Has anyone had problems with food guarding?

Jakeyjake · Apr 15, 2014

So this weekend we were babysitting my daughter's 80 lb American Bulldog, Lexi. Our Frenchy, Stella, who is approaching 6 mos. of age has begun showing food guarding behavior. She gets very nervous and anxious about our other Frenchy, Jake taking her food. Of course, we feed them in different areas and make sure he does not approach her while eating. Well, Saturday she had finished eating and my daughter's dog simply came into the kitchen and Stella snapped at Lexi. (Stella is 15 lbs. and Lexi is 80 lbs) Lexi attacked Stella and would not let go of her. It was awful. I tried to lift Lexi's back legs as high as I could into the air, but she would not release Stella. I then stuck my finger in her butt and she still would not let go of little Stella. After what seemed like forever, Lexi just finally let go of her neck. The good news is Stella is fine. She suffered a perforated ear drum and needed a couple of stitches on her shoulder. She has some minor scratches on her head and under her jaw. Although we are uncertain of Lexi's background (she was a rescue) it is evident that she has been abused in the past. She has never been aggressive around other dogs so this really caught us off guard. I would really like to work on the food guarding behavior Stella has developed as we feel this is what set Lexi off. Any words of advice would be greatly appreciated.

MamaAndi · Apr 15, 2014

I'm sorry to hear you are having this problem. It's scary when two dogs fight and you are left to try to keep the peace. Our Stella gets aggressive when food is involved and Tank is around. The way we solved this is that everybody eats in their crate. That way we are in control of letting everybody out when they are done eating.

Hopefully somebody else will be along with some good suggestions too.

Jakeyjake · Apr 15, 2014

Thanks for your reply Andi. Unfortunately the problem is beyond just feeding time for the dogs. Even if I am cooking a meal for me and my husband or entertaining guests, Stella goes into this food frenzy. I could always crate her, but usually family and friends want to play with the puppy and I would hate to have a dog that has to be crated every time I cook a meal or food is around. Not sure if this is even a behavior that can be modified, but I will try anything. Thanks! @(MamaAndi)

davidh · Apr 15, 2014

Wow, so happy Stella is OK, that could have been a lot worse. As far as the food aggression goes, it takes time and patience. I would start by making her earn everything, especially food. At first make her sit, and feed her a little at a time from your hand. Do this for a while, then let her eat out of the bowl and before she is finished, pick it up. If she growls at you, tell her NO!! Take it up and let her wait a minute then give it back. Keep doing this until she gets it. Some others may have some other ideas to try too.

Julie Stevenson · Apr 17, 2014

My best advise would be to follow what David advised. Make her work for everything and I would begin with hand feeding her. Don't give her a bowl of food anymore. Feed her out of your hands for a couple days. Then put the food in the bowl and put your hands in there too. Yes while she is eating. Before she is done pick up the bowl. If she does nothing praise her and put it back down. If she growls then tell her no in a sharp tone and go back to feeding her out of your hands. The goal would be to get to the point where you can go over and pick up her bowl at anytime without incident. Now realize that guarding from you and guarding from other dogs is different and not all dogs will do both. I have a boxer that will guard from the other dogs, but not me. I can pick up his bowl at anytime without issue. But if one of the other dogs comes over, its not pretty. So I feed him in a separate room to keep the peace. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

jessicae091 · Apr 21, 2014

David's advice is great! Past dogs I've had had food aggression & a similar situation happened.. There was a pitcher of water on the table & I dumped it on them, it distracted them long enough to get them separated. Maybe until it gets under control keep some water nearby? It worked for me until she was no longer food aggressive.

ForestDweller · Apr 21, 2014

Please research NILIF training ( nothing in life is free) . Your pup is young so going back to basics and restructuring her foundation shouldn't be too much work. I would continue to avoid feeding all dogs in the same area, and would also make sure your pup is out of her feeding area before allowing any of the other dogs around her.

As for when you are cooking or eating, I would suggest giving her a specific place that she needs to go... Say a pet bed in the corner or something similar. Work on having her go to and stay there without the distraction of food, then as she becomes more reliable, you can start cooking, etc. and make her stay in her spot.

I would also suggest to avoid communal toys, etc. as food guarding can easily spread to general resource guarding around other dogs and any object or even people, can quickly become an object to be guarded. If at any time you cannot control the dogs alone, crate your pup to avoid setting her up for failure.

As for the AB, I had them for 15 years. While they typically don't start fights, they have no problems finishing them... Especially around dogs of the same gender. It has nothing to do with abuse... Just genetics. While the AB is in your care, I suggest you use NILIF training with her as well.

I will also add.... Exercise! Tired dogs make well behaved dogs.

On a side note for the future... If you ever have a dog fight, the best way to break them apart is to keep your cool and do not panic or even make a sound. If you are by yourself, tie on dog to something and then use a spatula or some other strong flat object to stick in the biting dogs mouth... With a gentle twist motion, you should be able to pry open the mouth and pull that dog back before it re bites. If you can't find an object to use in the mouth, then gently twist the dogs collar and put pressure on the airway... The dog will open its mouth to take a breath and you can pull it off then.

I know fights can be frightening, but if you keep calm, it makes a huge difference in how severe the fight is.

2bullymama · Apr 21, 2014

ForestDweller said:
Please research NILIF training ( nothing in life is free) . Your pup is young so going back to basics and restructuring her foundation shouldn't be too much work. I would continue to avoid feeding all dogs in the same area, and would also make sure your pup is out of her feeding area before allowing any of the other dogs around her.

As for when you are cooking or eating, I would suggest giving her a specific place that she needs to go... Say a pet bed in the corner or something similar. Work on having her go to and stay there without the distraction of food, then as she becomes more reliable, you can start cooking, etc. and make her stay in her spot.

I would also suggest to avoid communal toys, etc. as food guarding can easily spread to general resource guarding around other dogs and any object or even people, can quickly become an object to be guarded. If at any time you cannot control the dogs alone, crate your pup to avoid setting her up for failure.

As for the AB, I had them for 15 years. While they typically don't start fights, they have no problems finishing them... Especially around dogs of the same gender. It has nothing to do with abuse... Just genetics. While the AB is in your care, I suggest you use NILIF training with her as well.

I will also add.... Exercise! Tired dogs make well behaved dogs.

On a side note for the future... If you ever have a dog fight, the best way to break them apart is to keep your cool and do not panic or even make a sound. If you are by yourself, tie on dog to something and then use a spatula or some other strong flat object to stick in the biting dogs mouth... With a gentle twist motion, you should be able to pry open the mouth and pull that dog back before it re bites. If you can't find an object to use in the mouth, then gently twist the dogs collar and put pressure on the airway... The dog will open its mouth to take a breath and you can pull it off then.

I know fights can be frightening, but if you keep calm, it makes a huge difference in how severe the fight is.