Food agression

Tucker and Butler do not get along. So everyone goes to their crate for food. Tucker is presently wearing a cone because he has started obsessively licking one paw. He is sulking because he doesn't like the cone so he doesn't eat. Last night, Butler and Redford were out of their crates and Tucker was picking at his food. Butler was about 8 feet from Tucker's crate and Tucker started growling at him. Whenever he would growl, I told him "no" in a low volume deep voice. We also had a stare down until he broke his gaze. Then Tucker's food was taken away (he had already had 15 minutes to eat).

I am concerned because Tucker has been very aggressive to Butler and once to Redford when he thought Redford was getting too close to the bag of chewies on the coffee table (Redford was just shifting positions while chewing a bone). The distance part bothers me as well as the fact we haven't had any problems recently.

I worked with a trainer for awhile and she could get Tucker and Redford walking next to each other. But she's not "Mom", she's the no-nonsense lady that comes to the house weekly. There's a different dynamic between the dogs and me.

Suggestions?

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Comment by Vicky Hay on September 18, 2015 at 5:38pm: It may pass. Be patient...but watchful.

Ruby the Corgi Puppy decided, during some phase of doggy adolescence, that she deserved to have Cassie the Corgi's food. Cassie would back down and run away if Ruby charged up to her food dish.

I guess that's better than having them at each other's throats. But Ruby eating Cassie's dinner was not what I had in mind. So I put Ruby on a light nylon lead, which I tied to the oven door handle, then put Cassie's food down first at the other end of the kitchen. Then put Ruby's in front of her.

For reasons I can't articulate & prob'ly don't make any sense, I felt they should be able to see each other while feeding, and Ruby should remain leashed until Cassie had completely finished eating and hoovered up all the stray molecules in and around her dish.

After a few months I tried Ruby without the leash...and voila! They now eat in the kitchen together (though not side-by-side) without bugging each other.

Comment by Beverly Butler Redford & Tucker on September 17, 2015 at 10:12pm: Thanks Bev-I just got one of the leashes that i can wrap around my waist, so i can start working with him with his obedience commands as well as his agression.

Comment by Bev Levy on September 17, 2015 at 4:47pm: I had a corgi that was food aggresive with other dogs and did not like one of my other dogs. I agree with Beth that while Tucker is in the cone he should have a safe place to eat. Two things helped when i dealt with a similar situation. First i leashed my more aggressive dog and tethered him to me while i went about my normal day. I did this initially for a week and later at random times. Secondly, i had him do things at my request to distract him, such as sit, shake etc and then rewarded his efforts. We eventually reached a point where i only had to call his name if he appeared to be focusing on the other dog and he would stop.

Comment by Beverly Butler Redford & Tucker on September 17, 2015 at 2:30pm: He was in his crate at the time, but Butler was loose. Maybe i should remove the uneaten food first, then let Butler loose.

Comment by Beth on September 17, 2015 at 12:08pm: For the short term, while Tucker is wearing his cone I would give him a safe space to eat where the other dogs can't come near him. Maybe some baby gates would help. All bets are off when a dog is sick or injured or wearing the cone of shame. They feel vulnerable and can act out, and then new behaviors can become ingrained and turn into a permanent problem.

In a multi-dog home, having to manage the dogs around each other when food is involved is always a concern. Some dogs simply can't be trusted with food in each other's presence, while others are more tolerant of it.