Food Aggression & Manipulation
The past weekend, I was giving Boo Bear a treat. I sat right next to him, and was petting his head while he ate. I've done this with all my other dogs, I've had in the past and could actually take food right out of their mouths with my hands. So I thought I'd start slow.
Boo Bear turned around, growled and snapped at my hands. I picked up the bowl, told him he was a bad dog in a few firm voice and was kenneled.
I've read articles on being "pack leader", feeding at regular times, and feed after the family has ate. All good and viable examples; but my problem is that Boo Bear won't eat when I put the food down for him... He eats when HE wants to eat.
Is there a good way to manipulate him into eating when I say its time to eat????? I work 2 jobs, and full time school; so feeding on my schedule is important, but I feel so bad when i have to kennel him when he hasn't eaten and I don't want to put the food in his kennel... Am I wrong in thinking this??? Plus I have to get my family on board with all of this, so I have to figure this out soon, so I can "educate" the hubby and the teenagers...
Stephanie...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Stephanie, no you should not feel bad, pick up the food after 5 mins, Boo Bear will learn to eat according to your schedule. a solid eating schedule = solid pooping schedule.
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie Lonning on
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I like that... a solid eating schedule; solid pooping schedule!!!!
We've also been making him behave before he gets food, no barking at us when we are eating (although that is totally adorable, but very bad habit)... He's been sleeping in his kennel at night and during the day when we are in and out of the house... we no longer play tug of war games or roll around with him on the floor; all these were against the rules for "pack leader"...
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Permalink Reply by Sarah C. on
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What Sam Tsang says! when I started doing this, Didi stopped all her food nonsense with being picky and waiting for better nuggets in her food.
It turns out that once they're hungry enough they'll eat pretty much any time you'd like them to.
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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But tiny puppies can have very bad things happen if they skip too many meals. Unless I misread the profile page, this pup is only about 12 weeks old..... Still needs to eat three x per day. When puppies aren't eating well, it's frequently not stubbornness, but a sore mouth or too-big kibble or distraction or nervousness or any number of things. I would starve out an adult to make it eat on schedule, but not a twelve-week-old.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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You might want to try feeding him his meal out of your hand and see if this helps. You do want to stop this ASAP and taking his food away was good. He will have to learn that your hands and food are good. I have always started right away with being down on my knees and pretending to eat my pups food so once you get him over the growling I would suggest this...I always figure if a baby were to crawl up and get in the dish I want my Corgis to share:)
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How old is Boo Bear? It is fine to get him to eat on a schedule, but if he is still growing I would leave the food down for a half hour or so before picking it up to make sure he has plenty of time to eat. You may also need to soften it with water if he's still teething, or try mixing in a little plain yogurt.
As far as food-guarding, please understand this has nothing at all to do with dominance or being a "leader." In a group of dogs, the lowliest of the low has the right to defend food it already has in its mouth. Let me put it to you this way: if you were eating a meal and your significant other came over and took it away from you, how would YOU react? What if your boss did it? Does your boss have the authority to steal your lunch? Well, of course not yet we get frightened when our dogs react to us going by their food.
It is true that for safety's sake your dog should learn to tolerate having you pick up food. There is a friendly way to teach it, though, and by taking away the food he already has you have just confirmed his fears: if he does not watch, people take away his food and he won't get it back, so next time he may try doubly hard to protect it from you, just as you would if your boss came by and sometimes stole your lunch.
So here is what you CAN do. Put down his food dish and make a big show of getting out extra-yummy treats (cheese, hot-dogs, etc). While he eats, drop pieces of the food in the area of his bowl. That is day one.
Day two (if this went well and it probably did), put down his food, get out the yummy treats, say his name and wave the food near his face. Feed him a few pieces then drop the rest in his bowl and let him go back to eating.
Day three, put down his food and get out the yummy treats. Say his name, ask him to sit if he knows how, and put the yummy treats in his bowl without the hand feeding.
Day four, say his name, ask him to sit, pick up his food bowl with his regular food in it, put in a few yummy treats and put the food right back down. Lather, rinse, repeat. By day four, chances are that he won't even be looking at his food bowl, he'll be watching your hands. What you are teaching him is that when you pick up his food bowl, GOOD things happen. Practice these kinds of trade-ups periodically to keep him used to it, but most of the time other than training you want to leave him to eat in peace. You can practice the same thing with valued toys and treats; offer him something better, take the toy or treat he has, give him the better thing, and then give him back the toy or treat he already had in his possession. He will think you are wonderfully wise and benevolent, and he will learn that people coming by him when he is eating or playing is a very good thing. He will have no need to resource guard because you will have developed trust with him, so on the rare occasion when you DO need to remove something that he should not eat he will not be upset (and you will reward him by getting him a great treat from the fridge for being such a good boy).
Good luck, and remember don't think in terms of being a leader who is respected and feared; think in terms of being a leader who your dog sees as so smart and savvy, such the bearer of good things, that he would not dream of rebelling.
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In behalf of slow eating corgis...I have 3 that would give up their food to others so they eat in their crate with the door open. I hate to eat fast so I would rebel if someone was taking my food away after 5 minutes. Maybe 10-20 but 5 seems too drastic for me personally.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I also checked and it appears he is still a puppy. Put part of his food down and if he starts eating bring the rest with your hand and put it in his bowl. After 15/20 minutes pick the food up and put it away until next time. Since he is young I also would not want him to skip more than one meal. Try wetting the kibble a little in case his gums are hurting. Teething can really make meal time difficult. The main thing is to be very "matter of fact" about the whole thing otherwise you can encourage drama at meal time. Another possibility if time is a problem is to try one of those balls that dispense kibble when it rolls. Feed at least 2 times a day at this age.
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Great thought Bev...usually I think of the teething but yes...his mouth could be hurting and the warm water to soften his food will help:)
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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I would soften his food with a little water and leave it down for 20 minutes. If he doesn't eat, pick it back up and don't offer him any food or treats until the next meal. Henry used to skip a meal here and there when he was little, he was a very picky eater too. I would also try hand feeding him at least part of his meal so he gets used to the fact that YOU control the food, not him.
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Wonderful Wonderful advice!!! Makes sense on the growling at meal time when I take away the food. I did feed him a little by hand today and he was fine no problems.. and I guess I should have clarified in my original post; the food that he was eating was "treat" food, not his normal puppy iams.. he's absolutely fine with his "dog food" but the "treat food" was something out of cujo. LOL.. I'm exaggerating there but it was pretty scary.. and yes, I have plenty of children around the neighborhood and the last thing I want is to be afraid or kennel him when people are around... My cocker spaniel had to be put down because she bolted through the door, broke the handle, and bit the mailman... My scotty was a handsome handsome gentleman and loved everyone and I never had any problems and was a very sad day in our town when he ran out in the road... This will be my 3rd dog in 10 years and we've already become very attached to Boo Bear, who is yes, 12 weeks...
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