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We have a 9 month old labradoodle. She is well behaved except when it comes to feeding time. We have always made her sit and stay before she is allowed to eat her food. Her dish is located near her crate in the laundry room. 4 months ago, after she obediently sat and stayed, she was given the command to eat her food which she started to do. I walked by and she turned and lashed out at me drawing blood. We were told by a trainer to hand feed her, kibble by kibble, which we did for a few months (making her complete a command before giving her the food). She was very good at this and then gradually progressed to putting a little bit of food in a bowl and feeding her bit by bit this way. Last two days, she is starting to growl when we feed her this way and finally this morning she actually bit me three times within seconds when feeding her. Drawing blood on one of the bites. We had reached a point where we were able to feed her while petting her at the same time. Now, we are all afraid to feed her using this method. Not only am I scared of her, we have 2 boys 12 & 14 who are now also scared of her. Our vet has suggested we look for a new owner. We are now scared of leaving the dog alone with the boys. At all other times, she has been well behaved.

Any help would be appreciated.

Scared owner!

Firstly I think your trainer is nuts to tell you what they did. Treat Training is no different from what he said and on this site that's a big NO NO . It just doesn't work. Your dog needs to know that you are alpha. Have you watched any of Brad's shows? Many are available on the Slice TV website.. you can download for free and also 2 chapters of his book on this site. You need to start like a puppy. I know you are scared and so does your dog.. I have gone through the same with my husky. Now she may not like it but I can take food out of her mouth if I choose to. If she growls she looses her food. There is no bribing in my house. Just like your kids they need to know that you are in control and you are the boss. You can do this. The dog is a member of your pack and you are the leader...just got to teach the dog that now!!

I hope you give it a go and it will take time. please feel free to come back here as there are great people and great advice on this site...Where do you live? Perhaps find a trainer who doesn't treat train would help too.


Good luck

Wen in Ottawa

WOW - good advice Wen.

I would also look for a new vet. I mean really - time to look for a new owner? THAT'S her/his advice????? Seriously?

Yours sounds like he/she gives up WAY too easy and that would make me wonder how sound their advice would be on a health matter?

Their are other posts about food agression - look under the training section.

My dog Keymo was totally fine with eating, etc. up until about 3-4 weeks ago when he actually charged at me when I tried to take his food away. We were trying to train him to eat when fed, or after 30 min the foods goes away.
It takes you by a HUGE surprise!

The first thing you CAN'T do is back away and act scared, otherwise your dog is one step closer to being Alpha, and he KNOWS it!
Even when my dog charged at me , I was scared but I IMMEDIATELY charged right back at him yelling in his face!
Whoo - what the neighbours must have heard?!
You can't let them be the boss, otherwise this bad behaviour will continue, because the dog will learn (and learn quickly) that acting aggressive gets them what they want!
Yes, we've been taken a few steps back - but you can't give up, like your vet suggested. Imagine how the next owner would react? Maybe it would be the first step to having the dog put down, simply because no one took the time and effort to train and show the dog HOW to properly behave?
WAY too many dogs are given up on.

Take a deep breath. Chin up, shoulders back. YOU are Alpha NOT the dog!
Maybe try feeding the dog in a different place from now on. Change things up. Feed her at different times of day. Let her know YOU'RE in charge of her food NOT her!
Encourage her with kind, happy words when she eats in a proper manner and don't try to stress her when she eats. Just feed her and let her eat. How would you like it to be bothered and touched, when YOU eat? It's annoying! There's time for hand feeding later.
Give it time, Rome wasn't built in a day.
For Keymo and us, it's been 3-4 weeks now of work and progress just to put us back where we once were.
No bigee. That dog that charged at me? That's not his regular behaviour. Maybe he was just extra cranky that day & I pushed his limits and because he got a win over me, his head swelled with make-believe-Alpha-status and I've had to take his ego down a few notches, back to reality !

Someone said recently "all our dogs are a work in progress" - SO TRUE.

Sounds like it's time for what call at home "Operation Puppy Kick" (and no, I don't actually kick the puppy!) Like Keymo Frisby said, all dogs are a work in progress. I had to institute Operation Puppy Kick last night when my two decided to charge through the patio door, knocking my toddler over in the progress. They know better!!!

You need to completely re-establish your position as pack leader. Puppy needs to learn that two-legged trumps four-legged. Period. Non negotiable.
-Start by controlling ALL RESOURCES. There are no toys to be left lying around. You own every single fun thing, and only 'play' if you feel like it so get them out of her reach. Mine are kept on top of the fridge.

-Start umbilical work. She goes where you go, when you go, on your schedule. You go up and down stairs first, through door ways first. Do this a couple of hours in total throughout the day, and the kids can do this too.

-Start feeding her off a 'regular' schedule. Mine know they get fed between the time when I come home from work, and when I go to bed. While she is on umbilical, fill up her dish, leave it on the counter, then leave the room for a while (15-20 min). Then come back in, put the food down and let her eat while she is still on umbilical (this also gives you control if she gets bitchy (pardon the pun! )

You won't be able to change it overnight, it will take a lot of time and effort and consistency on the part of everyone. Good luck, and keep us posted!

emmydawg - I can just picture my house if I put the dog's toys on top of the fridge: the cat would wait until the dog passed by, and sh'e knock one down on top oh him !

Good ideas though about the feeding. Gotta change up the routine.Show the dog who's in control of food.

After all we've been through ourselves with Keymo in the last 3-4 weeks after his "incident" as we call it, he still will "run" back to his food if I come too close. He's still a little worried I'm going to take it away, but he doesn't growl, etc at me anymore.
Baby steps. Can't stop the issues overnight.

keep your head up ahkzs !

Operation Puppy Kick - I love it LOL!

Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice. I have already started the umbnilical training and varying the feeding times. I will keep everyone informed.

AHKZS