Is Your Dog Food Aggressive? Food Aggression and Prevention
Guarding possessions from humans or other animals is considered normal behavior for dogs. Undomesticated animals that successfully protect their valuable resources, such as food, mates, and living areas, are more likely to survive in the wild than those that don’t. However, this tendency to guard valued items is unnecessary when dogs are in safe, loving homes. Resource guarding in dogs can range from relatively benign behavior, like running away with a coveted item or growling at an approaching person, to full-blown aggression, such as biting or chasing a person away. Some dogs only direct resource guarding toward certain people, such as strangers. Other dogs guard their resources from all people. Dogs vary in what they find valuable. Some dogs only guard bones or toys, while others guard stolen items, such as trash or socks. Many dogs guard food.
In many cases, food guarding doesn’t need to be treated. Many people with food-guarding dogs take reasonable precautions to ensure everyone’s safety. For example:
Leaving the dog alone while eating
Feeding the dog in a separate room
Feeding dog in a crate or behind a barrier
Providing dogs with adequate amounts of food so the dogs feel less motivated to guard
NEVER attempt to take away stolen or scavenged food from their dogs
Though some choose not to treat food guarding, sometimes the situation becomes too risky not to address. For example, children living in homes with a resource-guarding dog are more likely to get bitten because they’re less able to recognize a dog’s warning signals and more likely to behave recklessly around the dog.
Like any unwanted behavior in dogs, guarding and food aggression is much easier to prevent than to treat. If you have a new puppy or adult dog who doesn’t guard, it is important to do some simple exercises to prevent the development of guarding behavior. Some prevention exercises include:
As soon as you bring your new dog home, make sure you hand-feed several meals
Sit with your dog and give them kibble one bite at a time
During hand-feeding meals, speak nicely to your dog and pet them while you offer food with your other hand
If your dog is comfortable with hand feeding, switch to holding their bowl in your lap and allowing them to eat from the bowl
Continue to speak and pet the dog while eating
After a few meals, place your dog bowl on the floor and, as they eat their regular kibble, periodically reach down to drip in a piece of something tasty (cheese, chicken, or beef)
If you think your dog is exhibiting signs of food aggression or guarding, it is best to contact a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist or Certified Professional Dog Trainer. The treatments used for food guarding are desensitization combined with counterconditioning. They’re highly effective but complex and detailed. The good news is that we have Big Dog Ranch Rescue trainers here to help!