[BCowner]

I have a 7 month BC that is usually very freindly and loves other dogs and people. however if I were to give her a treat at the same time another dog approaches her she would get very agressive towards that other dog as well as myself when i try to stop her behaviour. She also behaves this way if she steals something good such as a chicken bone and we try to remove it from her.

Shes not food agressive in normal cases , I can take her food bowl away from her while shes eating and she doesn't get affect. as a matter fact unlike she won't eat all her food the instant i give it to her, Ive seen a full food bowl sit out ofr half a day.

Generally when this happens I grab her by the chocke collar and pull tight and take away the food. i then have to hold her tight until she calms down. i have many flesh wounds from this occurence

[cigwyllt]

First off - I have to say that I have very little experience of border collies but I know they are very intelligent and so you have to stay one step ahead the whole time.

It seems to me that there are two things going on here - one is the guarding of her treats that you have given her and the other is the stealing. If she was my dog I would treat the two problems separately.

If you know she is prone to guarding her treats then only give them to her when she is able to enjoy them in peace - if you have a crate she could have her treats in there. I understand that you need to be able to approach your dog even if he/she is eating but I also feel that there is a need for mutual respect. For instance, if someone gave you your favourite snack then started jostling you or hassling you you would be confused and upset. Although the rule in our household is that you do not disturb the dogs when they are eating if someone does bump into a dog or accidentally kick the bowl as they pass the dogs know that it isn't a threat.

As for stealing and refusing to give up her prize, she need to be taught a really strong "leave it command or, as I have done with my youngest dog, "swap" or "let me see". He learned from an early age to let me see what he was chewing on and he learned that if he moved away so I could see it he would either get it back or get something better.

[lange]

my Akita has never shown any sort of food aggression with people but she has with dogs. She has been possessive with water & treat aggressive towards other dogs, including my own, starting when she was very young. I'm not a professional & our dog situations will be different but I will tell you what has been working for me.

Dog food aggression; My dogs are treated & fed separately unless I'm hand feeding. The non food aggressive one (wrigley) is crated during meals & the food aggressive one (kuma) is free roaming in the room & can see him eating. Here I WANT her to see him so I can create & correct behaviors. Sometimes she will position herself right in front, stiffen & lower her head at the closed crate door when he gets a high value treat. Wrigley might then give a little growl. When this happens I will tell her to move away & give him space. If she doesn't I will literally start stepping in, separating her position from the crate until she starts backing off. (these incidents are happening less over time)

Other times I work having them sit next to each other, w/their eyes on me & will use 'focus/look at me' command & give a small treat to both at exactly the same time. She will glance over at him occasionally as she chews but I won't allow her to get to where she is hard focusing on him or gearing to move closer.

I can definitely see progress but Kuma is an adolescent Akita so it's much too risky for me to put my guard down & trust her. Until she reaches maturity & hasn't shown an ounce of food aggression for a long time, high value treats are only allowed in my presence or when they're separated.

Stealing & food aggression w/people; 100% agree w/Cig, you need to have him learn the leave it command down pat. Start with lower value foods & work up as he masters the command. Be sure you are simultaneously working with a "take it" command. That way he can also take the treats you are asking him to ignore/leave. He should only get the treat on your command & you should only give the command when he is not focused on the treat!

When you feed your dog are you giving an "eat" command? Making him be calm & sit for it? This should help reinforce food in your home to him. Meaning no matter what he smells or sees, it may be yours & he can only have it when you allow it.

What does your dog do when it's people-dinner time? This is another time where you should make sure your dogs respecting your food & his place. No begging or hard focusing. He should also be giving you all physical space.

Since you have a BC, you would do well teaching a drop it or swap command. You can start with using toys. Get him to learn to drop one toy into your hand in exchange giving him another to take.

The last thing you want to do with an aggressive dog is physically remove something from it's mouth. Your goal should be to swap the stolen food for something else or getting them to voluntarily drop it. In emergencies situation I use that unlock spot in a dogs mouth & they automatically open their mouth BUT my dogs are not aggressive towards me otherwise I'd probably not be sticking my fingers in their mouth.

You can also $use body language after asking the dog to drop it & it doesn't. Cesar Millan is great to watch when he uses body language to "OWN" something. I do this with my Akita once in awhile. Not often though since she is pretty good about what is hers & what isn't.
I hope that all helps.

[BCowner]

Originally Posted by lange

When you feed your dog are you giving an "eat" command? Making him be calm & sit for it? This should help reinforce food in your home to him. Meaning no matter what he smells or sees, it may be yours & he can only have it when you allow it.

What does your dog do when it's people-dinner time? This is another time where you should make sure your dogs respecting your food & his place. No begging or hard focusing. He should also be giving you all physical space.

Since you have a BC, you would do well teaching a drop it or swap command. You can start with using toys. Get him to learn to drop one toy into your hand in exchange giving him another to take. .

thanks for the help My dog just grazes, I don't have any feeding ritual with her. Usually I see her food bowl empty I'll put some more food in it and she won't care for a couple hours, then at some poiint she decides shes hungry and gobbles it down.

The times where she exhibits this most is when Im at the the dog park and I am trying to get her attention with a treat but then another dog comes up and she will be agressive to that dog, if I try to grab her she will bite me as well. I very aware of this behaviour so Im prepared to grab her choke collar and give a hard tug. Bring treatbut its the only way to get her to come back to me (even then it take her along time) this will be my next dog post

I'll work more on the drop it or swap command we are constantly doing this to get shoes and other stuff we want to keep undestroyed out of her mouth.

[JenBev]

Hi,Im new here so....hello everyone! O.k. Here's my input based on my personal experience with dogs. First, a dog is a dog regardless of his breed. Dogs are pack animals and if you observe a wild pack of canines they each have their place within the pack based upon where the alpha places them. As alpha you tell THEM where and when to eat. I started this with my puppy the day I bought him for my hubbys birthday. Make him sit and WAIT until you give the "ok". Not just treats but ANY food or water. Control the food...you control your dogs place in your pack. He should sit and look you in the eyes and wait for your "ok". Larger dogs need a firmer touch. Seriously...watch a pack of dog like beings in the wild. They are "allowed to eat where, when, and how much the alpha allows". Once your dog seeks your approval to eat, youve become the dominant role. Also, the more you pull the leash, the more he'll pull against it. Its in their nature. Its a quick,calm,firm jerk of the clete collar to get his focus. Dont pull. Best of luck

[BCowner]

Originally Posted by JenBev

Hi,Im new here so....hello everyone! O.k. Here's my input based on my personal experience with dogs. First, a dog is a dog regardless of his breed. Dogs are pack animals and if you observe a wild pack of canines they each have their place within the pack based upon where the alpha places them. As alpha you tell THEM where and when to eat. I started this with my puppy the day I bought him for my hubbys birthday. Make him sit and WAIT until you give the "ok". Not just treats but ANY food or water. Control the food...you control your dogs place in your pack. He should sit and look you in the eyes and wait for your "ok". Larger dogs need a firmer touch. Seriously...watch a pack of dog like beings in the wild. They are "allowed to eat where, when, and how much the alpha allows". Once your dog seeks your approval to eat, youve become the dominant role. Also, the more you pull the leash, the more he'll pull against it. Its in their nature. Its a quick,calm,firm jerk of the clete collar to get his focus. Dont pull. Best of luck

thanks , we used to leave food out for our dog all the time because she seems to just graze on it. based on trainers advice we just put it down for 10 minutes and take it away. However its been hard to follow since she still won't eat within the first 10 minutes of putting the foold down so we let it stay for longer but once we see she has eaten we take it away until the next feeding. Should we be more forceful and take it away when she doesn't eat and let her go hungry until she learns that its only going to be there for that short of time?

[reeskujo]

The general rule of thumb for most trainers including myself is to leave the food down for 20 minutes. If they don't start eating by then or if they pick at it a little and then walk away the food gets pulled and it doesn't go back down until it's time for their next feeding.