Big Paws Only Dog Forums
BPO Training Forum => Behavior, Housebreaking, Obedience => : MRSL January 04, 2007, 12:35:45 PM
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Hi I need advise with a wee prob thats only just started. My 5 month male mal/husky has started to growl and snap when his bowl is lifted. Now we have always made a point of making him wait till we eat(out of a similar bowl)first then he can take his food. Then during his feed we lift his bowl as we've been told to do this. But only in the last week or so he's started to growl and even a wee snap. Can anyone help ?
Cheers Annie
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When you give it back to him put a little something extra in the bowl, like a treat he really likes or meat...that way he will see it as a good thing when you take his food away. Always give it right back too.
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you might want to try putting one piece of food in his bowl at a time, that way he learns the food comes from YOUR hand, and unless he respects you he won't get it, or at least he'll think! first sign of being hateful, walk away, and come back later and try again. don't forget praise!
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With both of my mals, I make them sit before they eat. Nala was food aggressive and I nipped that very quick by feeding her out of my hand. I can actually do anything to them while they are eating, even when they get a special treat, like cooked duck without a problem. I always put my face near theirs, grab ears, plumes, legs, and even put my hand in the bowl with no problem. They must learn that all food comes from you, the alpha.
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I can actually do anything to them while they are eating, even when they get a special treat, like cooked duck without a problem. I always put my face near theirs, grab ears, plumes, legs, and even put my hand in the bowl with no problem.
i had to laugh at this, because i dared brandon to get next to axle and growl at him to see what he does (everyone knows axle doesn't like brandon) and axle almost took brandon's ear off. he got close enough to nip his ear, and brandon swears he was trying to take his face off. i thought it was funny, because axle would NEVER do this to anyone BUT brandon, so now brandon just ignores him when he eats ha ha. that happened when axle was just under 1 year, and brandon still hasn't forgiven him ha ha. i forgot to put in that we hold the bowl when our dogs eat so that we can make sure they understand we are alpha, and also to monitor their eating.
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Hi all ... I just wanted to say thanks for the advise. I gave holding the bowl a go today = no growls ;D. But I will also give the feeding from the hand a go too as this sounds a like a good idea good idea ;). let you all know how it goes ok
cheers Annie
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a quick update ... We have been feeding Chinook from our hands and and clapping him (head body ect...) not a prob, but as soon as you lift your hand from his bowl... its his! then you get a growl. So Ive been making him sit in between mouthfulls till he's halfway, then I take his bowl away and replace it with a reward and lots of praise. I keep doing this till his meal is finished. But now he's started to hoover up food/rubbish from outside and its a huge struggle to get it off him. He will eat anything then sick it up in his crate later and gets aggresive and tries to protect his sick ... :o YUCK! ??? ??? Im worried that he might end up with a blockage. He's so food aggresive when we go for a walk he will eat anything and I mean anything!. Am I not feeding him enough or the rite kinda food ??? he gets 3 meals per day. 2 with kibble 1 with cooked chicken and rice.
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If that were my dog I'd walk him muzzled till he could be trusted to do the Leave It command. Blockages are scary.
If you passed someone who had food, would your dog pounce? My second dog (120 GSD mix) never got to the point where he could be 100% trusted not to try to take food anywhere he found it.
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He would jump up ... but when he's told "off" he'd do it no prob's, but he will still sit, stare and lick his lips. :-[ Im not sure about the muzzle. I dont want to give out the wrong impression. We are given a wide swerve at the moment as most folk round our area(Scotland Edinburgh) dont know about malsky's and think they are a really dangerous breed.Plus he's only 5 months so stil a (big) baby and I dont want to scare him.
Malsky's by nature pull and jump up at meeting folk even if they dont have food so thats a hard one.
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I would not recommend taking the bowl from him only feeding directly out of your hand at this time (with the bowl away from him). Also you can deter the pulling, both of my girls walk directly beside me at all times, unless....we are hiking then they know they are allowed to be in pulling order, but the first time they pull they are my best friends all over again. Brandon trained them using Cesar's walking technique and it is wonderful. Nala will eat anything off the ground and sometimes, I am holding the leash at the collar so tight my arm hurts. I typically only walk her, but have walked both of them together when he is not home. He walks both of them and runs them a lot.
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[Brandon trained them using Cesar's walking technique /quote] Ive never heard of this .. can you let me know what this is ?
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honestly, i wouldn't recommend this either. it gives the total wrong impression, and if you tried to explain why you do it, most people won't believe you. also, i know with axle the second you put a muzzle on him he flips and THEN he starts acting very aggressive/agitated which causes a whole other problem. with him acting that way over trash, it very might well be he's hungry, but with his meal being interrupted he might think it's going to "go away" eventually, so he's spazzing out about that, and trying to "prepare." just a thought. with the walking, and eating trash. have you tried putting his collar further up on his neck? if you put it right behind his ears and keep the leash without slack, you have complete control over his head, and he won't be able to put it down to take up food. this would also keep him by your side. not sure if it would help with pulling though. the GL will help with the pulling and the control over his head though, just be careful b/c a wrong fit can lead to him wiggling out of it. i agree with luvmymal on taking the bowl away, this could cause you to get bit and if he's acting like this i don't see how it could help. if he wasn't acting protective i could see, but not agressive. like i said, we hold our bowls, and even diesel who was very resource protective, has given in to us, and trusts us now. we took the time to build that trust up, with taking the bowl away you break that trust right away, so giving him the treat IMHO makes no lead way. just my opinion, i know everyone is entitled to their own.
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I dont use his collar when walking I use a padded harness and a bungi lead.I swap the lead over when we get to the hills and have him on a long line for the "come" command.
He will only pull a little when he see someone and wants to say hello. Mind you I think he'd be off if he saw a bird or a squirrel. I use his collar in the house with a training lead and im not really worried about his pulling as its not bad for a 5 month pup and he will walk to heel (almost ;D) At first I thought he was hungry but he's walked after his meals. So im lost :-\ yet we have no probs with his chew toys or bones, he brings them to you for a play. He will sit and stay for his food till you tell him "take it" I tried the rattle bottle and he thought it was something else for eating. ::) lol
I guess the only way is not to let go of the bowl ;D mind you its a good way of making sure he's not scoffing it down so fast . He always had hiccups after his meals and thats stopped now ;)
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glad things are working out! how well does the bungee cord leash work? do you know if you will still be able to use it (with confidence) when he's an adult?? just curious, as i've never seen one! any info would be great to learn!
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He will definitely get a lot stronger. Cesar's techinique is from the dog whisperer. We actually watch it a lot and his techniques have helped with the two I have. Nala is actually getting a collar that is higher up on her neck, due to the one we have slipping. For leashes, we use Kelti leashes and only harness for hiking. This is just my opinion, but it seems to help a little because they know when harness is on they can pull (which we are teaching pulling now) when collar is on we must heal. I will admit at times it is very hard when a squirrell, cat, or rabbit runs by to contain both of them, I have actually had to grab a pole before when a duck was nearby. Tonka is wonderful and pretty much heals all the time, Nala on the other hand, will heal until we pass the ducks or when we are jogging. It is a bit hard for me to hold her directly beside me while jogging because she is use to running with Tonka.
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http://www.dog-games.co.uk/newshop/product/Bungee+Pupee+STRETCHING+Dog+Lead.htm
Hi hope this helps answer your questions about bungee leads.
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I don't have a food aggression problem because I have food down 24 hours a day- no one gets fat- they self regulate their intake and there is no ravenous hunger at meal time. If you are feeding 3 times a day it must be small amounts- what is wrong with allowing him to eat in peace? One of the main driving forces behind food aggression is that the dog believes he is going to lose his food- by picking the bowl up he has indeed lost his food. I would work on him not being so absolutely ravenous at mealtime first- some nice big meaty bones between meals might help here and then I would start by NOT picking up his bowl but by adding goodies to his bowl while he is eating so he begins to associate you near his bowl with good things not as a threat.
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From an internationall y known trainer
My question is about food and how to avoid food aggression. I am getting a new dog, an English Springer Spaniel, this coming Summer, and I am wondering how to make him comfortable with me near him when he eats and when I need to take his food from him. I have a Cocker Spaniel who is already food aggressive – that is, he snaps at me if I try to remove his food bowl, and he growls when I sit down beside him without doing anything. I’ve tried a range of methods – from harsher to softer. Now I have pretty much decided to accept that he is the way he is, but I want to avoid that my new puppy becomes like my Cocker.
ANSWER:
Food is important for any animal who wants to survive. Growling only means “Stay away”, especially if the dog expect that someone wants to take away his food. I feel that the way I have always done it is the safest way to avoid guarding of food, and that is to allow the puppy to become completely confident that you are not going to steal its food. Leave it alone while eating. Put the bowl down on the floor and walk away. From time to time, you walk casually by him and drop an extra snack into its bowl, but without bending over or remain standing beside the dog. Simply drop the treat into the bowl while walking by. When your new dog arrives, feed them in separate rooms since the older one is already guarding his food.
You can use the same technique with your present dog too, as a way to teach him that there is no need to growl over his food. Let him eat in peace while you’re in another room, then after some time you can pass him from a distance (like by the entrance to the room where he’s fed) at the same time as you throw an extra treat over to him. Sitting down near him has been too threatening, and the dog’s growling is a clear signal of what he feels.
I’ve always let my dogs be eat in peace during meals. That’s why they don’t get defensive the time when someone is getting too close or when I for some reason have to take their food away. I can put my entire hand into their mouths if necessary, or ask them to drop on command. It’s very important for dogs to feel this secure when it comes to food. Try my suggestions on both your dogs, and I am absolutely sure that it will work. The way you do things now, they will never get accustomed to your taking the food away, instead they will learn to defend the food by stronger and stronger means. Quite naturally, really, as you are proving them right each time you take their food away.
Turid Rugaas
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Lady did that ONCE! she was testing her boundaries and we were told from the very beginning to be DOMINATE with her since she is a rott. so she started growling and protecting her bowl. ONCE! she got the domination treatment and never did it again.
still to this day if either start acting dominate toward people ... they get rolled onto their backs and growled at and stared down, etc.
She's never done it again. they both learned that what's in the bowl is MINE and i've given it to them and can take it back whenever i want. Dog Whisperer trick from TV.
just be as assertive as you can when bad habits start and you should turn out a well behaved, respectful pup. respectful is terribly important.