Do Something About Your Dog’s Food Aggression
You may wonder why your dog would bark or snarl at you when you approach him while he’s eating, even though you were the one who gave him the food in the first place. This kind of behavior is called dog food aggression which can be a serious matter if not rectified early enough. Your dog may get into trouble with other humans or other dogs if he keeps exhibiting this kind of behavior. This is where good dog training comes in handy.
There are many reasons why your dog would exhibit dog food aggression. Primarily, he may think he is the leader of the pack in your household. This confusion about his relationship with you may also manifest in other areas, like chewing or excessive barking. You need to find ways to establish that you are the boss of him and not the other way around.
Another reason why your dog would exhibit dog food aggression is he may be thinking this is the last food he’ll get. This usually happens with dogs who had been rescued from abusive conditions and who developed the thinking that they have to protect their food in order to survive.
It’s possible that your dog may be having problems relating not just to you but to other humans or other dogs as well. In this case, you need to take the time to take him out for walks so that he would get used to being with other people and other dogs. He may also be lacking physical exercise which is necessary to lessen his excitability or nervousness.
Here are some suggestions on how you can deal with dog food aggression:
1. Be in control when feeding your dog. It’s better to feed your dog after you had eaten and train him to sit/stay while waiting for his turn. This also establishes the fact that you are the leader of the pack that’s why you eat first. Make sure that all of your family members understand the rules in feeding him so that he will not get confused.
2 . If you see that your dog’s aggression is towards other dogs, just separate him from the other dogs during meal times.
3. Train young puppies into thinking that it’s ok to have other people or other dogs around while eating. Early training will make them get used to the idea that they don’t have to protect their food while others are around.
4. Never punish your dog by responding with violence as he may get more aggressive and even try to hurt you.
You do not have to put up with your dog’s food aggression. Try the steps above to prevent this from happening and you will see the changes in your dog’s behavior soon.
