Food-Guarding Issues
If
you've never seen a dog with serious food-guarding
issues, it's difficult to appreciate the potential
severity of the problem. Food-guarding issues are
not necessarily a reflection on the personality or
training level of the dog: it's an instinctive thing,
and although dogs with a general aggression problem
are naturally more prone to demonstrating the condition,
it's also exhibited by otherwise-sweet, well-behaved,
well-adjusted family dogs. Like an evil djinn, the
problem can rear its ugly head only when food (or
the food bowl) is present: a real case of Jekyll and
Hyde.
A dog with serious food-guarding issues can be a
real danger to anyone who should approach her during
a meal: it's not a scenario in which you can expect
to train your dog to "play nice". Instinct
is what's compelling her to act in this undesirable,
and even dangerous, way - you need to take steps to
turn the behavior around before your relationship
with your dog suffers or somebody gets hurt.
There are different degrees of food guarding. In
the mildest case, a dog will merely tense up a little
or freeze if somebody approaches her while she's trying
to eat. She may even continue eating, but her posture
will be rigid and stiff: she'll clearly be uncomfortable.
Signs that the problem is more severe would include
a marked increase in eating speed, a direct, hard
stare right at you (often accompanied by a still,
tense, "watching" posture), a lifted lip,
a snarl, a snap, and finally a real bite. NOTE: A
dog exhibiting any of these last three symptoms has
a pretty severe case of food-guarding aggression,
and may be prepared to inflict actual harm. If this
is the case with your dog, hiring a hands-on trainer
may be the best answer for you: it'll ensure your
safety, and they'll be able to examine your overall
relationship with your dog and see if there are other
areas contributing to the problem.
A food-guarding dog is a pretty confused one. In
her mind, she's got your role mixed up. She fails
to recognize that you are the dispenser of food (which
should accord you automatic alpha-dog status, ensuring
your immunity from any kind of aggression or dominance),
and instead is viewing you as a threat: a blackguard
who might be going to take away her precious food.
Hence, the possessiveness.
The degree of aggression that a food-guarding dog
is capable of might be hard to understand, until you
consider the fact that food is one of the greatest
pleasures of your dog's life. Dogs are scavengers
by nature: they're programmed to eat just about anything
they can get their jaws around. As well as the instinctiveness
of this gluttony, most dogs also simply enjoy the
tactile and gustatory sensations that come with a
good meal (or an indifferent one .. and sometimes
even a bad one). They just … like to eat. And
it's this overwhelming importance that's placed on
food that gets some dogs a bit mixed up: their grasp
of the situation gets a bit thrown off, and they begin
to wonder, miser-like, who might happen upon them
and take away their cherished food. The obvious conclusion:
you. Or anyone else who comes along at meal-time.
To cure her of this frustrating and antisocial habit,
you need to remind her that you're actually the purveyor
of that which she holds so dear: to make it clear
to her that you're the one in charge of the kitchen,
and of all the delightful morsels contained therein.
Dogs can develop food-guarding instincts at any point
in their lives: some will have had the problem since
puppyhood, but for others the tendency lies dormant
until it's awakened by an item of particular juiciness.
For most dogs, the deciding factor is meat, in some
shape or form - whether it's a marrowbone, a mutton
hock, or cast-off scraps from the dinner table. Meat
to dogs is like money to humans: it can change them,
make them do things they otherwise wouldn't do. So
it's not entirely surprising that the intrinsic value
of meat-related foodstuffs can give our dogs a new,
unpleasantly skewed perspective on the sanctity of
the food-bowl.
Because of the possibility of food-guarding becoming
an issue in your dog's behavior at any point in her
life, prevention is obviously the ideal path to take:
whether you get your dog from puppyhood or adopt her
as an adult from a shelter, you should make a point
of approaching her during mealtime.
Have you ever heard a friend with dogs ask you to
"leave her alone when she's eating"? This
is a short-term solution at most: it'll prevent anything
untoward from happening, provided that all the humans
play by the rules and ensure that they don't disturb
the dog - but the dog is still the one calling all
the shots. And what will happen if the unexpected
occurs? What if a toddler charges full-tilt towards
the dog and makes a playful grab for her bowl?
In a wolf-pack, the alpha dog is never disturbed
when he or she is eating. Not only does she get to
eat first, and eat the lion's share of everything;
but he or she also eats undisturbed. This is why a
dog that's permitted to eat in solitary splendor can
actually become more food-aggressive, not less; without
anyone to take her down a notch, she begins to assume
more authority than she actually has.
To prevent your dog from getting an overinflated
sense of her own importance, make sure you disturb
her plenty while she's eating. Don't make a point
of tiptoeing around whenever the food bowl's out;
it'll just accustom her to solitude and silence when
she eats (which are things that only the alpha wolf
or dog is entitled to).
At the other end of the spectrum, don't make these
disturbances a negative experience for her either,
or else you may actually create a problem where none
previously existed. All you have to do is approach
her from time to time while she eats - starting from
the very day you bring her into your home - and add
something tasty (and small!) to her dish while she's
eating, to make the connection in her head that 'humans
approaching food bowl = good news'. A spoonful of
scrambled egg, a piece of liver treat, a few chunks
of cheese - anything that she'll enjoy, and that has
a greater "food value" than the kibble she's
eating, will work perfectly.
Of course, if it's too late for preventatives and
your dog already has a problem, you'll need to adopt
a very different approach.
Here's what to do:
- The dog bowl is going to be put away for the next
seven to ten days. Over this time, you're going to
be feeding your dog by hand - one small handful at
a time. Yes, I know this is going to be time-consuming,
but the alternative is even worse: a dangerous dog
that can't be trusted around food. So feed her by
hand for the next week or so. Be sure not to encourage
any greedy snapping or grabbing for the food: only
allow her to take the food from your hand when she
does so gently. Remind her that bite inhibition is
necessary to get what she wants!
- Once at least a week has passed and she's eating
politely from your hand, you can reintroduce the food
bowl, with one slight modification: it has to be empty.
And it stays empty until you pass by and drop a small
handful of kibble into it for her to eat. When that's
been polished off, wait at least a full minute before
adding another, small, handful of kibble. Keep doing
this until the entire meal's been consumed - this
is a very effective way of teaching your dog to actively
long for your presence near her food bowl!
- When she's graduated to the next stage, you can
start setting down a half-empty food bowl for her.
Don't let her lunge at the bowl and start gobbling:
holding the bowl out of reach (or placing it on a
handy counter), make her sit and wait before you allow
her to eat. Don't put the bowl down until she complies.
Sit or crouch beside the bowl and continue to add
small handfuls of kibble, just as you did in step
two, until a full meal's been eaten.
- The fourth, and final, step is to allow her access
to a full food bowl. Again, it's very important that
you do not allow her to call the shots: she must sit
and wait until you release her with an "OK!"
before she's permitted to eat. To keep the message
clear in your head that you are in charge of the food
in this house, practice calling her away from her
food a few times a week and rewarding her with a super-tasty
treat for her exemplary obedience while she's trying
to eat.
If at any time your dog's behavior gets shaky on
any of these four steps, backslide until you've reached
the stage at which she is 100% reliable. Wait at this
stage for at least two or three more days before attempting
to progress once more. As with any training, it's
essential that a solid foundation is built before
moving on to the next level - she must be completely
comfortable with each step before trying a new one.
Further Reading
For detailed, in-depth information on canine behavioral
problems (both preventing and dealing with them) take
a look at Secrets To dog Training. It's the complete
handbook for responsible dog owners, and is packed with
valuable advice and step-by-step how-to's for dog training.
You can visit SitStayFetch by clicking on the link
below:
Visit
Secrets To Dog Training
|