HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS

WARNING AND CAUTION IS ADVISED WHEN WORKING WITH HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS:

FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS IS SERIOUS. ANY KIND OF DOG AGGRESSION IS SERIOUS AND SOMEONE CAN GET HURT. Be sure not to attempt this training without the help and instruction of a professional dog behaviorist or consultant who specializes in aggression. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS BY YOURSELF.

NEVER USE PUNISHMENT, FEAR, PAIN, OR INTIMIDATION TO DEAL WITH DOG AGGRESSION. IT OFTEN TIMES MAKES THE AGGRESSION WORSE WITHIN SIXTY DAYS OF THIS TYPE OF TRAINING.

THESE ARE GENERAL TRAINING GUIDELINES FOR FOOD BOWL AGGRESSION. EVERY DOG RESPONDS DIFFERENTLY, AND ADJUSTMENTS NEED TO BE MADE AS NECESSARY DEPENDING ON EACH DOG’S INDIVIDUAL RESPONSE TO THE TRAINING.

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Set the dog up for success. Start the exercises with the person who causes the least possessiveness, and guarding behavior, then generalize this to other individuals later.

 HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS: STEPS AND PROTOCOLS.

• Have the dog back tied to a wall, if necessary, near the dog’s empty food bowl. Approach the bowl as closely as possible without having the dog become tense or anxious. Drop or toss a high valued food reward into the bowl if the dog is not acting aggressive in any way, then walk away.

• Repeat this procedure, reinforcing calm, non-aggressive behavior, each time. If you are only able to perform the exercise at a specific distance, say, 10 feet, then you can inch closer each time. Perform the exercise and repetitions with some approaches from different directions to help generalize calm behavior with approaches from any direction. Once one person has performed some of the exercises, have other family members practice them.

• Still working with an empty bowl, approach, bend over halfway to the bowl, drop, or toss in some treats, and walk away. Because the bowl is empty, the dog should have no trouble with this. At the same time, the dog is learning how this game works. When you approach, the dog gets yummy high value food rewards if it is not aggressive and gets nothing if it is aggressive. As always, try to arrange it so that the dog does not get aggressive. What this means is, never getting so close as it would cause your dog to become tense or anxious, which then typically leads to aggression. After several repetitions, work your approach from different directions as before.

• Still working with an empty bowl, approach, bend over the bowl as you might if you were going to pick it up, but do not touch it. Pause and drop in a high value food reward or two, then walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some approaches from directions. Only proceed to the next level of each of these steps when the dog is visibly eager to have you carry out the task. This will help ensure that counterconditioning occurs.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, bend over and reach for the bowl as if to pick it up. Touch the bowl and then drop a few high value food rewards in and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some approaches from different directions.

 GO SLOW WITH THESE STEPS AND PROTOCOLS FOR HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS.

• Still with an empty bowl, approach, bend over, reach for the bowl, and touch it, then pause for a few seconds. Drop a few high value food rewards in the bowl and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, bend over, grasp the bowl, and pick it up an inch off the ground. Immediately drop in a few high value food rewards, put the bowl down and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, bend over, pick up the bowl a little higher off the ground and pause an extra couple of seconds. Drop a few high value food rewards into the bowl, put it back down and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, bend over, pick up the bowl and stand upright. Immediately place a few high value food rewards in the bowl, place it back on the ground and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, bend over, pick up the bowl, carry it to a nearby counter, place some high value food rewards in it and return it to the ground, then walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

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 HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS FURTHER STEPS AND PROTOCOLS

Assuming that the dog has no problem with being touched, other than in association with food, we can now start working on the other aspects of the food bowl aggression, the dog being touched, as opposed to having the food bowl itself touched. These steps are all about setting the dog up for success and helping the dog generalize the learning.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, pat the dog on the back once, let the dog see you are coming, do not create any surprises, place a high value food reward in the bowl and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, pat the dog two times on the back, place a high value food reward in the bowl and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, pat the dog a few times, drop a high value food reward in the bowl and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

• Still with the bowl empty, approach, pat the dog numerous times, drop a high value food reward in the bowl and walk away. Repeat this several times and then add in some repetitions approaching from different directions.

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At this stage in the conditioning process, the dog can be asked to sit as you approach it and the food bowl.

Next, repeat the steps above with food in the bowl. Initially, this can be done at times when the dog is not as hungry as it might be right before a real meal. Usually, it takes dogs a couple of minutes to eat a bowl of food. For fast eaters, using a slow feeding bowl, to allow for another minute or so of conditioning to be worked on is helpful. Each feeding will probably allow time for several steps, and the process is then continued at the next meal, starting a few levels before where you left off previously. The high value food rewards being used should be very high value! Small pieces of chicken or beef is often a perfect high value food reward. 

It is important to avoid having the dog become frustrated by these practice sessions. The way to avoid frustration is simply to make it worth the dogs while, that means using very high value food rewards that are much better than the food used for the meal and observing the dog carefully, so you do not continue a training session too long, or progress faster than the dog’s pace. Remember each step along the way the dog should be eager to engage and not have a care in the world. If the dog shows any signs of being tense or anxious, or any level of aggression, you have moved too close too soon too fast in the process of counter conditioning and desensitizing the dog to its food bowl aggression.

HOW TO STOP FOOD AGGRESSION IN DOGS FOR GENERALIZATION

Finally, other people in the household should run through the steps of these exercises as part of generalizing the conditioning. It should be much easier for the next person to go through the protocols and steps because of the significant amount of learning that is already taken place. The goal is to make sure that the dog understands that the approach of any household member predicts that great things will come, i.e., yummy high value food rewards come provided that the dog does not behave aggressively.

Children less than about 12 years of age should not run through these exercises on their own. An adult should do the exercises with them, and the dog should be tethered to a wall for safety. Children under 9 years of age should probably not perform the exercises at all under any circumstances. They should be taught not to approach the dog when the dog is eating, and this should be guaranteed with careful adult supervision always.

You need to maintain the conditioning that you have established. You should try to have everyone in the household randomly perform at least one or two different kinds of approaches to the dog’s food bowl at least once weekly. In a household of three people, that would mean at least three to six approaches per week.