There is a book on Amazon called “mine” that goes over exactly what to do using positive reinforcement. It helped w mydog

I have a GP-Anatolian Shepherd. She will be 1 year this month and she has not been spayed. She get aggressive and vicious about her food. She has even attacked our Jack Russell mix, male, and she grew up with him from the time she was 7 weeks old. It really bad when she came into heat. I have had to literally had to pull her of him. Otherwise, she is not aggressive or vicious. My only explanation for her behavior is that she was a sickly puppy as per the breeder and they did not think she was going to live. They think she may have had seizures. She is very sweet and loving otherwise. I am having to retrain her to walk on leash because I had back surgery. So, no I can’t be much help.

I thought I was the only one! We have two boxers and we also live with my in-laws who have two Jack russells. The on Jack attacks my youngest boxer whenever they run after a ball. One day, my boxer decided enough was enough and started to attack him back. It has also gotten to the point where my boxer now will try to go after him whenever he is around his food bowl or even a bone. My two boxers are absolutely fine with each other. They aren’t always like this though. Most days they run around and play together just fine. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think we need to get the Jack under control so my boxer trusts me that I have the situation under control so he won’t go after him anymore?

I just stumbled across your post and I had question about my dog. When giving treats we always make her work for it, sitting and staying. When she does not obey, she receives no treats. I often use things such as apples or bananas as treats. Recently though she has started to seek out food. For example, I had a snack in my backpack and she got into the bag and dug out the food. When I caught her, she became really aggressive, snarling and trying to bite when I tried to take the food away. During actual treat times she obeys so I’m unsure what to do. Thanks!

I do group obedience sessions with my dogs all the time, so I hand-feed them together while doing this. It works well to keep them focused on me, keep them working for me, and to teach them to be calm around each other. I only reward them for good behaviors, and make sure that they do not practice any anti-social behaviors such as trying to block each other, steal food, etc. They are usually doing commands for me, so that is not a problem. I cut my rewards up into small pieces that they finish in one bite, so there is no food to guard. Some dogs may try to guard their people, e.g. by blocking access, so that is something that I look out for and stop quickly.

It also depends a lot on the dog and how comfortable they are around other dogs and food. That will be different for different dogs. I watch for signs of stress and make sure that when a dog is working on a food toy (which takes longer than a bite), the others leave her with enough room to be totally relaxed and comfortable. Space is very important for my dogs. These are the situations where I am most careful about, because there is something there for them to guard/steal, similar to a food bowl. I always supervise my dogs during meal-times and make sure there is no stealing, there is a comfortable space around each dog, etc.

The key with my dogs is to keep their eating experiences positive and not put them in situations where they feel they have to resort to aggression. In terms of helping my dog with stress and anxiety, I have found that consistency helps a lot – consistent rules, consistent routine, consistent environment. In this way, they know exactly what to expect from each other, what to expect from me, and what I expect from them in return.

More on what I do during meal-time.

Big big hugs to you for helping out a dog in need! Four paws up! 😀