Mini my 10 year old corgi harasses the older 13 year old golden retriever for food and snacks!

If anyone has advice I would appreciate it. Yesterday I saw Mini eat her food, than walk over and nip the golden (Pumpkin) in the legs while he was eating. He jumped away so not to get nipped, and then she proceeded to eat his food. I saw her, took the bowl away, and yelled NO NO NO at her. She got the point as her ears went back and she walked away. Pumpkin is very sweet and non confrontational so he always lets her do what she wants, even if it's his food.

Mini has always been food motivated, she is fed a top quality diet, gets veggies and likes fruit. She is overweight though, when we sit down to eat, she barks and begs constantly, so she wins. Don't tell me to put her in cage, we would never go through with it. Maybe we should put her outside?

When I give them treats she gobbles hers, and again attempts to terrorize the golden by nipping him and getting his food. Sometimes I see Pumpkin looking at her when I give him a treat, so I walk away from her and he takes it. She is known to "break into the pantry" and eat a box of treats, crackers etc. We have even found her in the bottom of our kitchen cabinets a few times. She will go in the gym bag and take your sandwich/snack if it's not zipped.

She is very very cuddly, loving, smart and a great dog, except for the above! The only other issue is that when walked she walks slow and will just stop and not move making it really hard to walk off the weight on her. Ideas? Thankyou!

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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on January 7, 2016 at 5:08pm

Dominance behavior? She's not guarding resources: she's taking them away from the competition. Also, in dog life, females are usually dominant over males.

There's a simple fix: a leash. Feed both dogs, one at one end of the kitchen (or wherever) and the other one across the room. Hook a leash on Mini's collar and loop the handle over a doorknob or the oven handle, so she can't get over to Pumpkin to chase him off. This has worked in our precincts to cause Ruby to stand down off grabbing Cassie's food -- takes a few weeks, though.

Don't yell at the dog over this annoyance. Ears back may mean something altogether different from what you hope. Actions speak louder than words, at any volume.

She barks you down while you're eating?? (That's the name I came up with for this behavior: barking at you until you capitulate. Cassie's good at it.) And she "wins"? Heh heh heh... I'm afraid you just put your finger on it, even if unwittingly. :-D If you want some peace at the dinner table, do not let the dog win. You are not the dog's pet; the dog is your pet. Weather permitting, put the dog outdoors while you enjoy a meal. Failing the backyard, try the back bedroom...

Also, it's important to bear in mind that she IS a dog. Therefore, being a dog, she will dig up whatever food she can find, because that's what you do when you're a dog. Placing treats and the like in the kitchen cabinets is an invitation to a dog to explore the kitchen cabinet. Clean out the cabs and find a place on a higher shelf (as in at head-level or higher for the human) to stash the enticing goodies. And for hevvinsake don't leave food in an unzipped bag where the dog can help herself. Would you leave a bottle of aspirins with that candy-like coating someplace where a kid could get it? Same difference...except the sandwich won't kill the dog. Chocolate in the bag could, though. So could a plastic bag, if she chose to swallow it.