Agression
Kuma is now 11-12 weeks old and has a bit of food aggression as well as hand aggression. He will snap at people if they touch his muzzle or anywhere near his face. He is otherwise very friendly and very nice to everyone he meets. Does anyone have any tips on the food aggression of the hand aggression?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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Food aggression is common in puppies; they have to fight first for teats and then for food with their littermates. Here's a great article; I did something similar with Jack and it eliminated his puppy food-guarding.
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/70/Food-Guarding.aspx
With a baby puppy like yours, you can probably complete the whole protocol in two or three days.
For snapping around his muzzle, get some little treats and touch him in a non-reactive area, then give him a treat. Gradually move towards the sensitive zones. If he reacts badly, back up and work on an easier area. The idea is he associates you touching his muzzle with getting yummy food.
Good luck!
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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I just want to add it is VERY important you get your pup used to you touching him EVERYWHERE while he is young. Play with his feet, look in his ears, look at his teeth. Do this daily and frequently. They need to get used to you touching and examining them. The ones who weren't poked and prodded as puppies are not only terrible patients at the vet, they also tend to be the ones that owners can't even begin to trim their nails at home. Its important to de-sensitize them while they are young so you have a good citizen as an adult. Beth's method of touching and lots of treats is a good one.
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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This is typical of young pups ( biting the hand that touches the face) Keep your hands off his face and pet him on the chest and body, tummy rubs etc. and see that others do the same. He will outgrow it naturally and fairly soon. No rough-housing....
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Permalink Reply by Marissa K on
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Thank you so much! I will start working on these his first meal tomorrow! I'm relieved that I am not the only one with this problem.
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Permalink Reply by Theresa + Caitlyn on
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The article that Beth linked is excellent! I have seen many TV shows demonstrating those methods.
Similar is Ian Dunbar's Puppy Biting article
It really worked for me with Caitlyn's mother! If she mouths, I do a gentle, verbal correction. But when I felt her teeth, I yelled OUCH! She quickly learned not to bite me as hard as she did her kids.
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I feel the need to elaborate on my previous answer. There is a difference between a generally mouthy puppy ( I personally don't call it biting, even though puppy teeth can slash and quickly draw blood, because biting is done with intent to harm and there is no such intent in most puppy mouthing of hands, clothes, etc). With a generally mouthy puppy the advocated techniques referenced by Beth work very well.
In this case, Marissa describes a " very friendly and very nice to everyone he meets " puppy, who only goes for the hands when touched on the face or muzzle. Puppies are born with a feeding reflex. When touched in the general muzzle area - or even head, since in newborn pups there is little distinction between muzzle and head - they open their mouth and latch on to what has touched them . Since puppies are born with eyelids sealed and the eyes don't open for 10 or 11 days, this reflex helps nursing become established. The feeding reflex Is a strong survival mechanism which naturally diminishes in time and eventually goes away. Most people who interact with very young puppies, even at the breeder's home, are all over the puppy's head when petting. This unintentionally helps puppies develop the habit of biting hands. The trick here is to refrain from petting young pups on the head, allowing for natural extinction of the reflex to occur.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Definitely great advice here. Seanna was this way, and every day--sometimes twice--I'd hold her and do what the vet would do at a check-up. If she sat nice and let me, she got a little treat each time. The vet was amazed at how much better she was the next time we came in. He said "I really thought you guys were going to have a big problem with her"...so it can be done with patience!
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Kuma is doing much better today. I fed him his morning meal this morning and he was very nice. Our other dogs can eat next to him too, except our bulldog Abby, but we're working on that still. He will also allow us to do a "vet check-up" and he will willingly let us pet his muzzle. Thanks for all the help.
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The other thing to remember is that once you have conditioned him to let you near his food while he eats, most of the time you want to let him eat in peace. Periodically do a quick refresher where you give him something yummy to keep him up on the training, but the rest of the time leave him alone to eat.
My experience with Corgis is many of them are not ok with another dog right near their food bowl. Mine will cheerfully lick the same plate, but won't let the other near their own bowls while they are eating. They are ok when they are done and go and lick each other's, in case they missed something.
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