How to Stop Dog Food Aggression
By Sandra Scott
If your dog growls when you or your children approach his food bowl during mealtime, you need to be aware of a potentially serious problem. It is essential that dog food aggression be stopped quickly before you or your children are injured by the dog.
Dog food aggression is frequently related to other behavior problems so your dog’s daily routine should be examined. It is highly likely that your dog has other behavior problems that have not been fully addressed.
It is abnormal for a dog to be possessive over his food. Actually, most dogs are fully accepting of food being added to their bowl as they eat. Dog food aggression is probably linked to your dog’s inherent predisposition to hunt with the pack. Your dog’s forebears most likely had to fight for every food scrap.
There will probably be a noticable difference in the dog’s other behavior problems once his dog food aggression issues have been resolved.
Dogs can add so much to family life that every effort should be made to develop a good relationship with your four-legged friend. Several methods exist to solve dog food aggression. You may need to make numerous attempts before the correct solution for your pet is revealed. That said, all of your effort will be worthwhile. Here are some possible solutions for your dog food aggression problems:
- When you touch his food, your dog should associate this with a positive outcome. As an example, a small amount of food could be put into his food bowl but you could also have a readily available treat. You should approach him after he has been eating for a short time. When he growls, you should offer him the treat.He may choose to take it from you immediately or he may still guard his food bowl. With patience and persistence, he will finally eat the treat. While he is eating the treat, more food should be added to his bowl. These steps should be continued until there are no longer any signs of dog food aggression when his foog bowl is approached.
- One reason for dog food aggression is that your dog feels the need to protect his meal. This is embedded in his genes. Distributing your dog’s food between a few bowls and placing them in front of him may help to solve this. When he begins to eat out of one of the bowls, you should approach him and pick up one of the other bowls. Put a delicious treat in his food bowl and place it before him.After a few minutes, this process should be repeated with the other bowls. When your dog begins to realize that good things happen when you approach his food bowl, the dog food aggression should end.
It is important for all members of your family to be involved in the training process. This will form a closer bond between your family and your dog. It is important to note that a dog should never be separated from his food!
If your dog is showing signs of dog food aggression (or any other aggressive behavior), I strongly recommend that you check out Dog Food Aggression.
Training Dogs – Information is a free resource for dog owners offering useful tips on dog training and dog behavior problems.
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