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Our five year old retriever is well behaved except for his aggression with food. While he was eating a few months I went to put his leash on and he lunged and growled very aggressively at me. The other night the cat walked near his food and he attacked the cat. My boyfriend tried to pull the dog back by his collar and he in turn bit my boyfriend.
I read a few other posts including the one below and tried her method. We did this for the morning and evening feed on Tuesday, and the morning and evening feed today (wednesday). There has been no improvement. I don't expect a quick fix, but how long does the dog skip his meal with this method. He barely got any food out of the deal Tuesday, and not much again today. Tonights feed had the worst growling yet. I had the leash and my boyfriend did the oven mitts and food giving and taking bit. The dog then had his food taken, missed his meal and had a time out for 15 minutes tied to the door knob. After releasing from the time out we also ignored him for quite a bit (1/2 hour or so). I'm assuming he was most aggressive tonight because of 4 very small feeds now so I don't know how long he should go without a full meal. Any suggestions?
I'm concerned because my two nieces could one day walk by during his meal and get bitten.
This is what I was following. From the "food and resource guarding" forum:

"At first growl they should be taking the food away completely. Wait an hour or two, then put it down again. Go near the bowl, pick it up and put it down again, etc. If no growl, great, if there is, then take it away again, and he misses a meal. You can do the same with toys, bones, etc. You can also combine with a time-out, for example, if the dog growls, give them a firm no noise, and bring them to an area of the house to tie them up so that they can sit, but not lie down. Brad's book also describes this. If they're worried about being bitten, wear long sleeves/oven mitts, or have the dog on leash with someone else holding it and ready to give a leash correction if he misbehaves as well."

Since you\'re not getting too many responses, I thought I\'d give it a shot. Along with the techniques you\'ve been doing...

I think if he\'s not getting to eat you should concentrate on bones and toys as well. Make those part of an activity. It may take awhile. Time and consistancy of course. If he\'s skipped too many meals, find away to feed him that will make him as powerless as possible. I don\'t know put it down when he\'s not around then let him find it? Make sure he eats after you guy\'s do. It\'s an alpha thing. Don\'t feed him at the same time every day. The routing could be a problem. Dogs can go a day without eating. It won\'t kill them.

The whole sit for his food concept maybe an idea because he has to show respect in order to get it. Brad\'s approach on that is it\'s like treat training but I find it show\'s good manners patience as well.
I think too if you do the umbilical and other alpha training, it will help your situation as well.

Maybe others will respond and correct me if I\'m wrong! lol

Good luck! Keep us posted.
Michelle

I'm don't think negotiating with this dog is the right approach, judging by the age of the dog I would say he has been alpha for a long time and you and your household have a lot of work to do to put him in his place. That means 2 hours a day of umbilicle, inside and/or out. Make sure you go thru doorways first, eat first. Also make sure he is getting plenty of exercise, play with him, go for walks. Be patient he has alot of wins over you and it will take time

I agree with what michelle said about doing the same exercise with toys, bones, etc. It will eventually show your dog that you are the alpha and you can take his food, toy, whatever it may be away from him whenever YOU want to, not when he wants you to.

I agree, if possible to do the umbilical training, at least 2 hrs a day, inside and outside. I agree, unfortunately it will take awhile. Maybe also try hand feeding him with the oven mitts on, so he knows the food comes from you and you decide how much he gets?

The alpha training is a must in this situation. If you don't have Brad's book, please get it, as there is so much info in there, and not enough time for me to write it all out here. But please start with what has been said already, minus making the dog sit for food. Treat training a lot of the time can be the root of some food aggression, so please don't do it. Other things to do would be to get your dog off the furniture and your bed if he isn't already, and maybe try some soft pinning. This is essentially stepping on the leash to bring the dog's head closer to the ground, and stay there until they lay down. This can happen quickly, or it could take some time (upwards of an hour). Don't start the exercise unless you are prepared to put in the time to finish it, otherwise he scores another win over you. After he lays down once, repeat the exercise. You are right to be concerned, not only if your nieces walk by, but if they have food in their hand and your dog goes after it. A few other questions below....

How long have you had this dog, and has he always been food aggressive or is it something new that has just come about?
When does the aggression start? For example, does it start when you go get the food, when you're carrying it over, when you start to put it down, etc? Finding the point at which he starts to react could help, if it starts way before he gets the food, then you can give an immediate correction instead of waiting for him to bite.
Do you know how old the dog was when taken away from the litter?
Has he been treat trained in the past?
If he came from another family before you, what were they like and do you know how he was trained?
How much exercise does he get?
How much mental exercise does he get?
How many toys are in the house, and does he react the same way with them?
What is your body language like when giving him food, do you stand tall or hunch over, how do you react when he behaves aggressively?

Now, these questions aren't to put you on the spot, or hack on anything that you are doing. They are just to give us a better handle on the situation, and get a bigger picture on what may or may not be contributing to the problem. Sometimes it's easy to fix, and sometimes it's not. But in the meantime don't let your dog bully you into feeding him.

I didn't go into all the details previously because its a long story, and I figured it was easiest to just call him m dog. I guess the details are needed! Thanks very much for the great responses!
It is actually my brothers dog so the two nieces live with this dog. I guess you could say we have "Joint' custody of the dog because he stays with me often.
The dog is off the bed and couch and is not allowed into certain rooms which he abides by well. He is not treat trained and never gets fed from the table etc. He may have been treat trained when he was a puppy, but has not been trained with treats or received treats as a reward in more than three years I know for sure.
He was aggressive with toys before, so my brother took the toys away at home in case the girls were to grab them. The food aggression is not new either, but we decided we really needed to do something about it after the cat and boyfriend attack this week. He is normally afraid of the cat (a little) and had no hesitation to lunge at him.
The aggression is only if he has his food bowl and someone goes too close to it. He is not aggressive when it is carried over, putting down etc. He is just excited at that point.
I'm not sure how old he was when taken from the litter. I would have to find out.
He can always use more exercise. He gets one good walk and some playing outside with us. I think he gets less with my brother because he is often outside alone for long periods of time there
For mental exercise, do you mean trick training? Maybe this is lacking...what is it?
The body language with food is just normal, only hunching too bend over and put the food down.
If the dog is given a treat after a meal...leftover piece of bun or something...he is not the least bit aggressive. He will eat out of your hand very gently.
I hope this info helps. My brother isn't overly on board with the aggressive food thing. He doesn't think its a big deal, so that will make it more difficult for me I'm sure. He "owns" the dog, but I watch him lots because I love him and to help my brother out.

So does the aggression only come out when he's at your house vs. your brothers? Has your brother ever seen his dog react (the way he did with your boyfriend and cat) with the food? From the sounds of it, your brother may see training a different way than you do. If that's the case, then maybe his dog is getting away with stuff at his house, but not yours, causing some confusion and rebellion on the dog's part. Does your brother free feed him? It does sound like he needs a bit of a reality check, as you can't take away food (at least not as long) the same way you would with toys, as the dog does need to eat eventually.

So he doesn't react when you go in to put the food down, that is a good thing. If you go near his dish, how do you approach him? Have you tried just walking right up saying hey buddy in a happy tone and just seeing if he would react if you went to pet him? Or you could start this at a distance, far enough away that he won't react, and just tell him to come to you while he's eating, then walk back to his bowl with him. Or, you could try putting the dish down, with him on umbillical, and stand there for a few minutes while he eats, then walk away (with him still attached), then come back, and repeat. This way you are near him when he eats, but he gets to understand that since you're attached you have to be there? Does that make sense?

When I say mental stimulation, I mean training in general, alpha training, and games to get him thinking, hide and seek is one. Since he doesn't have toys, this would mean putting him in a sit stay in a room, then running off to hide (start simple). Then say, "insert dog's name here", come find me!! in a happy tone. You can say it a couple times if they get off track, but it's a great (and fun) way to make your dog think, and make sure he gets lots of praise when he finds you. This is also a game that you can get your nieces involved in. It's great that you give him lots of exercise, being out in the yard isn't really exercise for a dog, they'll start to get pretty bored. Retreivers are so smart and need lots of stimulation. I would start trying to introduce toys again, and see how it goes, but take it slowly. Does he ever go to the dog park to meet other dogs and run offleash? This is one of the best ways to get your dog exercised and meet new buddies to play with. Lastly, the reason I asked about when he was taken away from the litter, is that some dogs who are taken away too early, can develop aggression issues, some fixable, some not. Brad recommends them being with the mom and littermates until 8-9 weeks before bringing them home, 9 being preferable. Issues that can ensue are seperation anxiety, aggression, and other behavioural problems. It's great that your brother has you in their lives, and it's great to see that you care a ton about "your" dog and what's best for him!

Cheers,
Lynne

One thing you might try if the dog is crate trained feed him in his crate. Personally I've aways believed that a dog should be left to eat in peace...how would you feel if someone came and took your dinner just to prove they can! Mind you I don't allow food aggression either. Bayley snapped at me once when I was taking a bone away..she got quite a surprise when I hauled her out of her crate and put her on a time out! She hasn't done it since and if she tried again she'd get the same treatment.

I would say work with him, but if there are kids around or the cat and you're not sure how he'll behave then crate him at food times until you're 100% sure he can be trusted with them around.

My experience dealing with the rescue dogs is that the food aggression isn't always necessarily a dominance issue and several that I've worked with weren't treat trained either. Usually the unpredictability of their lives, multiple homes, etc raises their anxiety levels. Add the fact that things that are good and valued (like food and toys) are taken away and not given back. This is why the 'give and take' gam e is valuable as it teaches them that just because something is taken away doesn't mean it's gone forever.

I agree with feeding him on umbilical. Without talking to him walk away to another room and leave the food dish. Then have someone else put something special in the food dish while he can't see (like a piece of cheese). Then come back in and let him resume eating. This will teach him that just because he left the room doesn't mean it disappeared, and that something good happened too. Essentially, he needs to be desensitized. And all kids should be taught to leave the dog alone while he is eating. Just plain old respect!

I had once particularly nasty Cairn (with scars to prove it!) who I fed by hand. Actually I held the dish on my lap with my hand in it feeding him one piece at a time. After about a week (and feeding 2x daily), he was relaxed enough that you could walk by while he was eating without turning into Cujo. He learned that I was alpha as I controlled the food, the dish, and how it was distributed. Same with water- from a squirt bottle. His history- he had been physically abused to the point where his peripheral vision was impaired and couldn't see above his head. So any semblance of a shadow coming from up above was met with rather large teeth and a snarl.