Stop Dog Food Aggression

There are a number of reasons that dogs may become aggressive, and a dog that becomes aggressive over his food bowl is displaying a variety of territorial aggression. Use these tips to stop dog food aggression.

Is your dog fine with the other dogs or people until he gets his food-only to turn into a real, well,” butthole”, once the food bowl comes out?  If so, you should stop your dog’s food aggression problem, as it could easily escalate into a more advanced form of aggression (such as dog on dog aggression, or even aggressions towards people) and lead to another dog or someone in your family getting nipped.

Learn the best ways how to stop dog food aggression problems and how to solve any of your dog’s behavior problems at Secrets to Dog Training.

If your dog is showing the normal signs of dog food aggression problems he will guard his food very vigorously-using his body language to block his area from any other dog or person, and often emitting a low growl as he positions his head right over the bowl. He is so busy protecting the food, he can’t enjoy just eating his meal. This problem is usually simple enough to fix and you can quickly stop your dog’s food aggression and make sure it doesn’t lead on to other worse forms of dog aggression.

If your dog is displaying his dog food aggression towards other dogs, he is showing that he feels the need to protect his food bowl and the area where he is fed, from any other dog. Because of his dog food aggression problem, he gets so upset that he will stop eating his food and begin displaying his aggression through growling, snarling, showing off his teeth, and if agitated enough, he may even lunge and bite the other dog. Sometimes one dog will not let the other dog eat its own food.  He will actually leave his own unfinished meal to harass the other dog in an effort to control all the food.

Here’s what you need to do to stop your dog’s food aggression problems.  Make sure to feed the dogs in completely separate areas, so that the need the aggressive dog feels to safeguard his bowl is eliminated. The further away the dogs are fed from each other, the better. If you can, try to feed them out of sight of each other. Do not let the aggressive dog leave his area to bother the other dog, and vice versa. If the aggressive dog finishes first make sure he doesn’t run over to try to steal the other dog’s food.  I’ve seen dogs wolf down their meal so they can grab some more from another bowl. Make sure he eats his meal without distractions. If he doesn’t eat all his meal, you should remove the bowl. Leaving the bowl out is going to create a source of contention. You don’t want that. Do not leave the other dog’s uneaten food out either. This way you teach them to finish up, and not goof around at mealtime. As a general rule, it is a good policy for your dogs to learn to eat their entire meals at the designated meal times.

It is not all that unusual for a dog to become aggressive over food towards its master or other members of the family. This behavior is something you shouldn’t  ignore,  because it could lead to someone getting bit.  Don’t let your dog get away with any signs of aggression towards your family, because one type of aggression may inspire your dog to act out in other unwanted ways. You must solve this problem by showing your dog that you are the alpha leader, not him. Making sure your dog knows that you are the boss is the key to all your training efforts. Without this one fundamental understanding, you will not have good results with your dog’s behavior problems.

Stop your dog’s food aggression towards people by teaching him the simple important fact that you are in complete control of whether he actually gets to enjoy his meal or not. If your dog makes any signs of food aggression the next time you feed him, you must immediately remove his food bowl and put it away. If you think he may actually snap at you when you remove the bowl, you should first grab his collar so you can control him. Hopefully you haven’t let it get that bad yet. Make him wait 5 minutes or so, and then give him another try. If he repeats his aggressiveness, take away his bowl and put it somewhere he can’t get at it. He is done for now. No dinner for a bad boy.

At his next meal time, see what happens. If he is still aggressive around the bowl, you know what to do. Be sure not to let him get away with this dog food aggression. You are the boss, and if he doesn’t get to eat it is his fault, not yours. You are giving him a chance to eat, but he must have manners, too. If he behaves himself he gets his dinner, if not-no chow.Don’t worry if he misses a meal or two. Because he loves to eat, he should be smart enough to soon  make the connection-even if  just for self preservation. Being the boss, the Alpha dog is important in all your training efforts. If you want success with training your dog at home and having him listen to you wherever you go, you must earn his respect, confidence and trust. Otherwise, he just won’t consistently listen to you and follow your commands.

By the way, if your dog aggressively snaps treats-such as a milk bone-from your fingers when you offer it too him, you will want to stop letting him do that. A dog that snaps at treats, could easily snap something out of a child’s hand and end up biting them accidentally. Instead, put the treat in the palm up your hand and offer it to him that way.  In this position he learns to get at the offering without snapping his teeth at some fingertips.

For the best results with obedience training your dog, be sure to follow the advice of an expert by getting yourself a copy of a great dog training book, or dog training video program. This will not only teach you the step by step techniques you should follow, but also will help you avoid making any dog training mistakes that hinder your ability to get the well behaved pet you have always wanted. Click here to read my complete review of the best on line dog training program: Secrets to Dog Training Review.

For learning the most thorough information on correcting dog aggression and other types of behavior problems, you should get the best on line dog training program Secrets to Dog Training.