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!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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First i would have a vet check to be sure there isnt a medical problem that is causing her to be hungry all the time. Next, start using a leash when you feed her so you can stop her from going afterbyour other dog's food. Bezure all other food is out of her reach, bags from chips and crackers etc have killed way too many corgis. I give frozen (thawed) green beans with meals to give a feeling of bulk without the calories for mine.
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Permalink Reply by rosemary on
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Thankyou! Her bloodwork was perfectly normal, no medical issues. We supervise their feeding now.
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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I am not sure if it is resourse guarding, but there are some good tips online to curb that if that is the case. Sully exhibits mild resourse guarding issues and the oline tips were helpful for keeping it from escalating. I think, if my memory is clear, that I got some great tips from the ASPCA website. Sully tries to take food from larger dogs if she knows they are submissive and growls very softly, almost inaudibly, if a dog is getting attention from someone Sully considers her personal person. She stops immediately with a firm "No," but I do remove her if necessary. As long as your dog gets the message that growling, nipping and taking another dog's food is unacceptable I would think it will taper off, but don't take my word for it. I am sure there are tutorials that will he you determine if that is what is going on and the best way to limit it.
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Thankyou! I have never heard of resource guarding, I will google it. She acts like she will starve and is always hyper alert for food. Yes, she bosses around submissive dogs! Now, I will stand there and throw a treat to the golden while I am holding her collar and she is eating hers. I then let go and she goes over to salvage crumbs. I give her a look and a NO now. I just don't get why she acts like she is starving all the time.
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I am not an expert in it so Imwould definitely look at a credible site for some good advice as handling it well can help manage it quite easily but mishandling it can make things worse. Does she also complain when the other dog gets a toy or attention? My dog is very sweet so itbstill catches me by surprise but it is more of a jealousy thing. Thankfully she is never aggressive, just tries to growl,or sneak the food away, but she never tries it with large, more dominant dogs. Just acting bratty IMO, which I refuse to tolerate.
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Thank you. She is territorial and jealous of attention the other dog gets. She will even try to butt in and push him out of the way. I tell her NO if she nips him to make him move, which she often does in order to be closer to us. She basically is not afraid of any dog, when we go to the vet, they have a long narrow hall, when we walk down it, she never moves to the side, the other dog always does, no matter how big they are! If I try to pull her over on the leash, she won't budge. She is a total sweetheart, but definitely very bossy and has to be dominant over the other dogs. She got into a dogfight once when the other dog was like her, so I have to be careful when walking for other dogs as she only likes them if she can boss them and if she can't, they'll be trouble. She has always been like this, she is socialized to dogs but must be dominant.
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Permalink Reply by Chris Payerl on
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It may not be about the food as much as "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine." Please try to be firm with her and not overfeed --- bad for her health overall and her long corgi back in particular. Even if it's just a short walk, take her out, maybe for three or four short walks rather than one long one every day. Eventually you can increase the length as she starts to shed pounds.
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Thank you, she is hard to walk, she walks a little, refuses to budge, than repeats it. But if she see's something that interests her, she will run with no problem. I may try to get those tiny treats and throw one when she stops and keep repeating it. If it works, I'll gradually try to withdraw them (!). She is a bit overweight, as everyone gives in to her for scraps etc as she keeps barking for it. But i have told them to stop it, bad for her.
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You may have already read this on this site somewhere, but there is a very good program called "Nothing in Life is Free." It would be very helpful for Mini since she is so food motivated. The idea is to make her work for EVERYTHING she gets. You can do it for both dogs since it is used as a reward system, not a punishment, but it does teach the dog that you are in control, which is extremely important to her well-being as having a strong leader/owner makes a confident, but obedient dog. It also helps a submissive dog feel confident so it is a win-win. I make my dog sit and wait before until I say "take it" when I give her food. If she moves I pick it up and start again. I make her sit and wait and let me go out the door first and make her go back in if she doesn't wait. She always does now though. She used to be overly submissive as well as jealous and it really helped as it made her more confident. There are plenty of online tips for NILIF so you can google it and take it in small steps. I do think Mini needs to learn that you not she is the boss ASAP for her good and Pumkin's good as that behavior can get out of hand, but NILIF works! You just need to remember to use a calm, positive and very consistent approach for both dogs. Good luck!
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Thank you very much Holly! I will check into it, Mini has always been a dominant dog and very stubborn! So different than Pumpkin, but she is very lovey-dovey on the other hand. I see your point, she has to learn that I am the boss not her. She won't bark at me when I eat, but will bark at everyone else! I have to get all to comply. Pumpkin and Mini are my first two dogs. I really wanted a dog after babysitting my relative's golden. Corgi's are so clever and observant. It's hard walking her though, I may try those tiny treats throwing them when she decides to sit. She must go through the door first, so I think she thinks she is the boss. She got away with a lot because she is so darn cute, and those corgi expressions are priceless!
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At first she will be mystified about the rule changes but if you are cheerful and teach her in a pleasant voice to sit first, then you can make her sit before you do many things, like when you open the door to walk her and before you feed her and such. When she tries to get up before you say "take it" to eat, or "come" to walk, you can just very gently say no, walk her back to the spot and say "sit" then let her follow you out. If she doesn't wait until you give her permission to take her food you can simply pick up the dish and say sweetly, "No, Sit." UNLESS you think she might be aggressive. You don't want to risk a bite or anything, but you should be able to teach her that you are in control of when she is allowed to take her food and her treats. She can get used to other, none food rewards as well. She wants to go out so that is the reward. You do have to be sure to make her do what you ask her to each time or she will just become more stubborn about doing what she wants, unfortunately, but they want to please so you have that in your favor. I usually carry a few treats in my pocket in case I need to reward her for a new treat or reinforce her for the "come" command, but most of the time she complies because she wants the reward of her meal or a walk or something so it is easy to make sure she knows that all good things come from you, her leader, and she has to earn them. It builds trust and mutual respect and you will soon see, I am sure, how much fun she has learning new things. Sully loves to learn tricks and she is very eager to please. I think that is typical of most corgis so you should be able to turn her attitude into a "team player."I think it is fun really.
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When Mini is stumped about things, she cocks her head to the side and her expression is priceless! I am not afraid of her biting me, she would never bite us. I will try your technique it sounds great. She loves when I play with her or get down on the floor. We never could figure out how such a small dog can reach two shelves up in the pantry, but I am telling them to be sure to shut this door. Teaching her anything would require food, she will literally do anything for food! I have these tiny treats now for when we walk. It's been unusually cold here in NC, but will try in a day or two when we get out of these freezing temps. Thank you for your advice!
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