OT - food aggression in dogs

We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. Each gets obedience
training classes every week. The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do
some agility this past week. He loved it. Kinsey is a clumsy four
months, now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. I am
devastated. We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer.
Each said that's end of game. Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. Treats are
not a problem. They will drink at the same time out of a bowl. Kinsey
is learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants to be left
alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment. He'll even
give up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? I can put my hand in the bowl,
or hand feed him. That's not the issue. I'm broken hearted and
desperate for a solution.

Dianne


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"Dianne Lewandowski" wrote in message
...
We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. Each gets obedience
training classes every week. The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do some
agility this past week. He loved it. Kinsey is a clumsy four months,
now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. I am
devastated. We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer. Each
said that's end of game. Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. Treats are
not a problem. They will drink at the same time out of a bowl. Kinsey is
learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants to be left
alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment. He'll even give
up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? I can put my hand in the bowl,
or hand feed him. That's not the issue. I'm broken hearted and desperate
for a solution.

Dianne


--
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I wish I could offer you a solution, but I can't. I do know that I've had
dogs that would let you take their food right out of their mouth, and one
who would growl and snarl if you passed the dish while he was eating and we
were never able to change things. I think it's just in their nature to do
that.

I really never thought of it as a major problem and just put the dish down
and walked away.

As long as he's fine with treats and eating out of your hand, I probably
would ignore it.

I believe that at 18 months you really can feed Parker twice a day.

I imagine that in Parker's mind he thinks, I have had to give up my privacy,
my toys, my exclusive rights to my masters but I refuse to give up my meals.

L

I have a 2 year old dog (a cockamo) and five cats. I took Kizzy to dog
obedience when she was a puppy and it certainly helped as she is a very
sensitive dog. Also having to live with five cats has resulted in a
certain pecking order. She can sometimes become rather possessive of
her toys, treats and food but I don't allow her to get away with it. If
she's particularly aggressive to one of the cats I put her through some
exercises my trainer taught me to show her who is in control (ie me).
In rapid succession I make her sit, lay down, sit, lay down then
release, or lay down, release, lay down, release a number of times. She
finds it fun and it breaks the mood. If I feel it's a very serious
behavior problem, I'll put her pinch collar on her and walk her through
the situation again with corrective behavior modifications.

One of my cats is super possessive and aggressive about her food but she
gets fed wet food with the rest of the cats so she can learn to share
better. She does have a separate dry food dispenser in one of the
bedrooms which, though any cat and the dog can eat out of, makes her
feel better that she knows that that food is always there for her. If
she becomes seriously bad, I'm not above putting her over my knee and
giving her a swat or two on the bottom. ;-

I think your dogs are just learning the pecking order in your house and
the older one is trying to show that he's the top dog. You have to
remember that YOU are the top dog in the house. I think with some
training and patience you can get through this problem and if not
completely solve it, at least minimize the impact and come to an
acceptable solution.

Good luck, Dianne!

Dianne Lewandowski wrote:
We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. Each gets obedience
training classes every week. The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do
some agility this past week. He loved it. Kinsey is a clumsy four
months, now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. I am
devastated. We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer.
Each said that's end of game. Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. Treats are
not a problem. They will drink at the same time out of a bowl. Kinsey
is learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants to be left
alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment. He'll even
give up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? I can put my hand in the bowl,
or hand feed him. That's not the issue. I'm broken hearted and
desperate for a solution.

Dianne


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BC, Canada

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Dianne Lewandowski wrote:
We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. Each gets obedience
training classes every week. The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do
some agility this past week. He loved it. Kinsey is a clumsy four
months, now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. I am
devastated. We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer.
Each said that's end of game. Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. Treats are
not a problem. They will drink at the same time out of a bowl. Kinsey
is learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants to be left
alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment. He'll even
give up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? I can put my hand in the bowl,
or hand feed him. That's not the issue. I'm broken hearted and
desperate for a solution.

Dianne

One of the things I have seen on the Dog Whisperer is dealing with
this. First off, the dogs have to know that you are pack leader and as
such are BOSS of the food. It's YOUR food and you give it to them ONLY
when YOU decide to do so!
One way Caesar has managed this is to put the food in the bowl and
then hold the bowl up off the ground so that the dog has to stand up to
get into the bowl while YOU are in control of the bowl. You keep
holding the bowl and, while the dog is eating, every few bites you lift
the bowl out of the dogs reach to show the dog that YOU control the food
because YOU are pack leader.
It seems that once the food aggressive dog has accepted the fact
that it's YOUR food not his -- you are just sharing it when you want to
-- then s/he starts to fall in line. It's basically a power and control
issue and YOU must be the one with the power and the control if you plan
on being pack leader. It certainly won't happen overnight but at least
it's something you could try. Regardless, someone in the house must be
pack leader and it had better be the humans or life could get very
unhappy! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary

Thanks, everyone. Mary: I was trying to remember how Cesar Milano did
this. I'll give it a try. Although the Am. Vet Soc. has come out
emphatically against his techniques. :~)

Dianne



Tia Mary wrote:
Dianne Lewandowski wrote:
We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. Each gets obedience
training classes every week. The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do
some agility this past week. He loved it. Kinsey is a clumsy four
months, now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. I am
devastated. We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer.
Each said that's end of game. Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. Treats
are not a problem. They will drink at the same time out of a bowl.
Kinsey is learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants
to be left alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment.
He'll even give up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? I can put my hand in the
bowl, or hand feed him. That's not the issue. I'm broken hearted and
desperate for a solution.

Dianne

One of the things I have seen on the Dog Whisperer is dealing with
this. First off, the dogs have to know that you are pack leader and as
such are BOSS of the food. It's YOUR food and you give it to them ONLY
when YOU decide to do so!
One way Caesar has managed this is to put the food in the bowl and
then hold the bowl up off the ground so that the dog has to stand up to
get into the bowl while YOU are in control of the bowl. You keep
holding the bowl and, while the dog is eating, every few bites you lift
the bowl out of the dogs reach to show the dog that YOU control the food
because YOU are pack leader.
It seems that once the food aggressive dog has accepted the fact that
it's YOUR food not his -- you are just sharing it when you want to --
then s/he starts to fall in line. It's basically a power and control
issue and YOU must be the one with the power and the control if you plan
on being pack leader. It certainly won't happen overnight but at least
it's something you could try. Regardless, someone in the house must be
pack leader and it had better be the humans or life could get very
unhappy! CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary


--
Affordable & Creative Website Design - including Flash and more.
No Templates. Designed Just For You! http://Kanen5Designs.com

Dianne, I think I'm missing something. Are you trying to feed them
both from the same bowl? Each dog should have his own bowl and should
be fed away from the other, if not in separate rooms, at least in
separate parts of the room. My boys mostly eat in their crates, but
if I don't have the crates available (like in a hotel room), then I
give them each their own corner.

If I'm mis-understanding the problem, can you clarify how the food
aggression manifests? Thanks.

Elizabeth

On Feb 23, 9:02*am, Dianne Lewandowski
wrote:
We now have two Cavaliers and adore them both. *Each gets obedience
training classes every week. *The older (Parker at 18 mos) got to do
some agility this past week. *He loved it. *Kinsey is a clumsy four
months, now, and is doing well in basic obedience.

A week ago, Parker - out of the blue - became food aggressive. *I am
devastated. *We talked to the vet, some dog owners, and our trainer.
Each said that's end of game. *Feed them in separate rooms.

They will each take kibble out of my hands - one at a time. *Treats are
not a problem. *They will drink at the same time out of a bowl. *Kinsey
is learning to pay attention to Parker's growls when he wants to be left
alone, or telling Kinsey that's "his" toy at the moment. *He'll even
give up toys willingly if Kinsey barks loud enough.

It's just food. *I'm feeding 3 times a day, yet. *What a chore.

Does anyone out there have a suggestion? *I can put my hand in the bowl,
or hand feed him. *That's not the issue. *I'm broken hearted and
desperate for a solution.

Dianne

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No Templates. *Designed Just For You! *http://Kanen5Designs.com

I had a problem with 2 dogs and food, too, but it wasn't aggression or
guarding but how much each actually ate! The mixed breed (40 pounds)
would occasionally eat hers and then eat the Yorkie's, too. And
sometimes the Yorkie would eat all of hers and then eat a lot of the
mixed's, too. It wasn't easy to see who was eating how much, and I
didn't want either dog to get fat or to be hungry from not getting her
fair share. I solved it by putting the mixed breed's bowls on a
platform about 10" above the floor where the Yorkie didn't get at it,
and put the Yorkie's bowls in the bathroom just off the kitchen, which
I blocked off from the larger girl with a piece of plastic lattice
across the doorway with a hole for the Yorkie to get in and out. It
worked very well!

You really have no reason to feel upset about this. The dogs are just
doing what dogs do! My neighbor has two springer spaniels, and each
has her own distinctive bowl. What he does is put both bowls on the
counter, fill both, and while the dogs are wiggling at his feet, he
puts the older dog's bowl down first, on his right, and says her name,
and a very few seconds later puts the younger dog's bowl down to his
left and says her name. Another neighbor has 2 fox terriers, brother
and sister, and has to feed them separately since the female will eat
hers very fast and then chase her brother away and finish his food --
so nowdays, the female eats in the kitchen and the male eats just
around the corner in the small bathroom. The long and the short of it
is, really, that each dog should have his own bowls and be able to eat
in peace, without worry about whether another dog will go for the
food. And, you need to be sure that each dog gets the proper amount
of food. Free-feeding obviously is not a solution for multi-dog
homes, and neither is sharing. You really don't want to inadvertently
foster development of aggression in the "pack"!

wrote:
Dianne, I think I'm missing something. Are you trying to feed them
both from the same bowl? Each dog should have his own bowl and should
be fed away from the other, if not in separate rooms, at least in
separate parts of the room. My boys mostly eat in their crates, but
if I don't have the crates available (like in a hotel room), then I
give them each their own corner.

If I'm mis-understanding the problem, can you clarify how the food
aggression manifests? Thanks.

Elizabeth

Each has their own bowl. Parker used to eat once a day and it was a
chore to get him to eat even one bowl of food. He wasn't interested
since he had been sick for months and food, to him, was the culprit. We
found out what the problem was (an auto-immune response to heartworm and
flea/tick medication) so he never got sick again, but he lost his
appetite. Except for treats, which were only given during training, and
tiny bits at that.

When we got Kinsey, Parker wanted to eat with him. He suddenly got
interested in food. So, each got fed in separate bowls, their necessary
allotment, three times a day. I understand pack behavior and always
made Parker sit before I set down his bowl. When Kinsey arrived, Parker
was given his bowl first, then Kinsey would sit and get his bowl - right
beside Parker in the same area of the kitchen - a tiny distance apart.


Then suddenly - without warning - Parker went into a red zone. He
wouldn't eat his food out of his bowl but went immediately after Kinsey.
It was nasty. I'm not talking about a little growling.

So, we're now putting Kinsey in the bathroom (off the kitchen - I now
have to give it to him first in order to get him out of the way) and
then giving Parker his bowl. I tried giving Parker his bowl first and
then putting Kinsey in the bathroom . . . but Parker watches and goes
immediately after Kinsey when I put Parker's bowl down. I've literally
had to pull Parker off Kinsey. It is pretty awful. I'm not afraid of
being bitten, and I have a firm command over Parker. I've laid him on
his side and held him down ala Millano until he settles down. To no avail.

When food time is over, they're the best of friends. They'll drink
water out of the same bowl.

I can't make Parker do push ups or other activity to tell him who's
boss. This all happens in seconds. I'm so broken hearted. I had two
loving dogs who lit up my life and now this happened. Out of the blue.

Since Kinsey is now 4 months, today I changed feeding to twice a day.
One less moment of despair.

I could feed them in their crates. The vet suggested that. She also
suggested leashing them in separate parts of the kitchen. I tried that.
Parker just growls the whole time and tries to get to Kinsey. He
won't eat. Kinsey - who loves food - eats and worries every minute.

I've heard that this "happens", but I can't imagine that there isn't a
resolution so that I don't have to separate them and so that Parker
doesn't go ballistic.

Dianne

On Feb 23, 7:13*pm, Dianne Lewandowski
wrote:


I've heard that this "happens", but I can't imagine that there isn't a
resolution so that I don't have to separate them and so that Parker
doesn't go ballistic.


First, from everything I've heard of Milan (I don't have cable), I
suspect he's an ass. Second, why not just separate them? Feed each
one in his own crate and then Parker won't be able to hurt Kinsey and
you won't have to worry. There are some battles that aren't worth
fighting and Parker could really hurt Kinsey. If he gets that upset
over meals, I think it might be worth separating them. If their
crates are near each other, put a towel or blanket between them so
that Parker can't see Kinsey eat.

Elizabeth

wrote:

On Feb 23, 7:13 pm, Dianne Lewandowski
wrote:



I've heard that this "happens", but I can't imagine that there isn't a
resolution so that I don't have to separate them and so that Parker
doesn't go ballistic.



First, from everything I've heard of Milan (I don't have cable), I
suspect he's an ass. ...snip...
Elizabeth

Not an ass -- controversial, sure and wayyyy different than most any
other animal trainer most of us have seen but he does love his dogs and
treats them with respect but takes absolutely NO "back talk" from any of
them.
The one thing he advocates that I think is absolutely necessary in
living with dogs is to make sure the dogs firmly believe YOU are the
boss and pack leader. His mantra in having what he calls a well
balanced dog is to make sure you impose rules, boundaries and
limitations AND to make sure the dog has plenty of exercise. Most of
the stuff I see him do is stuff I was taught as a kid because it's the
way my mom raised and taught our dogs. We always had pretty good dogs
who were well behaved and loved us as much as we loved them. Can't
hardly complain about that. CiaoMeow ^;;^

PAX, Tia Mary ^;;^ (RCTQ Queen of Kitties)
Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about
their whiskers!
Visit my Photo albums at http://community.webshots.com/user/tiamary