How do you stop a dog from being food aggressive?

1. Talk to Your Dog While They Eat. …
2. Gradually Get Closer to Your Dog While They Eat. …
3. Get Next to Your Dog’s Bowl as They Eat. …
4. Hand Feed Your Dog Treats as They Eat. …
5. Touch Your Dog’s Bowl During Mealtimes. …
6. Pick Up Your Dog’s Bowl During Mealtimes. …
7. Repeat the Steps with Different People.

Food aggression in dogs is a serious and potentially dangerous behavior issue that can put a strain on relationships between owners and their furry friends. It can be a difficult issue to tackle, especially for inexperienced owners. It is important for owners to understand the underlying causes of food aggression and recognize the signs of this unwanted behavior in their pet. The most effective way to stop a dog from being food aggressive is to intervene and apply proper training techniques.
For owners looking to learn how to successfully stop their dog’s food aggression, this blog post offers guidance on how to do just that. Covering everything from determining the underlying cause to providing tips on how to properly intervene, this post offers a comprehensive overview of how to effectively prevent food aggression in dogs. Read on to discover how to stop a dog from being food aggressive and ensure a harmonious relationship with your beloved pup.

What To Do About Food Aggression in Dogs

When you see that your dog is displaying food aggression, the first step is to assess your dog’s overall behavior. Is he only being possessive with his food, or is the behavior extending to other things, like favorite napping spots, toys, or even people in the pack? If the behavior extends to more than just food, then your dog is displaying general resource guarding, and you may need to employ the techniques we list below; in any case, your dog is showing aggression over an object (not just food).

Additionally, consider your dog’s general demeanor and level of assurance. If your dog is dominant by nature, you must firmly and calmly assert your position as the pack leader. On the other hand, if he is naturally timid or fearful, you will need to help him gain confidence by playing with him, teaching him new things, and reassuring him that his food is secure when people are around.

Decide whether your dog is aggressively mild, moderate, or severely aggressive. If the situation is severe, you might want to seek professional advice in order to reduce the dog’s aggression to a manageable level.

Techniques To Help With Food Aggression

Here are some techniques you can employ to help your dog deal with food aggression. If your dog’s aggression stems from fear or anxiety over when their next meal will be, then make sure you’re feeding your dog at set times every day. Dogs have a reliable internal clock, and through consistency, they quickly learn how to tell when it’s time to go for a walk, time to get up, or time for their people to come home. Mealtime isn’t any different- be regular in feeding to ease their anxiety.

Make your dog sit or lie down and remain still before you even begin to prepare his food, preferably just outside the room where you usually give him his meal. Teach her to remain when the bowl is put down. Set the bowl down and remain close to it until you can move after she comes to the table to eat.

Never feed your dog before exercise; this will satisfy their innate desire to seek out food and make him feel deserving of his meal when you get home. Additionally, exercising a dog right after eating is risky and might even result in life-threatening conditions like bloat.

When a wild pack comes back from a successful hunt, the alpha dogs always eat before everybody else does. It should be the same in your little human/dog pack. Always eat first before your dog does. Humans should always eat first, and when they’re finished, the dogs can eat. Having this routine will reinforce your status as the pack leader.

If you concede to your dog and back away from the bowl, food aggression can worsen. Every time you walk away when the dog is territorial about their food, the dog “wins.” Here are some techniques to recondition the dog to help them learn that they win when you come near her while eating:

Treat tossing– Drop your puppy’s favorite treats into the bowl while she’s eating to teach her that people around the bowl is a good thing rather than a threat. Putting treats into the bowl when you walk next to it and she’s not eating is also a good move. Your dog will thus learn that people near her bowl are good.

Hand-feeding: You can start your dog’s meal by feeding him by hand and giving the bowl your scent using your hands to put food in the bowl. Get your dog used to eating while your hands are around his face, and to stop being aggressive if you put your hands in or near the bowl while he’s eating.

“Trade-up“- When your dog eats their regular food, give them something better, like a special treat or some meat. The goal is to interrupt your dog from eating their food and take a treat from you. This lets your dog know nobody will steal his food if he looks away and rewards him for removing attention from his food when people come around.

What To Do About It

The first step is to assess your dog’s overall behavior. Does she only act possessively toward food, or does she also act in this way toward other things like favorite toys, resting places, or even other members of the pack?

Use the techniques listed below as necessary in any situation where your dog is acting aggressively toward the target object rather than food if the behavior isn’t restricted to food and instead involves general resource guarding.

Also assess your dog’s overall confidence and behavior. If he has a tendency to be dominant, you will need to establish yourself as the pack leader in a firm but calm manner. However, if he is fearful or timid, you will need to help him gain confidence and show him that eating while there are people around is safe.

Decide whether your dog exhibits mild, moderate, or severe food aggression. If the situation is severe, seek professional advice to get the dog down to a moderate level before trying anything else.

After completing these steps, you are prepared to begin altering your behavior. Here are some of the techniques to use.

FAQ

Can food aggression in dogs be cured?

In extreme situations, your vet might suggest drugs to help lower your dog’s anxiety level. However, while food guarding cannot necessarily be completely cured, it can be controlled. And once your dog feels more at ease around the food bowl, so can you.

How serious is food aggression in dogs?

When a dog acts aggressively to defend its food, it can get really bad. In addition to endangering humans or other dogs in the house, it can eventually lead to the dog developing a possessive attitude toward everything.