Food aggression occurs, because some dogs associate people or other dogs coming near their food, as being a bad thing.
- Maybe we have a rescue dog, that had to fight for his food in an earlier life.
- Maybe we have been inadvertently taking food, or other objects away from our dog by force.
Now, he thinks he needs to guard his belongings.
Certain dog breeds, for example protection dogs, may also have a higher tendency to guard.
To reduce food aggression, we want to make sure our dog associates people approaching him, with something positive.
Never try to take food, or other items away from an unknown dog. Even seemingly easy-going dogs, may sometimes try to guard their food and toys.
Note – The exercises below, help to prevent food aggression. Do not perform these exercises on dogs that are already food aggressive, and/or causing bite wounds. Instead, contact a professional trainer.
1. Add something really good to our dog’s food bowl
A good way to solve food aggression issues, is to show our dog that people and other dogs coming near him, during dog feeding time, is a positive thing.
When my dog is eating, I throw some good treats into his food bowl, for example little pieces of cheese or bacon. I keep repeating this, until he is looking forward to my visits.
Note – Do not reach down to pet or stroke, food aggressive dogs.
Once my dog is comfortable with my presence, I sometimes take the food bowl away, show him that I am adding yummy treats into it, then give it back to him. I also take other objects (e.g. paper, sticks) away from my Shiba Inu, add food to it, and return the enhanced object. Sometimes, I add food into his food toys, or help him get the food out.
This teaches our dog that having people around during feeding time, means more food. It also shows him that when we take something away, it usually comes back with an added bonus. If we do all this often enough, our dog will be looking forward to us coming over, during his meals.
My Shiba Inu sometimes brings a toy over to me, in the hopes that I will add some food to it!
2. Hand-feed our dog
Only do this if our dog is not aggressive, and does not have a bite history.
Hand-feeding occurs naturally when we use reward obedience training. I also hand-feed my dog during dog grooming and handling exercises.
Hand-feeding teaches our dog that the human hand is a really good thing, and yummy food comes from it. It can also strengthen our bond with him, because he sees that food comes directly from us.
Feeding with our hands, helps us establish pack leadership because –
- We can set the speed of feeding.
- We can demand good eating manners. For example no grabbing, and only take food from us gently.
- We can ask our dog to work for us. For example doing a Sit or Down, before getting any food.
It is generally a good idea to keep up with some hand-feeding, throughout our dog’s lifetime. This helps him maintain good bite inhibition.
3. Teach our dog the Drop command
- First, give our dog a fairly low priority and safe toy.
- When he takes it in his mouth, bring a high priority treat to his nose, and say Drop. Chances are, he will drop the toy, and try to get at the treat.
- As soon as he drops the toy, mark the behavior (i.e. say Yes), give him the treat, and give him back the toy.
- Let him play with the toy for a bit, before repeating the exercise.
Once he understands the command, we can use higher priority toys, and ultimately, food toys.
If my dog is refusing to drop objects, then I try using a higher priority treat. If he bites on me, then I usually do a time-out. I try not to overtax my dog, and keep sessions short and positive. In this way, he will be motivated to play this game again.
I also practice Drop sessions during walks, with sticks and other safe objects. This helps a dog to generalize the Drop command for outside the house, and for outside objects.
When we are out on walks, I try my best to keep my dog away from questionable objects. If he manages to pick up an undesirable item, I no-mark him (say Ack-ack), then hold a good treat by his nose. As soon as he drops the item, I praise him, and treat him.
If I really want an item back, I will hold firmly onto it (close to my dog’s muzzle), and give the Drop command. It is important that we do not pull back, and make it into a tug game. I just hold it still, and try to be as uninteresting as possible. My dog will usually lose interest, and drop the item. If he does this, I praise him, and treat him.
Do not try this technique if our dog is aggressive, and is likely to bite.
If an object is dangerous and is too small to hold, we may have to forcibly go into our dog’s mouth. He will probably hate it, but if we must do it, then we must do it. Make sure to do some simple commands afterward, so that we can treat him for his positive actions.
If we frequently remove items by force, our dog will likely get aggressive, and start guarding food and belongings from us.
This is why we want to set our dogs up for success, and prevent him from picking up dangerous objects in the first place. In this case, prevention is much better than cure.
4. Play the “object exchange” game
An alternative to simply teaching the Drop command, is to play the object exchange game.
- First, bring out several toys of about equal priority.
- Give one of the toys to our dog, and let him play with it for a short duration.
- Issue the Drop command, and exchange the old toy with a new one.
- Initially, it may be necessary to sweeten the pot with some additional treats. Sometimes, I stuff the new toy with some food. Therefore, not only does my dog get back a new toy, he also gets one with food in it. He is usually very happy to make that exchange.
Once we notice that things are going well, we may slowly phase out the treats, and just do the object exchange. If our dog is unwilling to give up his current toy, then we can try to lengthen the time that he gets to play with it, or add food into the equation again.
If our dog misbehaves in any way, for example bites on our hand, then the game stops, and all toys and food are removed.
5. Get strangers to toss food to our dog
When we have guests, give them some good treats to toss to our dog. This will help him associate new people with his favorite food, and lessen his food aggression when strangers are around.
If our dog has a bite history, make sure we have him on a leash, so that our guests are always safe. We may also place him behind a secure dog gate. Then, our guests may feed him by extending a chopstick or wooden spoon with food, through the gate.
6. Ensure there are no high priority food items lying around
To reduce food aggression, it is important that we do not let our dog practice that behavior, especially with people. Remove all food items, as well as food toys and high-priority toys, when we have friends and family over.
It is important to remove all food and all toys, when our dog is meeting with new dogs, or dogs that he does not know well.
7. Supervise our dog and prevent food aggressive behavior
Make sure we are always there to supervise and intervene, when our dog starts to show any food aggression. When I am not around to supervise, I remove all high priority items, so that my dogs do not guard food or resources, from each other.
I have a simple house-rule –
“All resources are mine, and I decide which of my dogs get what.”
Whenever I give them food toys, I keep them away from each other, to prevent stealing. In this way, they do not practice any resource guarding or food aggressive behavior.
If they start any guarding behavior, I remove the resource, and nobody gets it. If they show any aggressive behavior with me, they get a time-out, and the play and food session stops.
8. Do not give our dog constant access to food
If we leave food or food toys around, our dog may feel that he has to guard it, and become food aggressive. This can be very stressful for him, and may also lead to obesity issues.
Leaving food around may also weaken our leadership position, because our dog can get food by himself. He may decide not to follow our commands or house rules, because he does not need us for anything.
To be a good pack leader to our dog, we want to follow the Nothing in Life is Free (NILIF) program. Only give him something, if he does something for us first. Stuff left-over food into his food toys, and make him work for all of the things that he wants. Remove the food toy once it is empty, or after a fixed period of time.
A busy dog is a good dog.
I am having difficulties with my husky puppy when it comes to bones. With his usual meal me and my husband approach him and let him know we are there and that we control his food and I also have younger kids approach and pat him whilst he eats with no issues. But when he has a bone it is a different story. He has recently lashed out a few times and attacked another dog. Today when he got very aggressive with my dad whilst chewing his bone I went to let him know who was boss and that I could take it away at any time if he behaves aggressively, then he started to snarl and me and bare his teeth so I went to take his bone away and he went to bite me. He is only 13 weeks old and there was only one other pup in his litter so I do not understand why he is behaving like this. Any tips or recommendations would be greatly appreciated.
Why dogs get aggressive over food and toys.
I just recently got a what he appears to be a 4 mo old german shepherd and husky mix puppy from a shelter less than a month ago from a shelter. He was in a litter of 7 puppies on the pts list. Since the first day we got him he has showed food aggression since the first day we have brought him home, but up until recently it was only towards our cat who tried to steal it. I have been allowing my 3 yr old son participate in feeding him and putting his food in his bowl (same time every night) since the day he came home. Tonight, after my son fed him he was doing fine til my son was picking up the dropped kibble and putting it in his bowl and the puppy started growling at him. Occasionally he growls at my son if he lays his head on him or gets a little rough, in which case I remind my son he has to be easy with him. We have a 4 yr old golden retriever which is AMAZING with kids and tolerates a lot so it’s a bit hard to get my son to understand the difference. I have corrected a few growls with a light jab with two fingers to the side and it has curbed a lot but this recent growling at food time really concerns me, any suggestions?
Dog behavior is very context dependent, and changing dog behavior depends a lot on the dog, past experiences, his routine, current environment, and more. Given that you have a young son, it may be best to get help from a good professional trainer. I visited with several trainers when I was having issues with my Shiba Inu.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
With my dogs, what has worked well in terms of preventing food aggression is to –
1. Minimize situations where my dog feels he has to guard his food.
I have a no-stealing rule in the house. I do not allow my dogs to steal from each other, and I do not allow people to tease my dogs with food. I also manage their environment so that they do not feel the need to guard anything.
My dogs work for all of their food (Nothing in Life is Free). I give them food for walking properly, for following rules in the house, for being calm, for playing well with each other, for grooming, doing obedience commands, and more. Whatever is left over, they work for through interactive food toys. While they are working on their food toys, I make sure there is no stealing. In this way, there is no bowl to protect, and they know that they can get food directly from me by doing work and following rules.
Dogs can be very opportunistic about food. When there is food on the ground, especially near them, then it is free game (unless they have been trained otherwise). If we go for food on the ground and compete with our dog, it may cause our dog to start guarding his food or to warn us away through barks, growls, or aggression. This can *encourage* guarding behavior and is dangerous when performed next to an already food aggressive dog.
2. Help my dog re-associate people and food with positive experiences.
My Shiba Inu started to show food aggressive behavior when he was young because he would try to get dirty things off the street, so I would take these things away from him, sometimes by force. This caused him to associate me and people in general with losing his stuff, which led to the beginnings of object guarding.
To change his behavior, I needed to change my own behavior. I try to create positive experiences with people, and help teach him that –
a) Food, toys, and other resources comes from people,
b) Food, toys, and other resources can be easily earned by following rules and commands,
c) Giving me something, results in an even greater reward for him,
d) I will never steal or compete with him for food, but instead, I am an ally who helps him get more food and protects his food from being stolen.
I set up a fixed routine for my dogs and a consistent set of rules (one of which is no stealing). This creates certainty, and helps them to understand what to expect from me and other people in the house, and also what I expect from them. I talk more about what I do in the article above.
More on my experiences with my Shiba Inu and object guarding.
More on why a dog may start to guard food and other objects.
I have an 8 month old German Shepherd. I got her when she was 6 weeks old (She was the runt) and ever since day 1, she growls when you stand around her while she’s eating and snarls when you put your hand down close. She’s a really good dog and I want to train her to be a therapy dog, but the growling has got to stop. Just the other day I hand fed her. She was really nice no growling or anything, but she didn’t eat it all. Any advice?
With my two Huskies, I fed them a lot of frozen Kongs when they were young puppies. I would hold the Kong for them, and let them dig out the frozen food. In this way, they learn to associate me, and people in general, with giving them food, or helping them with their food toys.
Now that they are older, I give them *a very small portion* of their food through interactive food toys. The rest of their kibble I carry with me in my pocket. I give it to them for behaving well during walks, for grooming, for doing commands, and following rules in the house. In this way, I continue to reinforce that food comes from people, and that they get food and affection by working together with me. They often come over to me because they know I always have kibble in my pockets. š
More on the Nothing in Life is Free program.
I didn’t do these things with my Shiba when I first got him, and he started to show some object guarding behavior when he was young. Sephy was always putting everything into his mouth during walks, so I would forcibly take those things away from him. After a bit, he started to associate me with losing his stuff, so he started to guard them.
When I noticed this, I did a lot of object exchange exercises with him, together with NILIF, as well as many of the things I describe in the article above.
I do a combination of management and training, and that has worked well with all of my dogs. When they have very high priority items (e.g. bully sticks), I make sure to give them a peaceful place where they can work on their food, usually in their crate or enclosure. For regular times, I supervise food time, help them with their interactive food toys, and make sure there is no stealing. I try as much as possible to teach them that food and other good things come from people, and that they can easily get food by working together with people. Here is a bit more on my experiences with Sephy and object guarding-
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys
As with most problem dog behaviors, I think that food aggression is partly based on experience (e.g. having to compete with siblings for food), partly based on temperament (some breeds and some dogs are more likely to guard than others), and partly based on surrounding context. Therefore, each dog will be a bit different in terms of level of guarding, and level of aggression. For this reason, consulting with a good professional trainer can be very helpful.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
We visited with several during Sephy’s difficult period and it was helpful to have someone teach us how to read Sephy’s body language and better understand his behaviors.
We have a 16 month old shorkie named Bogey. He is a very sweet & living dog. Cuddles, kisses, plays, etc… full of energy. When adults come over he is sweet & loving with them also. When we take him on walks he does well with other dogs also.
We are having a couple of issues that I really want to break with him & am hoping he can be retrained in these areas. He does NOT like his face bothered much at all with the exception of going to the groomer & my dad aka his “grandpa” always pets his face & always has & he lets him. My husband & I do as well & he is fine but with other people, especially children he growls & I worry he will snap at one of them. He is also this way occassionally when I brush him at home- sometimes he will growl & show teeth & other times he will completely nip & snap & growl at me & the brush.
The other issue we are having is this- he is very good about dropping toys, leaving things if we tell him to before he gets them in his mouth outside or inside. However, if he starts to put something in his mouth outside or unfortunately if one of our cats gets a hairball or & he gets to it first he will become very agressive & growl, snarl & bite/snap at us if we try to get him to stop eating it or take it away. The funny thing is is that he is not this way with his food as he allows my husband & I to hand feed him & has eaten his food out of guests hands as well. And as I said he is not that way with toys.
He is so sweet & loving, but there are just those 2 issues that make it where I do not allow him around small children (though he loves attention from anyone) & I don’t leave him overnight with anyone if my husband & I want to go somewhere because I wouldn’t want him to nip or snap someone else.
He has nipped at us before & only one other person who he was not familiar with that got to close to him while he was eating, but as I said- other than that one time, he is very good with us hand feeding being around him while he eats & taking his toys or food.
We have never disciplined him in a physical way. He does not get yelled at- only a stern tone & I have put him in his crate for time out when he has nipped or snapped. Do you have any advice on the issues we are having & how to break them & if they are breakable & also anything you feel we may be doing wrong? One thing I forgot to mention is we have not yet gotten him neutered which we plan to do in the near future. Thank you again for your help & sorry this is so lengthy!!
I am very careful with my dogs around kids, and I do not let them meet kids that are too young or overly excited. I only let them meet kids who are naturally more calm, who are very familiar with and are not afraid of dogs, and who can follow simple greeting instructions from me.
I want my dogs to have positive greetings with kids, so that they will learn to see kids as something positive, and not become fearful of them. Therefore, I protect them from bad encounters, and at the same time, I tell the kid what to do (and what not to do) during a greeting. Petting from above, especially hard pats, can be intimidating for a dog, especially a small dog, and especially with a stranger.
I also tell my dog to sit and I manage her level of excitement by refocusing her attention back onto me and having greeting breaks. As soon as I see her get overly excited, I move her away. I do the same with people greetings in general, but I am a lot more careful with kids because they are much smaller, move faster, and are more easily excitable.
Here is a bit more on how I trained my dog to enjoy/tolerate hugs and affection, and why some dogs may not enjoy it.
More on dog meetings and greetings.
As for resource guarding, I practice various exchange exercises with my dog using different objects, in different environments, and with different people. This helps my dog to generalize the training, so that he will be comfortable in a variety of situations. Otherwise, a dog may be ok with certain objects but may protect others, may be ok with certain environments but may be protective in others, may be ok with certain people or dogs but not with others. I start from the beginning in each new situation, and make sure that everybody is safe.
I try to always keep experiences positive, start small, and go in very small steps. In this way, I maximize successes so my dog continues to build more confidence. At the same time, I minimize negative encounters so that my dog does not keep practicing aggressive behaviors.
I talk more about what I do with my dogs in the article above, and also here –
http://shibashake.com/dog/resource-guarding-shiba-inu
http://shibashake.com/dog/why-dogs-get-aggressive-over-food-toys
A bit more on dog socialization.
Thank you for the great post, I have a pug who was the runt of the litter and is very protective of his food around other dogs. He does not have a mean bone in his body and loves to play with other dogs, but for some reason with treats and food he tries to guard them from other animals. He is only a year old and we plan on getting him fixed because he is also marking his territory with pee in the house. Regardless thank you for the helpful tips i’m excited to try them out.
My mom has a 5 yr old Siberian Husky, who has been with her since the dog was 2. The dog was not treated well in her first family. My mom has made significant improvements with the dog, but Snowy continues to have a serious issue: she takes paper and cardboard wherever she can find it (newspaper, toiler paper, wrapping paper, kids’ homework, boxes/packaging, etc.) and guards it. My mom has tried bribing the dog with treats to get her to change her focus, sometimes this work, but usually not. The dog has bitten my mom several times. The dog has come very close to biting other people too – for example, my son’s friend (10 yrs old) was eating and tried to pick up the napkin she dropped. Snowy was right there and immediately did the Growl/Snarl of Death; the friend was terrified. I am 100% unwilling to risk any of my family or friends or guests being bitten by the dog; and my mom feels the dog “is who she is” and the biting is part of her personality.
In a situation like this, I would get help from a good professional trainer-
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Careful management and safety precautions are extremely important in dog aggression cases, not just for the people, but for the dog as well.
EVERYTHING that you have written will for sure help me for when I get a Shiba Inu in September!!!
Congratulations on your upcoming cute little ball of fur! š
Hi ShibaShake,
Our new Shiab Inu puppy is being a picky eater. It seems to be more a behavior problem than food problem. When we give him a bowl of food, he just grazes at it and rarely finishes one of his two servings for the day. However, if we hand feed him he will continue to eat his food. He also loves the treats we have for him. It’s a metal bowl, but so is his water dish which he happily drinks from. Any suggestions?
While I’m asking about this, any recommendations to deal with his pant leg pulling/jumping behavior when he wants to play. I tried ignoring it, but he sits there tugging, and he rarely sits while tugging so I don’t have many opportunities to reward sitting with play time . I put him in a time out, which stopped the behavior temporarily, but he still persists with it when he’s really in the mood to play.
Yeah Sephy is a very picky eater as well. When we first got him, he was on Eukanuba kibble (from his breeder). After I did some research, I decided to change to a grain free, high protein kibble, and that helped some. Here is a bit more on how I picked his kibble.
Still, he would often try to hold-out in the hopes that he would get something better, preferably with cheese. š What ultimately helped most is to –
1. Set up a fixed eating schedule. When he was younger I fed him 3 times a day, now he gets fed 2 times.
2. I let him have his food for a certain amount of time. If he does not want to eat, I take it away and feed him next meal time.
3. He has to work for his food either through doing grooming, teeth brushing, commands, or from interactive toys. I think he values his food more when he has to work for it.
4. I only give him extra special treats after he eats his kibble.
5. I make sure not to overfeed him. I observe him carefully and adjust the amount of kibble I give him based on his weight. If I give him extra treats, then I properly adjust down his kibble intake.
With pulling and playing, one possibility is to redirect him onto a toy. I play a bunch of different games with Sephy, but I always make sure to have strict play rules with him. He is motivated to follow the rules because if not, he knows that the game stops. In this way, Sephy has an outlet for his “play energy”, but it is also a good way to teach him self-control when he is in a more excited, playful mood.
http://shibashake.com/dog/dog-play-fun-games-to-play-with-your-dog-or-puppy
I make sure to manage Sephy’s excitement level by throwing in many play-breaks. I would stop from time to time and do some brief commands. In this way, he gets a chance to calm down and refocus on me. I make sure to reward him well during breaks.
I do not allow Sephy to bite on clothing. If he does that I no-mark and then redirect him or give him an alternate command. If he persists, then I stop playing with him. If he keeps coming and biting, I put him temporarily in a safe timeout area (not his crate). If he goes back to biting on clothing when he gets out, he goes right back in for a slightly longer period of time.
Hello! I have been following every tip on your site since I brought my Shiba home and I cannot thank you enough for all that you do. I have a problem/question that may be a little difficult to answer, if even possible.
I got my shiba about 4 months ago and invested a lot of time into training him as I know how important it is with this breed. I lived in an apartment with my boyfriend at the time where we followed every tip regarding food, toys and treats. I enforced the N.I.L.I.F. program 24/7 and he was doing great, I saw no signs of aggression what so ever, although he was a very scared and timid puppy, but has gotten much better. I recently moved back into my parents house where it is myself, mother, father and a cat. My shiba, Gino, has grown to be very scared of my father for some reason and has shown food and high priority toy aggression doing a low growl and a hovering action. When I noticed this I immediately attempted to get back into the habit of petting him while he eats, unfortunately, he did the same growl and hover action to me. Since, he has started backing away from his food when people walk near but I can still sense the obvious tension in him. I try to hand feed him in the area right around his bowl and he backs away and will not take it from me. I have encouraged my parents to participate in these training exercises however without immediate progress (a few days) they have decided to give up and refuse their time. They believe the only solution is a shock collar which I do not agree with considering his problems are fear-based. They also refuse to join us in an obedience training program and are giving me a short time frame to get it under control. Their concerns are children and other liability issues of aggression since he is so young.
My question: Is there anything you can recommend that I can do to make him more comfortable with everyone WITH OUT the help of my parents in training. Gino is 6 months old and is extremely intelligent as he has known tricks like sit, stay, leave it, lay, jump, sit up, paw, high five, roll over, etc. since 4 months old. I am desperate for help from ANYONE as I am not willing to give him away nor can I afford to move out right now.
Thank you!
Yeah when we moved, it was difficult for Sephy as well. Sephy really needs routine and certainty. Moving creates a lot of uncertainty, which causes anxiety, stress, and fear.
Some things that helped with Sephy-
1. I established a fixed routine and consistent rules for him right away. This helps to recreate some constancy and certainty. I make sure that everyone in the house is on the same page in terms of rules and training techniques.
2. I make sure he has a quiet place where he can rest, where no dog, person, or anything else will bother him. In this way, there is *always* a safe place he can go to.
3. I dog proof my house and only give him safe toys. I set up clear interaction rules for my dogs, and the most important one is the “no stealing” rule. This applies to people as well. In this way, my dogs know what to expect from each other, what to expect from the people around them, and what I expect from them. This creates more certainty and helps to reduce stress.
4. I exercised Sephy more after the move so that he has a good way to relieve stress. Sephy enjoys walks, so I took him on long walks in quiet (very low stress) hiking trails. We also played chasing games, find-it games, and more. In this way, he could expend his energy on positive structured activities.
5. I observe him carefully to see which things cause him stress, and then carefully desensitize him to those things.
Here is a bit more on why dogs get aggressive over food and toys.
For aggression issues, it is usually best to get a private evaluation from a professional trainer. A trainer can observe our dog, read his body language, as well as observe his routine and environment. All these details are important in identifying the source of a problem behavior, and in coming up with a good plan for retraining. A trainer can also help with getting everyone in the house to participate.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
I absolutely agree with you. A shock collar will only make things a lot worse, as it will increase stress, anxiety, and fear.
The Shiba Inu forum also has a lot of people who love talking “Shiba”.
http://www.shibainuforum.org/forum/
Good luck and let us know how it goes. Big hugs to Gino.
Thanks for your article about food aggression. So much better and more informative than Cesar Millan (my pet hate) who recently nearly had his hand taken off by a resource guarding Labrador after he bullied and terrorised her.
We have trained both our Labs and all our previous dogs to sit and wait for their food. We also fed them in small increments getting them to sit and let us take their bowl between refills. Now they are so good with food we can even get them to stop half way through bowl of food and they will let us take it to top up or exchange for something else. (good when my husband accidentally gave one dog the other dogs antibiotics in her food!). We also trained them to exchange toys, so that when they take something they shouldn’t (a slipper for example) they are always happy to bring it right to you in exchange for a toy that is permitted (no chasing them round the house!).
A great article. Thank you.
Haha, yeah it is great when they do that. My Shiba does that when he wants to play as well – it is adorable. Gotta love dogs! š
Hugs to your furry gang!