Food aggression in dogs

Helping your dog overcome food aggression

Like humans, dogs differ in  what they consider valuable. Some dogs only guard chew bones or toys, others guard stolen items and many dogs guard food. Likewise, some dogs only guard their treasures from certain people while other dogs don't want anyone near their valuables. The simple process below is designed to help relieve the anxiety that is often the cause of food guarding.

For your safety:
> Do NOT attempt the suggestion below with children.
> Do NOT punish or intimidate your dog when food guarding.
> Do NOT try to pet food aggressive dog while eating.

To relieve your dog's anxiety, try this:

1. While your dog is eating, walk up to the bowl and throw in small pieces of bacon or another treat. Keep doing this at meal times so that the dog will start to get excited when you come to the bowl. Depending on your dog's level of anxiety, this may take some time.
2. When your dog is comfortable having you at the bowl, take the bowl away and show him that you are adding treats to the bowl. This system can help dogs to realize that when you take the bowl away it comes back even better.

The simple process above may not be appropriate in all cases. Many food aggressive dogs are motivated by fear and anxiety. Therefore, helping your dog may require the assistance of a behaviorist or qualified trainer. Examples of cases that should seek assistance are:

• Families with very aggressive resource guarders and children in the home
• Pet owners who feel that their dog may bite them during the training process
• If the training stresses the dog to stop eating, but he still guards his bowl

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