I have a 3 year old lab and an 8 year old chihuahua. We've had the chihuahua for 6 years or so and the lab since she was a pup. So, the chihuahua predates the lab. Anyway, until recently, they got along great and we were one big happy family. Then, in the last couple weeks, they started fighting at feeding time. That has now escalated to fighting all the time.

So... I'm just now trying to figure out what is going on. I originally thought it was just them getting "cranky" when they were fighting around dinner (since they've lived in peace together for three years now). But, due to the recent escalation, I have to say it's something more. The lab is the one instigating the fights and she is relentless. We put her outside to cool off and when she comes back in, she is right back at it. I'm thinking this has to be the lab trying to assume dominance over the older chihuahua. But, I guess I'm curious why this is just starting now...

Anyhow, if anyone has dealt with a similar situation, I'd be very curious to hear how you dealt with it. For now, we are just keeping them apart until we can come up with a better plan.

[Piti Longstalking]

I'm going to take a load off your shoulders...don't worry about dominance. It won't help you to label one dog dominant...it won't change your training.

All you need to worry about is rewarding good behavior and ignoring bad behavior if you can or otherwise managing the dogs. If your dogs aren't crate trained, now's a good time to start. Crates are wonderful management tools.

Otherwise, accept this as a confusion over resources. That means practice NILIF religiously with both dogs. Drive the message home that you are in control over all resources by making your dogs work for their food.

The only advice I can give you is to separate their bowls so they are not close to each other at feeding time. This works for my dogs, they used to fight when I put down one bowl before the other. Not anymore...

Thank you both for the advice. And, I agree that it won't help to label the dog... But, I figured I need to know what the problem was before I fixed it.

I'm taking the lab to the vet tomorrow and will look into the NILIF training too. Thanks again.

I feed all the dogs in my house at the same time, side-by-side. All dogs must sit and wait for release before they eat. I've not had food aggression issues but my response if it did happen would be to remove the food--if they want to eat, they had better be calm. I control their resources, they have to earn access to those resources be it dinner, treats, or affection.

As Piti said, it really doesn't matter whether one dog is trying to dominate the other--they are displaying inappropriate food aggression and the response is the same--take the food away--you control the food, not them.

Separating the dogs at meal time does not solve the underlying problem. It's a temporary solution but the problem still persists and may progress to aggression over toys or other resources.

A good "scruff shake" to the aggressor wouldn't hurt, either. Don't be afraid to let the dog know that you don't approve of the aggression and he needs to knock it off.

When you say "scruff shake", what exactly do you mean by that.

Originally Posted by egervase

When you say "scruff shake", what exactly do you mean by that.

It's just like what a Momma dog does to a puppy to correct it:

Take the scruff of the neck in your hand (not hard, just hold it) and shake (again, not hard, just enough to get their attention) and at the same time you do the "scruff shake" say with a stern voice "ENOUGH".

Depending on the situation, you may get a satisfactory effect by just placing your hand on the back of the dog's neck and saying "ENOUGH". Again, it's a mimic of a Momma dog's correction.

Thank you... I've never had a problem like this and have had dogs all my life. It's good to hear some good first steps at getting it fixed.

[Piti Longstalking]

Scruff shakes are a bad, bad idea and they should never be recommended. We are not dogs and we should not take from ritualistic behavior of dogs to justify physical punishment. In fact physical punishments are rarely if ever needed, and certainly not for resource guarding. If you feel a need to use physical punishments you likely need the services of a certified dog trainer. Too much is read into what mama dog does, so it's silly to even suggest it.