Golden Retriever Puppy Showing Food Dominance

[vrox]

Yesterday I fed my 12 week old golden retriever puppy a chicken neck for the first time. She began to munch on it with much enthusiasm, but when I went to take the chicken neck to move it to a much better position (as it had moved from her rug and onto our carpet), she began to growl at me quite viciously. I was quite taken aback as I had never seen this behaviour in her before. Previously, when I've fed her her meals, I've tried as much as possible to put my hands in her food to show her that I mean no threat by touching it, and that I am her pack leader. When I've done this, she's been fine with my presence and showed no aggression whatsoever.

But since yesterday's episode, she has growled at me a second time this morning when I fed her breakfast. I yelled at her sternly, and removed her food bowl (with her trying to scoff it all down as I was doing so) for a few minutes, then replaced it. Now I'm scared of putting my hands anywhere near her food, in fear that she'd bite me! Apart from growling when I'm near her food, I've never seen any other signs of aggression (although she does growl during play time), and she is a rather pleasant little puppy. I thought golden retrievers are meant to have a pleasant and amiable temperement!

Please help- what does this behaviour mean and what can I do to prevent this behaviour?

[WalandLibby]

This is pretty common behaviour in pups, and usually it responds quite well to training.

However, in Goldens, despite them being as you say usually really nice dogs, there is actually a fairly high frequency of food guarding that does not correlate well with general behaviour - the nicest dogs can sometimes display really strong food guarding behaviour. So I'd suggest that you talk to a pro about this asap. There are certainly things that you could do that might improve the situation, but if your pup is one that has the genetic 'blip' that presumably causes this behaviour in this breed, then your attempts to resolve it may actually make it worse.

However, in the short-term, until you can seek further help with the problem, I think it's best to leave the pup alone when she's eating. You don't want to confirm her belief that having you around while she eats means that she is likely to lose her food or be bothered while she's eating. It is possible that your attempts to prevent food guarding have actually contributed to this behaviour.

Edited July 15, 2008 by WalandLibby

[luvsdogs]

http://www.dogstardaily.com/search/node/guarding+food

You'll find what you'll need to do from these articles. Particularly Guarding valued objects & Why a growl is good.

Edited July 16, 2008 by luvsdogs

[missmoo]

vrox,

any resource or food guarding/growling at us is unnacceptable. Try this: when you feed your pup, have what you are going to feed her in your hand or bowl, put the pups food bowl on the ground with your pup. A little at a time place a small amount of food in her bowl. When she has finished and she is calm, give her a some more. Keep repeating until all her food is gone. Repeat this at every meal time for at least a week and you should see an improvment. Your pup will get the idea that you are where the food comes from. Occasionally feed your pup by hand from her bowl also.

Things like bones, chicken necks, raw meats etc are high value foods to dogs and as such some breeds will guard them fiercely. This problem can be overcome with time and perserverance. The important thing to remember is not to give in to her growling as this will only reinforce her behaviour and make it worse.

When you are confident and her behaviour has improved, give her a small item of food (dog biscuit, liver treat etc) and then take it back, then give it back to her. By taking the food away and giving it back to her you are teaching her that just because you remove her food does not mean you won't give it back.

If this method does not work there are others you can try. But as previously mentioned you can make the situation worse if you are unsure of what you are doing.

Edited July 16, 2008 by missmoo

[Paws4Thought]

I completely agree with what has already been said, particularly by missmoo.

This is a common response from pups so never fear.

I had a golden with the same kind of behaviour, and two weeks of perserverence got the message across. I found mine quite accepting of training of all kinds, so don't give up. As suggested previously, just be aware of certain things you might to do exacerbate the problem. Ideally it's about nipping it in the bud, not making it worse. Positive association seemed to work best for me (and a growl back to tell my boy it wasn't acceptable).

Mind you, I can't talk - I may have had success with my GR from a previous 'life' of mine, but not so much with one of my two RR X's!

Good luck.

[Jimmay]

The last thing you want to do is get angry at her or take the food away when she growls because that will just fuel the fire and give her more reason to growl and may even escalate to snap. Its a good idea not to view it as anything to do with dominance because ive seen with my own dogs the lowest in the pack will growl and the higher up dogs when she has food and visa versa so dont look at it like she isnt respecting you authority its 'each dog to their own' when it comes to food.

When she's eating approach her with a yummy treat (still giving enough distance between you and the dog) and throw it into her bowl then take a step back. Each time repeating and gradualy coming closer and closer evetually she'll get the idea that you approaching her whilst she's eating actually means more food/tastier food.

(oh just to add dont throw the food in when she's growling at you, wait for her to stop then throw it in)

Hope this helps.

[Dogsfevr]

Dogs here eat in peace.They are given respect that there food is in there bowl & they are given "there time " to eat.

Never have we done the food in the bowl stuff & find those who do end up with big problems.

In 24 years & having all shapes plus boarding kennel dogs not one has ever tried to growl,snap or bite.Dogs are very trusting but owners must also give there dogs the same respect.

[missmoo]

Dogs here eat in peace.They are given respect that there food is in there bowl & they are given "there time " to eat.

Never have we done the food in the bowl stuff & find those who do end up with big problems.

In 24 years & having all shapes plus boarding kennel dogs not one has ever tried to growl,snap or bite.Dogs are very trusting but owners must also give there dogs the same respect.

the food in the bowl stuff does work and if done properly will not make the problem worse. dogs need to learn that regardless of what they are eating their owners are allowed to take the food away and showing any signs of growling/aggression is unnacceptable. dogs live in our world not the other way round and thus are to live by our rules. by allowing a dog to have complete control over their food is asking for problems down track when the pup becomes an adult & is capable of inflicting serious damage.

the bigger picture needs to be looked at here; what happens when the dogs owner has no choice but to remove food from the dog for unexpected reasons, if the dog has been allowed to exhibit growling/aggression or instead has never been approached while eating as a puppy the behaviour will most certainly escalate as an adult dog and is much harder and takes a lot longer to rectify.

[Rusky]

I've tried as much as possible to put my hands in her food to show her that I mean no threat by touching it, and that I am her pack leader. When I've done this, she's been fine with my presence and showed no aggression whatsoever.

I would get very annoyed with you too if you kept putting your hands on my dinner when I was eating, she has been tolerant so far.

Get her dinner ready now and just hand feed her so she feels no threat of you taking her food away. No bowl in sight. Mix that with making her wait and giving you eye contact before releasing her to her bowl. As you feed her by hand say nothing and don't hold back the food, use half then put the rest in her bowl and give her peace to eat after the wait and release.

She thinks you will take her food because you have demonstrated you will, the problem will escalate if you continue the way you have.

Dogs here eat in peace.They are given respect that there food is in there bowl & they are given "there time " to eat.

Never have we done the food in the bowl stuff & find those who do end up with big problems.

In 24 years & having all shapes plus boarding kennel dogs not one has ever tried to growl,snap or bite.Dogs are very trusting but owners must also give there dogs the same respect.

no kennels here but in 40 years of living with dogs and fostering none have growled or snapped at me or anyone else. Dogs need to eat in peace. Dogs need to trust you.

[persephone]

You may also find this a useful tool

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showtopic=64101

Also - practice "give & take" you have her sit in front of you- give her a toy -- then immediately tell her to 'give' , and gently take it from her. Lots of praise, or a food treat when you have posession of the toy.!Immediately get her to sit again (if she has moved, and GIVE IT BACK. Do this a couple of times, then let her have it .

[Jigsaw]

Bones are high value food. Dogs that won't growl at you for moving a food bowl may growl with bones. The only thing I would do with a food bowl is put more food in it. If you start to move food bowls away the dog will start to anticipate and become more guarded over their food. With bones one thing you can do is have two chicken necks, you can have one in each hand and let the dog chew on one for a while while you hold it and then offer the one in the other hand so dog learns that when you take something away it gets something back. It's very messy but sometimes it can help those dogs that are more possessive.

[Dogsfevr]

"by allowing a dog to have complete control over their food is asking for problems down track when the pup becomes an adult & is capable of inflicting serious damage."

Disagree .Our dogs dont have complete control they have the total respect

[vrox]

Dogs here eat in peace.They are given respect that there food is in there bowl & they are given "there time " to eat.

Never have we done the food in the bowl stuff & find those who do end up with big problems.

In 24 years & having all shapes plus boarding kennel dogs not one has ever tried to growl,snap or bite.Dogs are very trusting but owners must also give there dogs the same respect.

the food in the bowl stuff does work and if done properly will not make the problem worse. dogs need to learn that regardless of what they are eating their owners are allowed to take the food away and showing any signs of growling/aggression is unnacceptable. dogs live in our world not the other way round and thus are to live by our rules. by allowing a dog to have complete control over their food is asking for problems down track when the pup becomes an adult & is capable of inflicting serious damage.

the bigger picture needs to be looked at here; what happens when the dogs owner has no choice but to remove food from the dog for unexpected reasons, if the dog has been allowed to exhibit growling/aggression or instead has never been approached while eating as a puppy the behaviour will most certainly escalate as an adult dog and is much harder and takes a lot longer to rectify.

Thanks for all the advice...but they're quite conflicting that I'm probably now more unsure as what to do than before! Feeding her small portions at a time sounds like a good idea missmoo, and I agree with you about the importance of letting my pup know that I'm in charge of her food, but I think I should take settrlvr's advice on board and give her a bit of space to eat her food...maybe me poking my fingers in her food is exacerbating her fear that I'll take away her food? But then again, as was said, there may be times when I need to put my hand in there to remove eg dangerous objects and I need her to be used to me handling her food while she's eating. Oh gosh, I'll try all the different methods offered and let you know how it's coming along. It's a little more assuring to know that this is a common pup problem- thanks guys.

[Dogsfevr]

The thing you need to understand is playing with her food isnt teaching her what you want.

You need to teach her to respect your commands when eating.If she ever ate something she shouldnt & dog that is fearful of food being taken away will gulp quickly .

What you are wanting is a dog that is relaxed & content with you being around & that if you need to step in there is no need for panic.

I feed 11 dogs together in one area,All know there place & all mind there own business.If something gets stuck we dont piss fart about ,dogs know this.

If you want to train your dog then use your obedience commands for eating.Must sit before eating,whilst eating you can offer her a higher value treat where the dog must sit & focus on that treat & reward & then allow dog to eat.It doesnt involve touching the bowl or intimidating its space.

Many people make the mistake when talking an item from a dog of not acknowledging there presence,When dogs are chewing bones,chews etc they go into another zone.many people just go in & grab,scare the dog ,dogs reacts person frieghtened .

If we need to remove anything here the dogs attention is made & then we remove & praise.If the treat is to be re-given in the desired area it is made fun ,it is made into a training reward game.

Food possession can be man made & this is where people need to understand what there training for & basically if there was a problem in the first place.

As i say many people over do the food touchy/feely stuff & the dogs dont get the concept so they end with a dog that is frustrated to the point of reaction.

Does the dog respect you in other areas??

Does the dog listen & follow your commands well ??

[missmoo]

Vrox,

you need to find a method that works best for your dog. if you are in any doubt about what to do consult a behaviourist who will work with you in the home. this way you can feel comfortable and know someone will come calling when you need the help.

yes it is important to give dogs their space when eating but your pup still needs to have a very clear understanding that growling at you because you come near her when she is eating is not acceptable behaviour.

it sounds like you are a little hesitant to try on your own because of your previous experiences with your pup, i don't blame you it can be a scary thing if you don't know what to do. however you need to get a handle on the problem asap before your pup gets any bigger and can inflict serious injury.

good luck

[laffi]

I would say you can do two things:

- try to intimidate the dog by growling at him, or telling her off, taking her food (etc)

the dog will probably stop growling

however it will also feel more uncomfortable having you around when she is with her bone

so basically what you achieved is a dog that doesn't growl, knows that he can't trust you near her food and will not give you any warning before biting if he really feels threatened

or

you can condition your dog to trust you, to know that it's OK when you are around her food and that good things can happen (like getting treats for temporarily giving you the bone) this way the dog trusts you, is more confident and doesn't feel a need to protect anything from you because you are a fair leader

[Miranda]

I agree with settrlvr, messing around with a dog's food, putting your hands in the bowl, taking it away and giving it back are more likely to cause food aggression than prevent it. I would start the dog on TOT immediately, persephone has provided a link.

[valby]

I have never taken my dogs dinner from them whilst eating. I have done the triangle of temptation with them though. Then they are left to eat in peace, separately. I believe dogs need this so they learn they don't have to fight for food. MY SIL has been feeding her chihuahua next to her staffy and the chi is becoming quite aggressive over food because he believes he needs to fight for it.

This TOT seems to work wonders. I can take bones off any of my dogs with no growling or any reactions.

[charli73]

A I kid I was bitten on the face by a corgi as I was patting it while eating... But I was only 3 and still have the scar today.

My first step when we got a German Shepherd pup was to teach her that we contolled what she ate and when. Primarily because I wasnt going to have a food aggressive dog.

We got her used to being touched while eating and touched her bowl by adding food to it and she has no food aggression issues, just sits quietly for you to put it back as she knows me touching her bowl is good..

Just another point of view... now if only I could get her let me touch her toys