[Lennymf]

Hello to all,

I have a wonderful, now six month old staffy, Leilu. However,

in the last month or so, she has been VERY aggresive with her food. And

strange as it is... NOTHING has changed.

If I go to pet her in any way, she growls and shows her teeth. (Has

attempted to nip my hand acouple times) She too is like this with any kind

of bone/treat she has on the floor. I wonder what I

should do to correct this. I'd greatly appreciate if anybody out there has any

kind of suggestion or feedback.

Thanks again, and Happy New Year

Leonardo and Leilu.

[fearlessknight]

I have only 2 things to tell you....
First I would allow the benefit of the doubt...
You need to be a participant in a program called NILIF...
If after a short while that does not change, she needs to be PTS....HA dogs should not be tolorated, especially when they are biting the hand that feeds.....

I normally would say PTS now, but being it JUST STARTED, and she is only 6 months, she may still have a chance, but I would keep her away from everyone until it under control.....

[screamin'eagle]

I am thinking along the same lines as fearlessknight, and I'd try these steps in short order. Be brutally honest, and if no progress is made that dog needs to be PTS!

[jennay2]

It sounds like food guarding. Something always changes, you just may not notice it. She thinks she's alpha right now, and you need to remedy that! Look up NILF, and practice it.

To give a good start, put a leash on your dog, and have her follow you around. When it comes to the food, and she starts to growl when you go near, give a good, STRONG correction with the leash, and tell her "NO". Make sure she sees you pick up her food/treat/ etc. Then do some obedience drilling immediately afterwards. Then go near her food again, and repeat if necessary.

Food aggression can get nasty, so while leash corrections and drilling sound extreme, you'll need to go to the extreme, so you don't have to put this dog to sleep!

[Lennymf]

Originally Posted by jennay2 Food aggression can get nasty, so while leash corrections and drilling sound extreme, you'll need to go to the extreme, so you don't have to put this dog to sleep!

Jennay, thanks for the sage advice. The leash trick is working wonders and is not so extreme as some advice I have got from "helpful" friends ("Just beat the hell out of her when she does that."), so far it is working nicely.

NILIF seems so obvious once you think about it. Thanks to all who suggested such a great resource. A few new questions arise from that reading assignment:

1. The Program suggests that I give a command, set the food down, command the dog to eat, and then walk away; I should ignore her entirely from that point on? Leilu's issue is only apparent when we try to pet her, or otherwise interact with her while she is eating...she is not highly aggressive when we are around her food (she does not defend the bowl or the eating area if we're standing about or just being in proximity), it just happens when we are trying to muck about with her while she's eating. She is never aggressive in the least except with regard to food. She loves people and other dogs, but is a bit of a freak while eating. Obviously we should be able to pet her whenever we feel like without her acting wild, but would it be best to go through the leash correction method Jennay described and then just leave her be while she is eating? It would seem that that is what NILIF is saying.

2. How does her crate play into the method and the assertion of dominance? Should she be made to sit still before being let out?

Thanks again for all of your sage advise. The changes are swift and a massive relief. I would have hated to have to have her PTS.

[jennay2]

I'm glad the leash work helps. The leash will always be something you can fall back on in training.

Her not letting you mess with her or her food while eating is her being alpha. You, as the true alpha, should be able to go and take whatever, whenever. Personally, to control Kayrah, (who doesn't have FA, but prevention is key!) twice a week, I make her do a 20 minute down after I pour her food. I only release her when she's completely quiet and calm, and if she screams/moans/dies, I ignore her. Then, I say "release!" and she RACES to her food. 10 seconds later, I say "Kayrah, come!" or "leave it! Come!". And make her do some obedience, and then release her to get a bite and so on and so on. I'll do that until she's completely finished with her meal.

To work on this food aggression at it's source, hand feed her. Even if you feed canned or raw. You'll get dirty, but your dog will have to earn every kibble/bite, and will see you as the true source of food. If she get's aggressive, then get up with the food, and walk away. She needs to realize she can't bite the hand that feeds her!

The crate is a good way to show the dog that she has her own space, and if you need her there, then she has to be in there. Dogs allowed to sleep with the pack, like in the bed or beside the bed, should have earned that. So, a few nights a week, consecutive at the beginning, have her sleep in the kennel. Ignore the barking (so freakin hard, I know!!!!) ignore the screams, dying, etc. Now, I'll let you know, I can't practice what I preach here. I have an adult female, who I got at age three, and when I say she screams at 2 am, I mean the whole neighborhood can hear her. ::sigh:: so I know how frustrating this retraining can be. But I practice NILF all the time with her, so the kennel isn't a big deal.

As for making her sit, yes, you should. My dog isn't allowed to even lift a paw outside the door until I tell her release. If she does, we start all over again. Now, if she's being rowdy, I'll make her lay down before I open the door. If she moves while I open the door, I prompty close it, and walk away, starting again in a minute.

As a great link, try this http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/mindgames.html

I use almost all of those tips, and they REALLY do work!!!!!

Let us know how it goes!

[futurebully]

I can't say I agree with giving her a leash correction for growling because as with any correction of growling she is still very uncomfortable with you going near her food but now she is too afraid to tell you with her voice. That's how a lot of the "she attacked without warning" things happen. The dog growled in past was punished for it so learned growling was bad. She did not however become comfortable with what was causing the growling in the first place which is in this case food guarding. She is still afraid you are going to take her food.

Now it can be fixed but you really have to work on it, the idea is to teach your dog you are not threatening to take her food and even if you do she will get her food back. So here's how I would do it.

Step 1: No more bowl for a while hand feed her her meals that way she has no bowl to guard and she knows your hands need to be involved for her to get any food. They are not taking the food bu giving it. Do that for a while until she excitedly takes the food from your hands piece by piece without showing any wary body language.

Step 2: Put her bowl down empty. You have the food up next to you on a counter or in a separate bowl. You should be standing next to the bowl. Let her sniff it and realize there is no food in the bowl. She will probably look up to you for food, when she does this then drop a few kibbles in the bowl and wait until she finishes and looks at you. the drop more until she finally finishes all the food. Then walk away. The end of your presence is the end of food. Do this step for a long time. Keep an eye on her body language if she tries to block you from the bowl or shows any signs of wariness then end no more food, you leave. If she is not hip to you being near the bowl this soon then start at a distance and toss the kibbles into her bowl.

Step 3: Do what you did in step 2 but actually put your hand to the bowl when you put the food in. If she shows signs of guarding than go back to the last step for longer and try this again later.


Step 4: Start with a small portion (1/4 maybe) of her meal in the bowl, have her in a sit stay and put down the bowl. Wait a minute and release her. Stand there until she finishes it and she should look to you for more then put a little more in and continue the meal as you did in the previous step.

Step 4b: Now when you go to refill the bowl actually put your hand down in it (be very careful that the dog is comfortable).

step 5,6,7: Basically repeat the step 4 and 4b steps but start with a larger amount of food in the bowl each time, go up by fourths or less.

Step 8: Now put the full bowl of food down make him wait for your release. While he's eating periodically toss chicken (or some type of real meat, left overs from dinner perhaps) into his bowl. Do this frequently throughout his meal.

Step 9: Now do the same as before except walk closer to his bowl (not all the way it's just the walking towards her action that we want to achieve) and toss the meat into her bowl then retreat. re approach for every meat addition.

Step 10: Now approach the bowl all the way and drop the meat in. Stay on this step for a very long time. Do not show the dog the meat before you drop it in, simply approach and drop. you may stand there for a while. If while you are standing there he looks up to you (without growling etc.) drop some more meat in. Retreat and re-approach for next meat addition.

Step 11: Once you have gotten to the pint where the dog is HAPPY when you approach his bowl you may put your hand in the bowl to add the meat. Do not rush this!

Step 12: Have the rest of your family do this but they can start with the approaching with meat steps. Do not ever have children reach into the bowl to add the meat and do not let them do any of this by them selves. They are not quick enough to react if he snaps at them and they can't read his body language plus they may ignore growling.


Once all this is achieved you won't have problems approaching her food. Don't *take* food from her ever but do teach a leave it and drop it command to have her *give* you the food after this is taken care of.

Your dog is not trying to dominate you or be "alpha" over you she is afraid you are going to take her food, it INSTINCT. A wolf and wild dogs will growl and bite defending their food they guard it viciously because if they don't they starve and die. The instinct is still in domestic dogs but sometimes more watered down and sometimes it takes a learning experience of having their food taken from them for them to act out.

A dog trained by being punished for showing aggression will stop showing aggression but will still be afraid you are going to take his food. He is a bundle of nerves full of fear your going to take his food and full of fear of acting out and being punished, it's very stressful I'm sure. IMO that dog is dangerous. he will not warn that he is going to bite he will hold back until he gets to his threshold for your presence around his food and then he will just bite.

A dog trained the way I've outlined is not trained to stop reacting to you approaching the bowl he is taught that there is no fear in you approaching the bowl because if anything you get more and tastier food and you are not there to take his food. he is no longer fearing you taking food nor is he fearing your correction.

NILIF is a GREAT program to have your dog on especially as a preventative measure. It teaches the dog a few things. One is that listening to you means good things happen, two is that you control the rescources. The one who controls the rescources in the dog world is the leader. BUT for you this will take more than NILIF, use NILIF but also do more for the food aggression.

I really hope this helps, if you are not willing to out the time and effort into this then it is best to have her PTS, if you are then I would use that as an if all else fails. Getting a behaviorist (different from a trainer) to help you would be a GREAT idea also. Good luck and keep us updated!

[fearlessknight]

Originally Posted by futurebully I can't say I agree with giving her a leash correction for growling because as with any correction of growling she is still very uncomfortable with you going near her food but now she is too afraid to tell you with her voice. That's how a lot of the "she attacked without warning" things happen. The dog growled in past was punished for it so learned growling was bad. She did not however become comfortable with what was causing the growling in the first place which is in this case food guarding. She is still afraid you are going to take her food. Now it can be fixed but you really have to work on it, the idea is to teach your dog you are not threatening to take her food and even if you do she will get her food back. So here's how I would do it. Step 1: No more bowl for a while hand feed her her meals that way she has no bowl to guard and she knows your hands need to be involved for her to get any food. They are not taking the food bu giving it. Do that for a while until she excitedly takes the food from your hands piece by piece without showing any wary body language. Step 2: Put her bowl down empty. You have the food up next to you on a counter or in a separate bowl. You should be standing next to the bowl. Let her sniff it and realize there is no food in the bowl. She will probably look up to you for food, when she does this then drop a few kibbles in the bowl and wait until she finishes and looks at you. the drop more until she finally finishes all the food. Then walk away. The end of your presence is the end of food. Do this step for a long time. Keep an eye on her body language if she tries to block you from the bowl or shows any signs of wariness then end no more food, you leave. If she is not hip to you being near the bowl this soon then start at a distance and toss the kibbles into her bowl. This will make her realize how I feel....the food is MINE and I do not have to give it to you! I am the only ways you get it! Step 3: Do what you did in step 2 but actually put your hand to the bowl when you put the food in. If she shows signs of guarding than go back to the last step for longer and try this again later. Step 4: Start with a small portion (1/4 maybe) of her meal in the bowl, have her in a sit stay and put down the bowl. Wait a minute and release her. Stand there until she finishes it and she should look to you for more then put a little more in and continue the meal as you did in the previous step. Step 4b: Now when you go to refill the bowl actually put your hand down in it (be very careful that the dog is comfortable). step 5,6,7: Basically repeat the step 4 and 4b steps but start with a larger amount of food in the bowl each time, go up by fourths or less. Step 8: Now put the full bowl of food down make him wait for your release. While he's eating periodically toss chicken (or some type of real meat, left overs from dinner perhaps) into his bowl. Do this frequently throughout his meal. Step 9: Now do the same as before except walk closer to his bowl (not all the way it's just the walking towards her action that we want to achieve) and toss the meat into her bowl then retreat. re approach for every meat addition. Step 10: Now approach the bowl all the way and drop the meat in. Stay on this step for a very long time. Do not show the dog the meat before you drop it in, simply approach and drop. you may stand there for a while. If while you are standing there he looks up to you (without growling etc.) drop some more meat in. Retreat and re-approach for next meat addition. Step 11: Once you have gotten to the pint where the dog is HAPPY when you approach his bowl you may put your hand in the bowl to add the meat. Do not rush this! Step 12: Have the rest of your family do this but they can start with the approaching with meat steps. Do not ever have children reach into the bowl to add the meat and do not let them do any of this by them selves. They are not quick enough to react if he snaps at them and they can't read his body language plus they may ignore growling. Once all this is achieved you won't have problems approaching her food. Don't *take* food from her ever but do teach a leave it and drop it command to have her *give* you the food after this is taken care of. Your dog is not trying to dominate you or be "alpha" over you she is afraid you are going to take her food, it INSTINCT. A wolf and wild dogs will growl and bite defending their food they guard it viciously because if they don't they starve and die. The instinct is still in domestic dogs but sometimes more watered down and sometimes it takes a learning experience of having their food taken from them for them to act out. I am not so sure I agree with this though.....humans are not part of the pack and they should know the difference..we are above them! A dog trained by being punished for showing aggression will stop showing aggression but will still be afraid you are going to take his food. He is a bundle of nerves full of fear your going to take his food and full of fear of acting out and being punished, it's very stressful I'm sure. IMO that dog is dangerous. he will not warn that he is going to bite he will hold back until he gets to his threshold for your presence around his food and then he will just bite. NILIF is a GREAT program to have your dog on especially as a preventative measure. It teaches the dog a few things. One is that listening to you means good things happen, two is that you control the rescources. The one who controls the rescources in the dog world is the leader. BUT for you this will take more than NILIF, use NILIF but also do more for the food aggression. I really hope this helps, if you are not willing to out the time and effort into this then it is best to have her PTS, if you are then I would use that as an if all else fails. Getting a behaviorist (different from a trainer) to help you would be a GREAT idea also. Good luck and keep us updated!

NICE POST! I agree with food thing out of the hand!
I fully believe no dog should bite the hand that feeds, and if they pull some shit like that...that will be the ONLy way they got fed.....out of the hand until they realizeed, I was the way they get their food!