GoldenGirl85 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Lexi is becoming very possessive over food, but more so over bones. She has always inhaled her food so I either spread her food or feed her in a 'go slow' bowl to slow her down and I always feed her separately from Tess. She gets chicken frames for dinner and she would inhale those too if they were small enough, thankfully because of the shape of them she actually has to chew those. I make her wait for a release before I let her eat her chicken, and I can hold it in front of her nose and she will 'leave' it so I dont think its a dominance issue, she definitely knows Im boss, infact she is the bottom of the food chain in this household Ive been giving the girls a few brisket bones some mornings, Lexi gobbles them up so fast Im worried she might choke on them, I want to stop this sort of behaviour now before it turns to any sort of agression, Ive tried to remove the bone from her to show her that it is 'mine' but while she has never shown any sort of aggression towards me she only gobbles it faster so I cant take it Does anyone have any suggestions? I have no idea how to stop this and make her realise nobody will steal her food, Ive tried to hold the bone while she chews but she doesnt seem to realise she has to be careful because she nips me, like I said she isnt aggressive at all, she just doesnt realise she is nipping me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 For starters, don't take her bones away , and secondly, don't escalate any punishments for not giving up her bones. Bones are very valuable and if you escalate your behaviour she will more than likely escalate her communication about not being comfortable. I wouldn't be feeding smaller bones that she will swallow whole or in two parts. Go bigger. My IGA sells lamb ribs that are 5-6 ribs in a square, that's probably a better idea. Many Retrievers just eat fast and would do so if you were there or not. If you are concerned about resource guarding then the very best book is Mine! by Jean Donaldson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Nev Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Our family for many years have had only Golden Retrievers and German Shepherds. We have had 3 Goldens and still have an 8 year old boy, all 3 were food aggressive with bones especially, resource guarding, one in particular we could never get near him with a bone and gave up trying to reshape his behaviour. Compared with our GSD's it seemed to be a Retriever trait, unless it was just our individual GR's that displayed excessive resource guarding behaviour Our Shepherds won't go near our Goldy if he has a bone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 If she's aggressing towards you then you're not at the top of ladder as you think, for any types of aggression that you can't control get in a Behaviourist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted June 10, 2010 Author Share Posted June 10, 2010 SnT and K9, thanks for the advice, Ill try a different bone next time, I was hoping Id just be able to give them a bone each and they would last more than 5 minutes lol Sas I said she isnt aggressing towards me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeeGee Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Our Mia is food agressive towards other dogs only, not humans. We have gotten a behaviourist in, Jane Harper from dogs on track. She is based in SE QLD and is highly reccommended. Its going to take time, but we are going to be able to help Mia with this. In the majority of food agressive issues, regardless if its towards humans or dogs, it is a leadership issue. I strongly suggested getting the assistance of a behaviourist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubitty Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I was taught by my trusty trainer to make sure there are plenty of resources available so that nothing is ever worth fighting for. My little girl is a greedy little fatty but if she's eating a bone and sees me, she'll zoom over and dump the bone at my feet hoping I will give her something better. My boy is like that too. From the moment they came home, although I don't take bones off them, I am always offering better/yummier food and treats. Why fight over a bone if someone can potentially give you a dim sim? They will happily give me anything I ask because history dictates that Mummy has MUCH better stuff on her than an old bone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
labsrule Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Lexi is becoming very possessive over food, but more so over bones. She has always inhaled her food so I either spread her food or feed her in a 'go slow' bowl to slow her down and I always feed her separately from Tess. She gets chicken frames for dinner and she would inhale those too if they were small enough, thankfully because of the shape of them she actually has to chew those. I make her wait for a release before I let her eat her chicken, and I can hold it in front of her nose and she will 'leave' it so I dont think its a dominance issue, she definitely knows Im boss, infact she is the bottom of the food chain in this householdIve been giving the girls a few brisket bones some mornings, Lexi gobbles them up so fast Im worried she might choke on them, I want to stop this sort of behaviour now before it turns to any sort of agression, Ive tried to remove the bone from her to show her that it is 'mine' but while she has never shown any sort of aggression towards me she only gobbles it faster so I cant take it Does anyone have any suggestions? I have no idea how to stop this and make her realise nobody will steal her food, Ive tried to hold the bone while she chews but she doesnt seem to realise she has to be careful because she nips me, like I said she isnt aggressive at all, she just doesnt realise she is nipping me Why do you think her behaviour will turn to aggression? She sounds exactly the same as my 8.5mth old lab pup who is an exceptionally greedy pup, even by lab standards and I have always been very vigilant in monitoring his eating bones of any description. I always feed my 3 labs separately, so they can all eat in peace without the others hovering around and hopefully (one must live in hope ) eat slower, although nothing seems to slow my pup down, even a slow feeder bowl doesn't make much difference . I don't believe in taking a bone off a dog to prove you can and only time I ever take any bone off my pup is when he has been outside for ages with it and is running around with it and going to different places in the yard to eat as I know he is having trouble digesting the last piece of it, so I remove it from his mouth and bin it. I have to make sure he has large bones like beef brisket which I get the butcher to cut into large bones, lamb necks, chicken frames because he also inhales bones and I have already had a late night trip to the emergency animal hospital due to him swallowing a large piece of turkey bone . Thankfully he did vomit back up again just before I was due to take him to the animal hospital but as he was still very distressed and still vomitting we still went to the hospital and he was actually admitted by my vet the next day on a drip. Needless to say bones were off the menu for a few weeks, but he is back on them under my even more watchful eye. Being a greedy and speed eater doesn't mean they will be aggressive with food. Even though my pup is a greedy pig, he sits side by side with my other two as I feed them treats, normally fruit like applies which I cut up and they each wait patiently for their piece and never try to take each others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugmum Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 I have two pugs and they have generally inhaled their food - one is a bit slower now though. The male is a speed eater and he does this in the hope that he can grab anything that might come out of the other bowl. He wont take food from the other dog or her bowl, but if it hits the ground its fair game so he inhales his then stands in wait......sometimes it pays off for him. Actually the same thing happens with bones but the other way round, she takes the best bits off hers fast then stands in wait for his. Theres never been any aggression between them over food or bones. They eat their meals together, and have their bones just a metre or two apart. Its just a 'get my share asnd part of yours if I can' thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted June 11, 2010 Author Share Posted June 11, 2010 Our Mia is food agressive towards other dogs only, not humans. We have gotten a behaviourist in, Jane Harper from dogs on track. She is based in SE QLD and is highly reccommended. Its going to take time, but we are going to be able to help Mia with this. In the majority of food agressive issues, regardless if its towards humans or dogs, it is a leadership issue. I strongly suggested getting the assistance of a behaviourist. I didnt even think of her, Ive seen Jane about pulling issues with my girls, Ill send her an email, thanks! I was taught by my trusty trainer to make sure there are plenty of resources available so that nothing is ever worth fighting for. My little girl is a greedy little fatty but if she's eating a bone and sees me, she'll zoom over and dump the bone at my feet hoping I will give her something better. My boy is like that too.From the moment they came home, although I don't take bones off them, I am always offering better/yummier food and treats. Why fight over a bone if someone can potentially give you a dim sim? They will happily give me anything I ask because history dictates that Mummy has MUCH better stuff on her than an old bone! Ok Bub Ill keep that in mind Labsrule its not that I think she will start aggressing, I just want her to realise that there is no need to possess over bones (or any food) the way she does because nobody will steal it, I want to stop this behaviour just encase it does turn to an aggressive behaviour later on down the track, that will only make it harder to fix if it does happen, I just want to nip it in the bud so to speak Pugmum I wish my girls would have that arrangement when it comes to meal times, Tess will happily sit there and munch on a bone all day and just come back to it whenever she feels like it..as for Lexi she seems to have one thing on her mind "DEVOUR!" Its like when you give a kid a box of popcorn at the movies and telling them it has to last the whole movie...yet it doesnt make it past the previews lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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