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.
My German shepherd/great Pyrenees mix puppy Ambrose is ten months old and very friendly. The problem is she is incredibly over protective over me, her food, and my bedroom which is where she sleeps as well. Once she knows that Iām alright with a person coming into my bedroom sheās edgy but quits barking and lies her hair down, then becomes very friendly again. I donāt mind that too much though her territorial behavior worries me when it comes to other dogs. If another one of our dogs (we have two pit bulls) is out and roaming the house she will follow the dog and guard my room very carefully, standing with posture and nervous behavior. Sheās never been into a fight with another dog until today when one of the dogs tried to run towards the dog food bag and stick her head into it. A fight immediately broke out and I separated the dogs with no wounds to either of them, however this has made me extremely anxious about the food aggression. I wanted to know if there was any way I could slowly work Ambrose into allowing other dogs around in her space as well as the food aggression because of the fact sheās already 70 LB and will continue to grow even larger due to her breeds. This was in another forum until I realized that this would be more accurate, I apologize for the repeat it’s just a very serious matter to me.
Given that there are three powerful dogs in the household, I would get help from a good professional trainer.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
Some things that I do with my dogs-
1. I set up clear dog-to-dog interaction rules.
Then I slowly teach each new dog what the rules are. In this way, each dog knows exactly what to expect from me, what to expect from other people, what to expect from the other dogs, and also what I expect from him. This creates certainty, and certainty helps to reduce stress and fear.
2. I supervise and redirect behavior.
I still supervise my dogs during meal-time and play-time. In this way, I can make sure they follow house rules and I can redirect questionable behavior before it escalates into something more. I try to always set them up for success, by carefully managing their environment. For example, when I give them high priority chews, such as bully sticks, I always separate them so that they can each enjoy the chew in peace. I do not leave food out, unless I am there to supervise. The less they practice guarding behavior, the less they are likely to repeat it in the future.
3. I try to create as much positive together time as possible.
I do group obedience sessions, and other positive structured activity. When they cooperate with each other, stay calm, and do work for me, they get rewarded very very well.
More on what I do with my dogs.
However, dog behavior is very context dependent. When I was having problems with my Shiba Inu, I had private lessons with several trainers so that they could meet and observe Sephy’s behavior in his normal environment and context. In this way, I could more accurately pin-point the source of Sephy’s behavior, and come up with a safe and effective plan for re-training.
My dog of 2 years guards his food. We have no idea why or what to do, but it seems to be getting worse. He is okay with my other dog coming near, but humans and my cat he has the problem with. My cat has never ate his food and we’ve never kept it from him. I am hand feeding him now, hoping it will help. If I leave him in a room with the food, he will literally sit there all day, alone, guarding the food. I am at a loss. Any suggestions?
Have you had him since he was young? When did the food guarding behavior start? What is his daily routine like? What type of training is he used to? What type of dog is he? How does he react to people when there is no food around? How does he react to new people during walks?
Dog behavior is very context dependent.
When I am trying to change my dog’s behavior, I first try to identify the source of his behavior. To do this, I carefully observe my dog and take note of all the surrounding details. I take past experiences and temperament into account, and I try to remember what changed when the behavior started.
More on how I change my dog’s behavior.
When I was having troubles with Sephy, I also visited with several professional trainers who could observe Sephy, understand his temperament, guide me in reading his body language, and help me identify the things that were triggering his stress behaviors. In cases of aggression, it is usually best to get help from a good trainer, so that we keep things safe and start off on the right foot.
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/finding-professional-help
https://apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
My dog has no problem with guarding food. We give food to her in a bowl (no interactive toys, I’ve just now been introduced to them). But she doesn’t eat it. Sometimes she goes so long without eating she throws up. We have to bribe her to eat with yummy treats. What do you suggest we do?
How long has this been going on? How old is your dog? How is her energy level? How is her physical health? Does her pee and poop look normal? Does she eliminate regularly? When was her last vet visit? What is her regular daily routine? What type of food does she get?
When my dog suddenly loses his appetite, the first thing that I do is take him to the vet to make sure that it is not a physical issue.
She is about two and a half years old. We got her at the shelter and they thought she was about four months old. We know nothing about her background as she was found wandering the streets. She’s never shown an interest in eating dog food, but will jump at the chance for any other food. She gets IAMS. Her pee and poop looks fine, but she does act constipated sometimes. She’s a healthy weight. She’s always been an energetic dog. We think she’s got some collie in her. She gets to run around every day, since we have a few acres. She likes to sleep and chew on her toys. She goes on long walks everyday, which she loves. We try to have regular feeding times, but she doesn’t eat. My dad doesn’t really believe in yearly examinations to the vet, and thinks she’s fine, so I’ve been trying to find solutions and help online.
Has she always lacked appetite for the over two years you have had her? How often and how long does she go without eating? How often does she throw up?
If your dog is a healthy weight and she is not eating, how is she getting her nutrition? Is she getting a lot of extra treats? What kind of non-kibble food does she get? How much non-kibble food does she get daily?
Has she always had IAMS food? Which particular IAMS food do you use? Some of their products contain wheat or corn, which many dogs are allergic to.
When I first got my Shiba Inu, I fed him Eukanuba, because that was what he got at the breeders. However, it contained a fair amount of wheat and my Shiba was mildly allergic to wheat. After we identified his allergy issue, we changed to a grain free, high protein kibble, which he liked a lot better.
Here is more on how I pick my dog’s food.
However, lack of appetite can be the result of many different things, including medical issues, stress, etc. I rule out medical issues first by visiting my vet. Once I am sure that my dog is healthy, I can look at other triggers such as allergies, stress, or something else.
I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. But I never knew he showed signs of it until he was 4 months old. I started putting his food in a bowl that I’d hold in my lap. When doing so I thought I’d be able to control his eating and be able to pet him. It so far worked. But I can not put it on the ground and pet him he growls. But when I pet him I constantly tell him he’s a good boy. I start at his butt and go forward. If the foods on the ground I can only go to his shoulders. His tail would be tucked down low. But when I have it in a bowl I can play with his ears, put my finger in his mouth, pet him on the head. Is there something I’m doing wrong?
In terms of getting my dog used to hugging and petting, I try to start small, go slow, and most importantly, to keep things positive. For example, I observe my dog and see where and when he is most receptive to petting, and that is where I start. I start with short touch sessions that are paired with high priority food and other fun stuff.
In general, I want Sephy to associate me and people touches with positive experiences. Therefore, I carefully manage his environment and set him up for success. The more successful touch sessions we have, the more he learns to associate me touching him with being calm and rewards. The opposite is also true.
When Sephy is busy with playing or eating, is when he is least receptive, so I leave that till later after I have slowly built up his tolerance. I am not always up for affection either, so I try to observe my dog carefully, and give them alone time when they need it.
More on how I trained my dog to enjoy/tolerate touches and hugs.
My 7 month old puppy is having food aggression while eating his food. I can play with his food and he doesn’t mind , but he growls if I pet him. He’s been doing this since we got him at 8 weeks old. Is their anyway to get him to stop? ( I can even give him a treat and tell him to gently take it , and he listens.) I’m just extremely confused on what to do at this point.
What kind of petting? Which part of the body? Is he ok with the same kind of petting when there is no food around? Does he enjoy petting in general? How long have you had him? Has he always shown this behavior? When did it start?
Hi, I just came across your site. I do not have a shiba. We have a 3 year old male great pyrenees, he is very sweet, gets along well with other dogs. A little shy of people but very good with them. Problem – we just rescued a female, great pry/collie mix. They seem to like each other, they play a lot. Her second day he went at her at feeding time, I thought I solved it by putting them in totally different rooms and closing doors etc. Now today he went for her because she was in the kitchen while we were preparing dinner. I put him in a mud room and closed the door. Let him out after I put her outside, then put him back in the mud room while we were eating. I was hoping it was a one time thing to establish boundaries, but now I am concerned. Any ideas, thanks
When you say “he went at her at feeding time”, what exactly did he do? what did the other dog do? what did you do? what was his response?
With my dogs I set up clear and consistent dog-to-dog interaction rules so that each dog knows what to expect from the others, what to expect from me, and what I expect from them. This helps to create greater certainty, which helps to reduce stress for my new dog as well as existing dogs. I also set up a fixed routine and schedule for the new dog, which helps to create even more certainty.
More on what I do when introducing a new dog into my home.
I have two dogs. The oldest a Shiba Inu and the youngest is a mini Golden Doodle. My Golden Doodle occasionally has periods where she refuses to eat her food. I am certain it is because my Shiba is bulling her not to. After the Shiba is done with her food, she stares intently at the Golden Doodle and generally is always showing dominant posturing over her. I now try to feed them separately and put my Shiba out of view in another room but the Golden still ignores her food, or tries to hide or bury it. I confident it is not the food type and she has done it with multiply food types. I have tried being in the room with her, leaving her totally alone, trying to feed her out of my hand, putting treats in with her food, using different bowls, putting the Shiba in a submissive position within sight…. She will eventually eat but will usually skip 1-3 meals. Any suggestions?
In terms of reducing stress at home, what helps with my dogs is to institute very clear dog-to-dog interaction rules. I do not allow any kind of bullying, stealing, or other types of anti-social behavior. If there are any conflicts, I step in and deal with it before things escalate into anything more.
I am more vigilant during meal times, but I enforce the rules at other times as well. I supervise them closely especially in the beginning to ensure that there is no sneak stealing or bully behavior. If I need to leave them alone before they are fully trained, I separate them.
In this way, all of my dogs know what they can expect from me, from each other, and also what I expect from them. In addition to setting up a consistent set of house rules, I also set up a fixed routine to further increase certainty and reduce stress.
More on how I keep the peace at home and reduce stress.
How long have the dogs been together? What are their interactions like outside of eating time? Do they play together? What are their daily routines like?
Hi,
and thanks for a great article and blog, I’ve learned so much! š
At the end of Food Aggression Tip 7 you wrote: “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” How exactly do you remove the resource? Do you take the resource with power or do you give a treat for exchange and then do a time-out? My shiba is now 2,5 years and is the kindest dog, she’s never been mouthy ever since she was a small puppy, and never shown any sign of aggression, and everybody can do almost whatever they want with her, but recently she’s been developing resource guarding issues/aggression with her favorite toy, a tennis ball…whenever I let her play with it, she starts guarding it, especially if you come close. And if you come close enough, she starts to growl.. and sometimes she will drop the ball for a treat, and sometimes not. How should I remove the ball from her and correct her in this setting?
Also the other day, I made the mistake of giving her a bone with some meat on after having dinner while I had my family over (tip 6), and at first I held the bone for her to chew, and then I left it on the floor for her, but she didn’t seem interested at all.. but then, for the first time ever, while my niece was passing close by her and her bone, she bit my niece! It wasn’t a deep wound and the skin didnt break, but still, we were all shocked! She has never shown this behaviour or aggression over food before, but I guess it is never too late? What should I do? She is the kindest dog ever otherwise (if the tennis ball doesnt exist and apparently with a huge bone that she has to guard).
I would get help from a good professional trainer. During Sephy’s difficult period, we visited with several professional trainers. Dog behavior is very context dependent, and for resource guarding, I really wanted to start off on the right foot, so that Sephy’s behavior does not get worse.
Note though that the dog training profession is very unregulated, so it can be a challenge to find a good trainer.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/
More on how I went about finding a trainer.
I also read up a lot on dog behavior so that I could better understand Sephy, and can quickly filter out trainers who didn’t know what they were talking about.
Some things I have observed with resource guarding and my dogs –
1. The key thing with my dogs is prevention.
I try to manage their environment and supervise them so that they are not put in a position where they feel they need to guard. The more they practice resource aggression with people, the more likely they are to repeat it and in a wider variety of contexts. The most important thing that I do, is prevent the behavior through careful management, supervision, and training.
2. I *do not* remove items from my dogs by force.
Here is why.
Most of the time, I prevent. If I miss something and my dog gets something that I don’t want him to have, then I exchange the object with him. Since he is already comfortable with the exchange “game”, he is usually good about giving up stuff because he knows he will get something in return. Note that there is no aggressive behavior here – either from my dog or from me. I talk a bit more about how I get items back from my dog in the Drop section above (Tip 3).
The only time I *may* use force is when my dog has gotten hold of something dangerous and small. However, I can do that only because my dog has good bite inhibition, I know him very well, and I know what his boundaries are. Still, prevention is best and I have not had to do this in a very long time.
3. I only reward positive behaviors.
I *do not* give treats for growling behavior or aggression. I prefer to prevent and redirect before it gets to that point. My dogs know that I am there to prevent any kind of stealing, so they can relax and let me take care of things.
I also follow the Nothing in Life is Free program with all of my dogs. This teaches them that I am the source of good stuff, and also that they need to work for the things that they want.
Remember though that each dog is different and each situation is very different as well. This is why it is best to get guidance from a good professional trainer, especially in cases of aggression.
Thank you for this article and photos of the beautiful dogs.
My puppy, all of a sudden, surprised me with getting rather nasty with a treat she had never guarded before.
Your advice will prevent this from becoming a big problem. Hand feeding her now and teaching her restraint.
She isn’t perfect, but still a baby and now heading in the right direction with good advice like this.
There is so much conflicting information out there. Your method matches what her puppy class instructor told us last night. I don’t think the rough treatment that some talk about would be right for her.
Kelly is a 14 week old GSD.
I’m not sure if this is listed above, there are a lot of comments. I have a 11month old Shiba and a 4 month old Husky. Our Shiba is very food aggressive towards the Husky. We can hand feed, and do about all of the tips above with him, but when we feed the dogs we have to keep the Shiba from seeing the Husky when they eat or else he barks and then gets so mad he soils his kennel.
Our husky does not mind, he does not have any problems, and is very relaxed. Both dogs are crate trained for the most part and eat in their crates.
Any tips for this?
Have you had the Shiba longer and only recently introduced the Husky puppy? How are the two dogs when there is no food around? Do they get along well? Are there other contexts where the Shiba shows stress or aggression? Did Shiba show this behavior right from the start or only recently? Has the puppy taken or played with any of the Shiba’s food, toys, or other resources? Did the Shiba’s routine change a lot when the Husky came along? What was his routine like before and what has changed since the Husky came?
This sounds like he is experiencing a lot of stress.
Here is a bit more on what I do to help my dogs get along.
Dog behavior is very context dependent so when my dog shows sudden changes in behavior, I try to look at what has changed, and what things may have triggered it. Once I understand the true source of the behavior, I can take steps to help my dog manage and overcome it. For example, is it fear of food being stolen, is it fear of being attacked while confined in a small space with no escape, is it frustration of not being able to get to something, or is it something else?
Because dog behavior is so context dependent, consulting with a good professional trainer can often be helpful, especially in cases of aggression. I consulted with several trainers when I had difficulties with my Shiba Inu.
http://www.apdt.com/pet-owners/choosing-a-trainer/