Positive PetzineHow To Stop Food Guarding Without Taking Stupid Risks - Step by Step Instructions
By the time resource guarding becomes a problem it is learned behavior. It starts off as an insecurity, the pup is insecure about losing the resource, so maybe he growls. The pup or person who looked like he was about to steal his food backs off.
This is "negative reinforcement", the aversive (dog about to steal his food) goes away when he growls.
One might think that the best approach is to not reinforce growling by standing your ground. That may or may not be safe. Frequently, not reinforcing something that has been reinforced in the past results in an "extinction burst" - a temporary escalation in the behavior. i.e it gets worse before it gets better.
The problem with this is that the next step up from growling and baring teeth is an actual bite - and this is a very real possibility!
Most people will back-off before they get bitten. That presents another problem because now you have reinforced more intense growling and made the behavior even more resistant to extinction.
So while standing your ground might work - the risks of getting bitten or making the behavior worse are too great.
Thankfully, there are alternatives.
Doggy Zen: "grasshopper, to get what you want, you must first give it up"
Step 1: If you are confident that this is not a dog who would bite you when YOU have the food (i.e pup is not in possession of the food) then place a small treat in your closed fist. Present your fist to pup.
Pup will lick, nudge, or paw at your fist. At the instant that pup stops licking, nudging or pawing and backs off half an inch, open your first and let the treat drop onto the floor. Repeat several times. It's very easy beginnings, you're not asking pup to sit or down or any of those things (but if he does them, that's fine). You just want him to back off half an inch.
Step 2: Put the treat on a low stool or coffee table covered by your hand. Ask pup to 'sit' (presuming pup already knows 'sit') and to "leave it". Remove your hand slowly while pup remains sitting. If you can fully remove your hand say "good!" and let pup eat the treat. If pup goes for the treat before you give the release ("good!"), cover the treat up again and say "leave it" in the same tone of voice you used the first time (don't get stern).
Step 3: now that pup has learned a little self-control around food, and that the best way to get it is to tow the line, you are ready to up the ante. Put some food in pup's bowl and ask pup to 'sit' and 'leave it' while you slowly place the bowl on the ground. If pup breaks his 'sit', lift the bowl up, wait a second then ask pup to 'sit' and 'leave it' again. When the bowl touches the ground, pause, then release with "good!" and let pup eat.
The reason for putting a small amount of food in the bowl is so that you can practise several trials per meal.
Step 4: The hand that gives - while pup is eating a small amount of food from the bowl, toss yummy treats into the bowl one at a time. Gradually get closer without eliciting a growl, don't move ahead too fast. You will use a lot of treats completing this step.
Step 5: The hand that giveth and the the hand that stayeth - when you can drop the treats into pup's bowl with your hand at the bowl, pause a little with your hand. Remember, we're setting pup up for success here. If there is ANY doubt about the safety of this exercise you have moved ahead too fast and are setting pup and yourself up for failure. Pup should be looking forward to your hand approaching the bowl before you attempt this step.
Step 6: The hand that giveth also taketh away - take a little food from the bowl while pup is eating, leave a treat in it's place.
Step 7: The hand that swapeth - give pup a chewy treat, but then present a second chewy treat. Don't give pup the second chewy treat until he has dropped the first one. When pup learns to drop the first chewy treat reliably when you present the second chewy treat, put it on cue - "leave it" or "give it".
If you haven't rushed things and have completed all preceding steps this should be fairly easy. If it's hard, back up a few steps. Reading this today it probably seems impossible! It's not.
* Please seek help from a competent veterinary behaviorist if you are inexperienced with aggressive dogs or not confident with this procedure. It is by it's nature risky unless attempted by someone who fully understands it's application.
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Comments
But what of food gurading around other animals
My puppy never guards her food with me. But she does with our other dog and our cat. For instance, if i am eating and she is patiently (i.e begging) waiting on the floor but the cat jumps next to us she gets very very upset. Or, if she has a toy or a bone and our other dog comes near her she can get nasty.
Would we use the same techniques for food gurading with other animals/pets?
food guarding around other animals theory and suggestions
Complete up to Step 3 first, then there are specific exercises for dogs who guard food from other animals. The theory at the beginning of the above article is very important to understand.
A one-on-one assessment from a professional dog trainer who understands the theory presented in the above article will provide you with the fastest plan of action.
Do you remember my old article, "Two Ways a Dog Learns - Consequences and Associations"? What we are trying to achieve with any training plan for this behavior problem is two-fold:
1. reinforcing consequences for being calm with food around other animals
2. positive associations with other dogs when food is around
It's also important that we don't put the dog into situations where growling will be reinforced, so no food around other animals at all in uncontrolled situations just yet.
Sometimes it is as simple as tossing treats for each dog in opposite directions then slowly, slowly bringing them together by tossing the treats slightly less distance each time. This would be a plan for very mild cases of food guarding and would require that the trainer knew with some certainty that it was safe to attempt this plan.
Other times we need to teach the subject dog a specific behavior then reinforce this while an assistant brings the other dog closer, always staying just outside of the threshold distance for food guarding. Over repetitions, this distance closes inch by inch until the dogs can eat beside each other.
For safety, this is done on-lead at first. Then the procedure is repeated off-lead.
Setting up safe situations that set the subject dog up for success is vital to the success of any plan. It is also important not to allow the unwanted behavior to occur ever again from the time you begin treatment. For this reason it's best to allow for lots of sessions close together to maximise the chance of teaching the new behavior while minimising the chance of the unwanted behavior being reinforced in between sessions.
How serious is the problem?
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
How serious is the problem?
How serious is the problem? I wouldn't say it's at a level where it's dangerous for anyone involved but that might be because Ginger is a wee 12 lbs and my other dog, who does not have a gurading problem, is 45 lbs. Her guarding is certainly being reinforced though. If Buddy tries to take the bone away she will snap at him and he will back off, just sitting there staring at the bone. Sometimes he'll try to go in again and maybe he'll be sucessful stealing the bone from her, maybe not. What is difficult - and perhaps this behavior is my fault - is that they often play over toys. Their dynamic is: Once one has a toy it is only fun if the other wants it so they play tug with each other and they play keep away. But if it's a juicy bone Ginger will turn from play to aggression if Buddy comes near her. She doesn't gurad over regular food or treats. It's really only over million dollar items, like a bone. I guess I should correct this behavior by taking the bone away from both of them.
However, with the cat it's slightly different. This only happens if I am eating and the cat and ginger are both sitting there. If the cat makes one little move ginger will cry out and inch forward. Sometimes she will quickly jump/lunge towards the cat but never come into contact. My cat just sits there unphased. I guess I should correct here as well.
So I don't think it's that serious but I want to nip it/not continue to reinforce it.
Would this work with an 11week pup
Im very interested in getting an 11 week old pup called chomper as he has a loving nature and has been good with my 5 month old daughter but on a trial day he had very bad aggression towards us all when we gave him a pigs ear to chew on.
His history is the people who have him and his 6 brothers and sisters rescued them from a house where they were not being fed and didnt have anything apart from there mum. They are all well behaved normally and are gaining weight and look forward to food time but my concern is if i take him on how can i change this so that it doesnt happen in future and i know my daughter will be safe to walk around outside with me and not have to worry he is going to attack.
Yes...
...this will definitely work with an 11 week old pup.
some points-
- this is normal puppy behavior, what seems like 'very bad aggression' is just normal behavior and isn't a big indication of how he will develop. If he was 6 months old and still doing it, then you would have a bigger problem to deal with. At this stage you should get fairly quick results following the above plan.
- never leave your child with your dog unsupervised, goes without saying but I have to say it.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
Thankyou
Thankyou for your help,
Little chompers being given another chance now as i do believe he will be a good dog with a bit of work. as for never leaving my daughter with him i can say that wont be a worry, i was attack by a dog as a child and still have the scars on my face to prove it so its a big concern. although i did have a staffy that my mum adopted from me that is brilliant with kids and loves it when she is hand fed by my 10 month old nephew!!
Food guarding around other dogs and children
I've read your food guarding article, but I can't seem to find an answer for how my Shiba,Olie, exhibits her food guarding. She does not have any issues with adult humans around food or the food dish. The issue is when other dogs come over or when we visit friends with dogs she will guard the area where the food is kept. At home it is on our back staircase. If another dog goes near that area she will look at the doorway then at the other dog and back and forth sometimes snapping her mouth at the dog. If I try to intervene by picking her up or saying her name it sets her off and she will go after the dog snarling and biting. We try to simply prevent the situation by not allowing the dogs in that area. But, recently we had a 1 year old child over, running around the house and going near where the dog's food is kept. Olie started the staring thing with the child, looking at the door and looking at the kid. In order to prevent something bad, I picked the kid up.
So, in a nutshell, how do I stop Olie from guarding the area where the food is stored? I feed her 2 times a day at the same time and make her sit until I release her. Then she will run off and come back to eat after I leave the room.
re: Food guarding around other dogs and children
She certainly is committed!
Can you do the early doggy zen exercises from that article with her?
I'm inclined to think you should work with a professional who treats resource guarding in roughly the same way I have suggested in my article. The basic principles are the same, but it takes a bit of finesse and some creativity to put the set-ups together safely.
The basic idea is to teach "there is nothing to worry about, in fact if you relax you'll get what you want". A good way to do that is to teach her to let other dogs into the area without guarding, using positive reinforcement to do so.
Tell me, how is her general obedience? I'd like to know what else she likes to control!
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
new dog
ok so i adopted a new rottweiler and its about 4-6 years old, and its bone aggresive, if you walk near her, talk to her, pet her all gets you a growl each worse then the one before, but the whole time shes wagging her tail untill i pet her, what can i do, other then to not give her a bone
re: new dog
Can you do everything above yet? I would work on that first, you might figure out what to do about the bone after you have been through the process, but if not - write back to discuss further.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
new dog
well now that all the meats off the bone she doesnt even want the bone so i don't understand the dog, she also growls when we play tug of war with the rope toy we have, but since i haven't had the dog for that long i don't know if shed bite me and id rather not find out
re: new dog
Fair enough! I haven't been bitten by a dog yet and I don't plan to (touch wood).
The secret is to break everything down into tiny little pieces that your dog can easily achieve. If there is a risk of being bitten, you have made it too hard already. The steps outlined above are right for most dogs, but if you have a concern then you should seek professional help.
Growling during tug is not normally a problem, in fact if a dog I'm playing tug with isn't growling then I'm probably not doing it right! See: http://www.clickertraining.com/node/727 However, I think you would benefit from seeing a positive reinforcement trainer who can assess your new dog and hopefully put your mind at ease, while giving you a few tips that will make life easier for you.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
Aggression while eating/sleeping
I am having a bit of a problem and I need some advice.
I have a 4 month old Great Dane pup named Windham. It seems to me that he is coming along nicely, although this is my first experience with this breed. He seems to be exceptionally bright and has been easy to train. I can see that he has a bit of a dominant streak, which hasn't really bothered me because I would like him to be more on the confident side rather than excessively timid or submissive.
I have been doing exercises with him since we brought him home to show him that we (human beings) are in charge. We make him wait so we can pass through doorways first, we have him sit/down until he is released, he sits nicely in a designated spot while we eat, etc. He is wonderful with my children, 7 and 4 in play activities.
There seems to be one problem. He seems to show some aggression towards my 4 year old son, Emerson. He has growled and snapped when Emerson walks by him if he is sleeping. And the yesterday, Windham was waiting for me to tell him 'Okay' to eat (his food was in his bowl, and he was waiting for me to release him to go ahead and eat), Emerson came walking down the hall and walked between me and Windham, and Windham growled and actually bit Emerson! I was horrified! I immediately put Windham on his side on the ground (not meanly), and held him there for a bit.
I finally did let Windham eat; he eats in his Kennel. Again, Emerson came down the hall, and Windham growled and barked.
Last night for supper and this morning for breakfast, I had Emerson carry Winham's food to his dish. I also had my kids had feed some pieces of Satin Ball to him.
I am beside myself and would appreciate any advice. Overall, Windham is such a great puppy and has been such a joy, but I can not tolerate this behavior. Emerson has never been mean to him. Since we got him, we (the adults) have interrupted his feeding, removed his food after he has began eating, and he hasn't had one problem. I am not sure what else to do.
Thanks for reading this long story, and for any advice.
Sincerely,
Lindsey
re: Aggression while eating/sleeping
Hi Lindsey, you have done EVERYTHING you were told to do, diligently, and have no reason to believe that what you have been told is possibly not the best advice - until now - when your child is in danger.
So my first piece of advice is to refer you to a veterinary behaviourist. Only a veterinary behaviourist is qualified to make the necessary MEDICAL checks which must be done first, to rule out an actual medical problem which could be contributing to these events. Then they will be able to counsel you in how to make changes to deal with the now learned behaviours which you must change.
Uncharacteristically, I will point out the problems with the advice you have been given and have implemented:
1. alpha rolls - not only are they a risk to your safety, they are completely unnatural. An alpha dog does not physically roll a submissive dog over, the submissive dog willingly rolls over. There is no meaningful physical contact between the two dogs.
Granted, Windham is just 4 months old and would get some harmless physical corrections (including pinning down) from older dogs, but unless you fully understand these complex canine interactions, I would take a different approach. In most cases, they do more harm than good and there are alternatives that give much more predictable results.
2. interrupting meals and removing food that is being eaten - I used to do this too, it certainly seemed like good advice when I had my first pup. Unfortunately, it has been linked to an increase in food guarding in some individuals. You did read that correctly.
Windham may think it's OK for you to take his food, but not for Emerson to take his food, and he has learned that humans do try to take food away. Note that in the article above I always leave something better behind, so that the pup learns that something GOOD will always come from yielding resources. I also go to lengths to do this in small steps so that there is no confusion about it.
My advice is to see a fully qualified veterinary behaviourist for the reasons mentioned above. It is not worth the gamble on someone who does not have these qualifications.
In the meantime, keep using good management - feed him in his crate, let him sleep there too. While there are some exercise where your kids will feed Windham, I'd like this to be under the supervision of a veterinary behaviourist at first.
You didn't mention how severe the bite was? Was blood drawn? The more inhibited the bite, the better your prognosis (generally). Please feel free to stay in touch, having a young child and a reactive dog myself I understand the feelings involved.
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com
Interesting tips! I think by
Interesting tips! I think by following these tips anyone can have desired results.
646-204-70-642-70-646
Re
Smallish bones
Hi our sharpei x staffy has no problem with people when he is having his dinner or other meals, but if he has a bone even i am a little intimidated by his snarling and i have actually been bitten trying to get him used to me being by him with the bone, however if he has a real big bone there is no problem. if i talk to him and he is looking at me i can easily get it off him but if he is involved with the bone he will just snap.
he is 5mnthish at the moment, oh and he will sit for his inside meals and even when i first give him bone. help
re: Smallish bones
Which step are you up to?
Regards,
Aidan
http://www.positivepetzine.com