Dog on Dog Food Aggression – How to train your dog over food anxiety?
Dog on Dog Food Aggression – How to train your dog over food anxiety?
by Tammie
(Orlando,Florida,USA)
We have a 8-month old male Miniature Yorkshire Terrier and a 2 year old female Lab Mix who is neutered.When we put the Lab’s food bowl up on the foot cushion of our living room whenever the Yorkie (Max) passes by the food our Lab (Roxie) starts growling uncontrollably and loudly.One morning when Max passed by Roxie jumped off the foot cushion and bit Max on the same leg where she always gets him to the point where he is limping. Do you have any suggestions that can help with Roxie’s food anxiety?
Hi and thanks for your question, what you are explaining to me is called dog food aggression and it is a very common problem. Dog food aggression normally starts when your dog is a puppy and can become more serious as your dog gets older. You need to start letting your dog know and understand that you are the pack leader and ‘Alpha Male’ and it is not acceptable under any circumstances for your dog to be aggressive with you or other dogs. Start by managing the problem – does your other dog have to fed near your other dog? Now start feeding your dog at the same time everyday – you need to establish a routine. Now start by asking your dog to sit before you put the food bowl down this will put you back in control. You can also start dropping small treats into the food when he is eating and every time that you pass the food bowl drop a couple of treats into the bowl. This will get him more used to you passing by – now you can also start introducing your other dog (on a leash), but only do this over a period of time when you think your dog is more relaxed – you need to socialize the two together but drop a treat every time you pass by. Reward your dog when he is quiet and well behaved. If he growls when you drop the treats – remove his food – ask him to sit and then put the food bowl back down. You can also use other techniques like only feeding your dog half a bowl of food and when he looks up for more – ask him to sit and then give him the rest.
Hope this helps.
