Stryker did something really strange yesterday during feeding time that had me really worried. When it's time to eat he will sit and stay until I place his bowl. He's always been quick to jump up as soon as it hit the ground to start eating. Yesterday I told him to sit, he did. I told him to wait, placed the bowl and he didn't wait he leaped at it as soon as it hit the ground my first instinct was to grab the bowl and yank it up but I don't want him to think that I'm taking his food away. So instead, I reached over and started petting his head. He stopped eating growled then started eating faster but at the same time became very tense. He's great with his toys, plays fetch and even put objects, toys included, in my hand. Never growls but is always ready for the throw. What do I do about this? I can't have an aggressive eater so I want to nip this reaction as soon as I can.
Resource guarding can be very serious and you should proceed with caution. Have a look at this article from the main site: http://www.thelabradorsite.com/how-to-stop-your-dog-growling-over-food/
Oops the title was suppose to be Aggression while eating but as I was typing Stryker figured he wanted to act like a Jack Rabbit and leap on to my lap. I'll read that article now, thank you.
Don't bother him while he's eating. You will see advice to do that and often it works but it can actually create food guarding where there might not have been a problem. Here's some more to read, from an organization that educates world wide on safe dog and child interactions. Adults needs to be safe too. https://www.cappdt.ca/UserFiles/File/articles/resource guarding for parents.pdf http://www.doggonesafe.com/
I'll edit your title for you, but try not to worry. Food guarding is incredibly common, one of my own labs went through a phase of it. It doesn't mean the dog is aggressive and it is easy to fix in puppies and young dogs if you go through the steps in the article that Barbara linked you to.
I had this issue with a raw bone I gave Axel. It happened a few times until I came on here for help. So I followed the steps from the first article posted above and it worked amazingly well. He actually brings me his bones now and chews them on my feet.
Thank you for the articles and for fixing the title. I read the article Barbara suggested and will work on that over the next few feedings. If it was just me I wouldn't worry as much as I do now because I have friends and family who have small children and the last thing I need is for a young child who is still learning themselves to get bit. So thank you for the help thus far.
The advice in the article is spot on. I had this problem with my dog that we got when he was 8 months old, although for him it was more toys or "stolen" items rather than food. But using a similar method (I also used a clicker and clicked and treated for no reaction as my hand got closer) I now have a dog that won't react when I approach when he has a toy or whatever.
It's a great article and has helped loads of people. Once your dog is comfortable that you're not going to take his food away from him, he'll relax about you being around when he's eating. That said, it's best if you never put him in a situation where he may feel he has to guard his food, so feeding him around young children who may disturb him would always be a no-no to me. If there are kids around that can't be told to leave him alone, then feed him in another room or in his crate to give him security.
Yes. I know this can be a problem with some dogs who linger over their food but most Labs eat so quickly it might take only one mere minute to stand and guard your dog against kids, especially visiting kids. It never fails to amaze me that people intend to train the dog, a creature with intelligence said to be about that of a two year old child, to tolerate misbehaviour of kids around the dog's food, but they don't think to train the kids, who rapidly get past age two, to leave the dog alone when he's eating.
Ah but the children are far too clever for their own good Mine comes up with all sorts of reasons for what she's up to. Better safe than sorry in our house and the dogs are fed behind closed doors for their own benefit
