lovelight Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 My 5.5 month old male stafford is okay with me taking away raw hide bones - however if I try to get near him with a raw bone he will growl. I have just been reading some other posts that suggest you should be able to take bones away from your dog. Can anyone offer some advice how I should teach my puppy to let me do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Start doing Triangle of Temptation (TOT) with your dog: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101 Read it several times and follow instructions to the letter. Easiest to print it out. Great program I would be unhappy if either of my dogs growled at me over food. I'm no dog behaviour expert, but far as I know a growl under those circumstances is a warning before a bite . Your dog obviously treasures the raw bone more than the rawhide one and see itself as entitled to it. Check that you're being a good leader. Leadership doesn't mean being harsh or authoritarian. Your dog will be happier. Dogs that rule the roost can be quite neurotic and stressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelight Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Thanks Poodle wrangler - I will checkout TOT. How do I know if I am being a good leader? Start doing Triangle of Temptation (TOT) with your dog: http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101Read it several times and follow instructions to the letter. Easiest to print it out. Great program I would be unhappy if either of my dogs growled at me over food. I'm no dog behaviour expert, but far as I know a growl under those circumstances is a warning before a bite . Your dog obviously treasures the raw bone more than the rawhide one and see itself as entitled to it. Check that you're being a good leader. Leadership doesn't mean being harsh or authoritarian. Your dog will be happier. Dogs that rule the roost can be quite neurotic and stressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamuzz Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Have you owned your dog since he was a puppy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 My 5.5 month old male stafford is okay with me taking away raw hide bones - however if I try to get near him with a raw bone he will growl. I have just been reading some other posts that suggest you should be able to take bones away from your dog. Can anyone offer some advice how I should teach my puppy to let me do this? The way I overcame this problem with my pups was to approach them with an ever better, fresher bone as a trade up....an item of higher value than they already have. If your dog sees a pigs ear as higher value than the bone then offer that and vice versa. I use the command 'out' and offer the new item as a reward for giving up the one they have and praise highly for obeying the command. I still never take anything from a dog without trading up. Though now that they are adults they will 'out' whatever they have in their mouths. I still reward them for obeying the command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovelight Posted February 24, 2008 Author Share Posted February 24, 2008 Yes we have had him from 8 weeks old - he has been to puppy school and is at obedience atm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 24, 2008 Share Posted February 24, 2008 Hi..by doing the TOT and by getting him to wait for food..you tell him that YOU are the leader ..YOU provide the food, and have control Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 I grabbed chicken necks/wings and chopped them into bits (wings into 3rds and necks into half) then call the dog and make it sit quietly in front of you. Offer the food and if it jumps towards it pull your hand away and repeat the sit. Slowly move the food foreward but if the dog gets more excited pull the food back towards you. When the dog is calm say 'eat' or a command you have to eat and the dog should take the food gently and eat it there in front of you. You are controlling the food and decreasing the anxiety the dog has over raw food. You are in close proximity to the dog (hence being in its personal space) with the raw food and only providing it when the dog is calm. You can pat the dogs head while its chewing, if it growls whilst eating that small piece I get up growl at the dog and remove it from your proximity (put it outside etc) so the dog will learn that it has no need to fight you for food but it will receive no more because its behaviour is unacceptable. Progress to larger items (whole necks and wings) when the dog is happy to be touched with tiny bits. Although some people want to be able to put their hand in their dogs mouthes (and I can with all my lot in case they have stolen a bone from the other dog I take it back) slowly and a little at a time you will progress. You can even get a bigger bone (like whole wing) and let the dog chew it while you hold it. If it gets crabby pull it back and no attention or food for at least an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyB Posted February 25, 2008 Share Posted February 25, 2008 Gypsy had some food aggression when she was about the same age as your boy. The way I stopped it was by hand feeding her and holding her bowl on alternative days and putting my hands in the bowl and moving the food around, if she gowled or snapped her food was taken away. When I give her bones or pig ears I let her chew for about 5 mins and then I go and take whatever she has, hold it for a bit and then give it back to her - but I make sure she sits before she gets anything and she can only take it when I say yes. When I take things away I say "Ta". Now when she has a bone I can call her over with it, say Ta and she will happily let me have it because she trust that she will get it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centitout Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 My 5.5 month old male stafford is okay with me taking away raw hide bones - however if I try to get near him with a raw bone he will growl. I have just been reading some other posts that suggest you should be able to take bones away from your dog. Can anyone offer some advice how I should teach my puppy to let me do this? The way I overcame this problem with my pups was to approach them with an ever better, fresher bone as a trade up....an item of higher value than they already have. If your dog sees a pigs ear as higher value than the bone then offer that and vice versa. I use the command 'out' and offer the new item as a reward for giving up the one they have and praise highly for obeying the command. I still never take anything from a dog without trading up. Though now that they are adults they will 'out' whatever they have in their mouths. I still reward them for obeying the command. i do the same as cavnrott,although i really wish people would realise that there should be no need to take a dogs food away.on bone days i seperate all my dogs,they are given their bones and left to enjoy them in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 wish people would realise that there should be no need to take a dogs food away Hmm.. here , as the 'house dogs' freerange in a yard about an acre in size..and occasionally nip out into the OUTSIDE world :D... there are many times where I remove from their mouths contraband of some sort... a stinky sheep's hoof, eggs, dead birds... all sorts. Most of the dogs are fine with that..and to me, that is a good thing! I would hate to have a dog who wouldn't either release anything it had in its mouth..or resent me putting my hand in to take something out I always start by "swapping"/trading...then do without the trade ....... and just say 'YUK"..usually works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tess32 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 My 5.5 month old male stafford is okay with me taking away raw hide bones - however if I try to get near him with a raw bone he will growl. I have just been reading some other posts that suggest you should be able to take bones away from your dog. Can anyone offer some advice how I should teach my puppy to let me do this? The way I overcame this problem with my pups was to approach them with an ever better, fresher bone as a trade up....an item of higher value than they already have. If your dog sees a pigs ear as higher value than the bone then offer that and vice versa. I use the command 'out' and offer the new item as a reward for giving up the one they have and praise highly for obeying the command. I still never take anything from a dog without trading up. Though now that they are adults they will 'out' whatever they have in their mouths. I still reward them for obeying the command. i do the same as cavnrott,although i really wish people would realise that there should be no need to take a dogs food away.on bone days i seperate all my dogs,they are given their bones and left to enjoy them in peace. There sometimes is. If a bone gets too small and looks dangerous, I take it away. I need them to know I CAN take it away, or any other bone or potentially dangerous object they happen to find. Some dogs are easier than others. If I go outside while my pup is eating, he GIVE the bone to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fit for a King Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 IMO you HAVE to be able to remove something from a dog - what if you are walking and they pick up a bait? Or a cane toad or something else that could potentially harm them? And reality is that you may not have something at hand to trade up - by the time you do get something it may be too late and they have ingested whatever it is..... From an early age (8 weeks) I start taking food and/or objects from my dogs - be that removing the bowl with the food in it or removing food/object from their mouths if they don;t "give" when asked. If I have treats with me they get the treats and often the food returned. If not they get verbal praise for their efforts. I would rather that than a trip to the vet and a stomach pump..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavNrott Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Once my dogs have been trained to 'out' whatever they have in their mouths they will spit out whatever they have. I don't need to put my hand in their mouths to remove whatever it is. They spit it out voluntarily. I teach them 'out' by trading because I've found puppies will cooperate much more readily with a trade and it doesn't involve a struggle of trying to prise something out of their mouths that they don't want to give up. I always carry treats in my pocket so I usually do have something to trade with but they will 'out' on command, treat or no treat once they know the command. I've never removed their food bowls from them and we have no resource guarding. The Rottweilers eat side by side without incident and don't steal eachothers food. They know their food will not be taken from them so they don't need to worry about it. The small dogs are fed in their crates. They run into the crates when they see me preparing their food. The crate doors are left open. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fit for a King Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 And that's fine CNR - we each do things differently. Having had someone try to poison my GSD's at a show many years back I want to be absolutely certain that I can take anything from my dogs when I need to and in a split second - be that food, toy or even the water bowl.....and I can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyB Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I need Gypsy to be fine having things taken away from her because I have a few friend with young children (todlers), and while I do make sure they are supervised at all times, if the kids were to grab something Gyps has in her mouth I don't want her snapping at them. not to mention all the yucky things dogs seem to be able to find around the place... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poodle wrangler Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 How do I know if I am being a good leader? THat's one for the experts, but some very basic training is a good place to start. TOT sends all the right signals of leadership to your dog e.g. the food comes from you and they earn it. If you're a good leader, your dog looks to you and "listens" (this is training, also). Good leaders are CONSISTENT e.g. Don't let your dog jump up one day, then not the next. It confuses the poor dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coco22 Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My 5.5 month old male stafford is okay with me taking away raw hide bones - however if I try to get near him with a raw bone he will growl. I have just been reading some other posts that suggest you should be able to take bones away from your dog. Can anyone offer some advice how I should teach my puppy to let me do this? I had the same problem with Obi. He would growl at me when I go near him while he's having a bone. The trainer at the puppy school told me to let him have his bone in peace and that we humans wouldn't like others to disturb us while we're eating too. Anyway, I didn't like Obi growling at me so every now and then i'd try taking his bone away. If he growls at me, I growl back at him and he often goes into a 'drop' position and look at me when I growl back at him. When he calms down, I'd give the bone back to him. These days, he has stopped growling at me when i take his bone away. I'm not sure if that's the right way to do it, but it solved my problem :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now