dog of my three (The alpha female), has food aggression toward the other dogs, what can be done?
All 3 of my female -dogs get along well for the most part, the Alpha-female as I call her (The oldest-senior dog of the pack- 3 yrs old), gets a long well with the dogs, and vice-versa up until supper time. Once the food is in her bowl, she eats hers as fast as she can, then charges over to the others and will run them off from their bowls. She will guard their bowls, and even if she doesn’t eat it, she will not allow them to eat, and if they persist, there will be a fight before it is over with. When I stay in the yard with her, I can keep her at bay, but if I am not there, she takes control of feeding time. What can I do to get her to change her attitude, and not be so aggressive with the other dogs food?
admin answers:
I’d feed this dog in her crate unless you want to put her in a sit/stay and then stand over her to enforce it.
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