Food agression getting worse

[Krysta Smith]

I've posted about Lola's food agression before and have been working on it since. I thought we were doing really well. I could approach Lola while she was chewing her kong and she'd get up because she thought I had a treat. I could take her kong away (if I exchanged it for a treat). I have tried to hold on to any new treats, as that seems to be when she growls the most. I haven't heard her growl in over a week (I think). But today my mom brought home one of the pedigree jumbones and she jumped up on the couch with it. My step-dad petted her and she was fine. When I came into the room I smiled and went over (talking to her) and she wagged her tail, so I thought she was going to be fine. But when I tried to pet her she growled. It was the worst I've ever heard out of her. I was really scared that she would bite me. Before I used to be able to pet her back and she was fine, it was when I got near her head that she would growl. This time I tried petting her back and she just kept growling. I went and got a couple carrots and she jumped off the couch and came over to get them, which she usually will do if I have a treat. Later I was holding it and she was okay, except she was chewing on it like she hadn't eaten in a month. Am I doing something wrong? Should I eliminate everything new until I'm 100% sure she won't growl? Could her food agression be related to anything else (like how I play with her?) Sorry for all the questions but I'm so lost! Thank you in advance!!

[Krysta Smith]

I forgot to mention that after I petted Lola my step-dad tried again and he got a growl as well.

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Krysta,

Food aggression won't go away in a week's time. I can't remember how old Lola is. Is she just a puppy or is she an adolescent?

Are you following any specific protocols, like in the article called, "A Solution for Food and Object Guarding," in our articles pages?

You and your family should avoid giving Lola anything that could be considered hugely high-value until she's ready for it. In some cases, the dog is *never* ready to eat a high-value item when they're around other dogs or people. Some dogs never accept anyone getting close to them if they have a rawhide. So, the dog can live without eating a rawhide! You must prevent triggers from occurring. Otherwise Lola will never get better. In order to teach a dog not to do something, you must avoid ever letting her do the behavior that's causing the problems.

You said, "Should I eliminate everything new until I'm 100% sure she won't growl? Could her food agression be related to anything else (like how I play with her?) "

When you are certain she's ready for advanced work, introduce anything new one at a time. If you're going to give her something new, make sure it's *small!* You don't want her to get a long-lasting chewy because these are the most valuable treats/bones and she'll tend to guard them.

Why would you feel her food aggression could be related to how you play with her? Can you tell us what play activities you do with her that could cause her food aggression?

I've posted about Lola's food agression before and have been working on it since. I thought we were doing really well. I could approach Lola while she was chewing her kong and she'd get up because she thought I had a treat. I could take her kong away (if I exchanged it for a treat). I have tried to hold on to any new treats, as that seems to be when she growls the most. I haven't heard her growl in over a week (I think). But today my mom brought home one of the pedigree jumbones and she jumped up on the couch with it. My step-dad petted her and she was fine. When I came into the room I smiled and went over (talking to her) and she wagged her tail, so I thought she was going to be fine. But when I tried to pet her she growled. It was the worst I've ever heard out of her. I was really scared that she would bite me. Before I used to be able to pet her back and she was fine, it was when I got near her head that she would growl. This time I tried petting her back and she just kept growling. I went and got a couple carrots and she jumped off the couch and came over to get them, which she usually will do if I have a treat. Later I was holding it and she was okay, except she was chewing on it like she hadn't eaten in a month. Am I doing something wrong? Should I eliminate everything new until I'm 100% sure she won't growl? Could her food agression be related to anything else (like how I play with her?) Sorry for all the questions but I'm so lost! Thank you in advance!!

[Krysta Smith]

Thank you Renee!! Lola is 7 months old now. What I've been doing so far is giving her treats when I get close to her, asking her to drop her treat (usually her kong) and then I take it and give her a treat and give it back. I also take her kong and put extra treats inside it and give it back. I do it a few times while she's chewing on her treat and she's been doing really well with that. I don't know if playing could be related to food agression, I was thinking mainly about tug and the taking her toys away from her part. Now that I think about it it doesn't make much sense. I think the mistake I've been making is giving her big treats to chew on and then having to take them away so she won't eat the whole thing. I trade it with another treat but when she's finished that one she goes back and looks for the first one. I feel like we have made a lot of progress from when I first started (I can't remember the last time she growled at me before yesterday). And when I approach her she'll usually wag her tail and get up for a treat, I don't even have to tell her to 'drop it'. I think what got me yesterday was that when I went up to her she started wagging her tail like she usually does, so I figured she was fine, but then she growled when I petted her. I know it's going to take a lot of work yet!

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Krysta!

Just for information purposes, let me tell you that my own dog who was extremely food aggressive and guarded his toys started showing improvements after several months of working with him. However, once I began training him, I never just took anything from him - ever! I worked very hard on teaching him LEAVE IT and DROP IT. I worked on playing exchange games a lot! If I absolutely had to take something away, I would make the exchange and then put the item I took away or behind my back. When he returned to look for it, I gave him yet another treat for good measure. Often in the evenings, I gave him a Bully Stick to chew on, but when it came time to let him out for his last potty break, he'd try to bring the bone to the back door to take outside with him. Everynight we'd go thru the same routine. I'd say "Jack, drop it!" He'd drop the bone and then go out the door. I'd pick up the bone and put it away. When he came inside again, he'd look for the bone, but there would be a pile of treats right where he left the bone by the door :-) Being possessive over food and toys was part of his temperament, so I never ever took him for granted! And... maybe you can never take Lola for granted either! Always recognize she has this in her and plan for any occasion where you'd have to take something away or approach her when she has a high-value item in her possession. Play the LEAVE IT and DROP IT games all the time and continue upping the value of items you're asking her to leave or drop. Make sure she's ready for the advanced work before you do advance her.

After training Jack for several years, he once killed a ground hog in my backyard. I didn't want him to eat this awful thing, so I asked him to drop it! After asking him a couple of times, he did finally dropped it. Then I had to ask him to LEAVE IT in order to pick it up and get rid of the dead animal. Jack DID back away from a live kill, and I got rid of the ground hog. Then I had a HUGE PUPPY PARTY for him afterward as a reward. I let him chase me all over the place (his favorite game ) because I had no food treats on me at the time. You can get results and responses like this from Lola too as long as you train, train and then train somemore. Also remember ---

THIS WON'T GENERALIZE WITH OTHER PEOPLE UNLESS OTHER PEOPLE WORK WITH HER ON IT. Keep others safe by preventing the guarding behavior when others are around.

Keep working, and you'll love the results!

Good luck!


Thank you Renee!! Lola is 7 months old now. What I've been doing so far is giving her treats when I get close to her, asking her to drop her treat (usually her kong) and then I take it and give her a treat and give it back. I also take her kong and put extra treats inside it and give it back. I do it a few times while she's chewing on her treat and she's been doing really well with that. I don't know if playing could be related to food agression, I was thinking mainly about tug and the taking her toys away from her part. Now that I think about it it doesn't make much sense. I think the mistake I've been making is giving her big treats to chew on and then having to take them away so she won't eat the whole thing. I trade it with another treat but when she's finished that one she goes back and looks for the first one. I feel like we have made a lot of progress from when I first started (I can't remember the last time she growled at me before yesterday). And when I approach her she'll usually wag her tail and get up for a treat, I don't even have to tell her to 'drop it'. I think what got me yesterday was that when I went up to her she started wagging her tail like she usually does, so I figured she was fine, but then she growled when I petted her. I know it's going to take a lot of work yet!

[Krysta Smith]

Thanks again Renee!! It helps to know someone else went through a similar situation. Lola already knows both commands, although she ignores them when it comes to high value things. I know it's going to take a lot of work to get through this. I will definitely start playing the leave it and drop it game as often as I can!! I'll try and get the rest of my family to do the same. Is there anything else I can do to help her? Or is it just getting her to be able to drop items so I can exchange them for other things?

[Krysta Smith]

Yay!! I have been practicing "drop it" and "leave it" with Lola and she's been doing really well so today I finally gave her the bone I've been hiding in the cupboard. She jumped up on the couch and sat on me the whole time chewing away, like she had never had a problem with food agression. I couldn't believe it!! I had a hot dog cut up beside me to practice her "drop it" and "leave it" and she dropped the bone and looked up at me every few seconds expecting a treat. I took the bone and gave her a piece of hot dog and she couldn't care less. She didn't want the bone back she wanted another piece of hot dog!! I know it's not over yet and I'm still going to work with her for quite a while longer, I still have to get her completely used to the rest of my family exchanging things with her.

[Renee Premaza]

Good job, Krysta! Once in awhile you can also hold onto the other end of the bone. Dogs view possession as this: If you have it - it's yours. If she has it - it's hers. If you both have it - you're sharing. So, if you're holding onto one end once in awhile, it will teach her that the bone is yours also. I did this when I worked with my dog, Jack. Funny how he started to then bring me his bones to hold for him. I did stop that after awhile. BC's sure can make slaves out of us!

Yay!! I have been practicing "drop it" and "leave it" with Lola and she's been doing really well so today I finally gave her the bone I've been hiding in the cupboard. She jumped up on the couch and sat on me the whole time chewing away, like she had never had a problem with food agression. I couldn't believe it!! I had a hot dog cut up beside me to practice her "drop it" and "leave it" and she dropped the bone and looked up at me every few seconds expecting a treat. I took the bone and gave her a piece of hot dog and she couldn't care less. She didn't want the bone back she wanted another piece of hot dog!! I know it's not over yet and I'm still going to work with her for quite a while longer, I still have to get her completely used to the rest of my family exchanging things with her.

[RubysMom]

Hi Renee -
I've been following this thread (and your articles) with great interest as am experiencing a lot of the same things as Krysta with my 3yr old Ruby. I have her able to drop or leave a treat, and to come away from it. She will then come and sit beside me, at times even pushing herself against me. At first I thought she was acting afraid of the item, but came to realize she was putting herself between me and the treat so she could lunge back to it first if I made a move to take it away. If I leave the offending bone or crunchy on the floor she will become more and more anxious to the point where I've just stopped giving her those kind of things.
I feel for you Krysta - its frustrating when you're the one who wants them to have a nice treat and it causes such drama!

[Krysta Smith]

I used to hold on to Lola's bones when she was younger- that's the only way she would chew on them (she had to be sitting in my lap and I had to hold it for her :rolleyes: ) Whe I first gave her the new bone that's what I did, although she kept trying to pull it away and finally gave up. She didn't growl though. The rest of my family has been able to approach her and take the bone away as well, which is a big step. Thank you for all your advice Renee!! I know what you mean Donna!! I wanted to give Lola the bone the first day I bought it (I had a momentary brain lapse in the store and forgot I wouldn't be able to give it to her) but I knew Lola would would get worse if I did, so I hid it until I thought she was ready. Good Luck with Ruby!!

[RubysMom]

Hey Krysta -
Renee just had another idea for me (see under the thread Resource Guarding) about something called "Comfort Zone" ...might work for Lola too?

[Krysta Smith]

Thanks Donna!! I think I might look into getting one. Lola has separation anxiety as well, although I've found it's gotten a lot better since I leave her in my bedroom instead of her crate. Especially since I'll be going back to school in the fall, so I'll be gone a lot more than I am right now.

[Casey Laurie]

THIS WON'T GENERALIZE WITH OTHER PEOPLE UNLESS OTHER PEOPLE WORK WITH HER ON IT.


Aha! Can you give some ideas or games on how to do this?
I can do this with Lilly within the family, but if I really want her to generalize the leave it/drop it, I'll have to do it with non family members. Is there something I can try with strangers too; not strange to me but strange to her..or maybe to her..is there a trick or a quick game?

[Renee Premaza]

Hi Casey!

Food and object guarding, as I'm sure you know, can be a dangerous behavior. Having non-family members play around food with a guarding dog can be tricky, and could turn south in a hurry. You would have to know your dog really well. I would have your friends who know and like your dog start out playing leave it and drop it games if they're willing. Hopefully, you have seen how to play these games by reading the articles we have posted here. I wouldn't chance it with perfect strangers because she will not have built up any trust in those people.

Anyone that does play training games around food with your dog should be carefully supervised with you there. You should also inform them that there is a risk your dog might not do as well with them as she did with you! If you have others play with her, watch her body language closely in case she becomes stressed. Look for freezing behaviors and/or look-aways which will tell you her stress levels are building.

I'd think twice before involving others unless they're very dog-savvy people!

Aha! Can you give some ideas or games on how to do this?
I can do this with Lilly within the family, but if I really want her to generalize the leave it/drop it, I'll have to do it with non family members. Is there something I can try with strangers too; not strange to me but strange to her..or maybe to her..is there a trick or a quick game?