Question for the dog owners

[dragonational]

Hey guys i know that there are a lot of dog owners here and i am hoping that you guys can give me a hand. I just became the proud owner of an 8 month old American Bulldog named Bo. He is a very good dog with a few "aggresive" things that i need some advice with. He sits on command and is very good about listning...however he is very very protective of his food and water. If you get with in 4 feet of him while eating or drinking he grawls...any closer and he freaks out and wants to eat you. Has anyone ever had this problem and if so how did you correct the animals behavior with this issue? I really love the dog but with a 5 year old and a 3 year old sons i am not going to put up with this kind of aggresion.

 

[rmar]

I hope some one can help you.
But that is a chance I would not take with my children.
I understand your feelings for the dog.
I have a 100 lb. female German Shepard and any kid can take food out of her mouth. If she wasn't that way she would be gone.

Good Luck.

 

[dragonational]

he is really good with the kids he plays with them and knows who they are...so i am not worried about him around the boys i just want him to chill out on the eating thing. Maybe i will call the dog whisperer guy lol.

 

[rmar]

Don't laugh. The Dog whisper dude has had a few shows on food aggression. Maybe you could catch a episode..
I hope it works out.

 

[dragonational]

i was actually meaning that seriously. That Casar dude is awesome when it comes to dogs.

 

[stack1]

Here's a pic of my American Bulldog eating the cat food. They eat together all the time. My secret is to spoil the dog to no end until she realizes that she is not a dog, but just one of us on 4 legs. :biggrin:

Can you take the food away? It will take a little time, but you can gradually get the pooch more comfortable. Just have to break the natural instinct to protect it's food. You can do a quick search and come up with some good training tips and better advise than I can provide. But you've chosen a STUBBORN breed and your patience will be tested each day that you're blessed to have an AB around!!

Got any pics of your dog?

Greg

 

[JOHNDEEREGN]

Be careful Harry, I am not saying get rid of it or keep it. Just think if it would get aggressive towards those kids:frown:

I would get a German Shephard, GREAT DOGS

 

[UNGN]

Next time you feed the dog, hold the bowl while the dog is eating.

If the dog shows aggression or gets growly, take the food away, immediately

When it calms down, give the bowl back so the dog can eat.

Repeat until the growliness stops.

Oh, and wear a glove.

 

[8AV8]

I have a 75lb red pit. He sleeps wiith my daughter and anybody could take his food away.

This is what I did.Taught him how to sit and stay. I started off making him stay and taking a step away. In a couple of weeks I could walk 50 ft away and he wouldn't move until I told him to come. I did it at the end of his walk everyday.
I make him sit and stay in the same spot while I am putting the food in the bowl. He sits there while I walk past him with it and put it on the floor. He won't eat it until I tell him to. It really just took a little time. He is really hard headed but food is a great tool.He is a 3 year old male that aint fixed. I trust him around anybody. Spending time with him on a leash helped out ALOT. If I don't walk him for a few days he gets hard headed. He's even tougher on the leash after being not walked for a few days for the first couple of blocks...then he will chill out.

But he really chilled out when a guy at work gave us a blue chihuahua(sp?) about 6 months ago...He thinks he's her momma...it's friggin hilarious.

 

[413turbo]

kids- "don't mess with that dog while he's eating" - is a good teach for children.

try these: priase him, good boy, good dog while eating: if he starts to growl- say no, bad dog.

feed the dog (some of his food) from one hand while petting him with the other. use praise

put his bowl at your feet (or hold it)and feed him, work up to petting him while he eats.

watch his tail, if you say good boy and he wags his tail, he should do it while eating also.

training is hard and requires time. but, when rescue dogs come into a shelter, alot of times the test them with a fake hand. if the dog attacks the fake hand while eating, they won't adopt him. that tends to be the policy for desiding a dog's fate, even at "no kill" shelters.

but i'm not saying get rid of him, spend some time working on it with him.

 

[ChavoLC2]

Nip it now

Yeah you have to break him of that now. One way you can try is teaching him to not eat until you have released him to do so. Have him sit and stay put his feed pan in front of him use what ever release word you want. We use FREE. If he goes towards his food before released yank his leash hard and with a "stern Alpha male voice" have him sit again. My wife's PitBull will sit infront of her dish we kind of made it a game. We only put 1/2 the rations in. She will not eat until she is released. Once she eats that portion she knows there is still half to be gotten so she automatically sits, we put the rations in and she waits till released. As I mentioned our release word is Free she can not stand up or move until she is released otherwise she is sat back down.

You know how strong bulldog breeds are. You gotta get control early and they need to know who is the Alpha male. We use the same release program when she is taken for a walks gets in the car. She sits and stays at the front door or gate, the master goes thru the door 1st then she is released to go thru. Same with coming back in. These dogs are smart and learn quick specially once they know who is incharge of the pack. When he growls at you now when food is put before him do not go up and Whisper sweet nothings in his ear or your going to get bit in the face. Immeadiately tug hard on his leash and with a stern command have him sit and stay . Pick up food bowl put back on kitchen counter away from him. Now that he has your full undivided attention place food before him a foot or so all the time staying and sitting. Make him stay untl release word is given. Praise him and pet him telling him he a good dog when teaching release going thru doors/gates intially give him a treat and praise when he does as commanded...Back to feeding Again don't give him it all at once do it a second time soon he knows what's up. It will become a game for him and dinner won't be so bad he'll ease up. Until he is reprogramed/taught it should only be you feeding him a strong alpha male that can control him if he were to get out of hand. Not your kids or wifes job..

 

[Dwayne]

kids- "don't mess with that dog while he's eating" - is a good teach for children.

try these: priase him, good boy, good dog while eating: if he starts to growl- say no, bad dog.

feed the dog (some of his food) from one hand while petting him with the other. use praise

put his bowl at your feet (or hold it)and feed him, work up to petting him while he eats.

watch his tail, if you say good boy and he wags his tail, he should do it while eating also.

training is hard and requires time. but, when rescue dogs come into a shelter, alot of times the test them with a fake hand. if the dog attacks the fake hand while eating, they won't adopt him. that tends to be the policy for desiding a dog's fate, even at "no kill" shelters.

but i'm not saying get rid of him, spend some time working on it with him.

+ 1

 

[8AV8]

kids- "don't mess with that dog while he's eating" - is a good teach for children.

try these: priase him, good boy, good dog while eating: if he starts to growl- say no, bad dog.

feed the dog (some of his food) from one hand while petting him with the other. use praise

put his bowl at your feet (or hold it)and feed him, work up to petting him while he eats.

watch his tail, if you say good boy and he wags his tail, he should do it while eating also.

training is hard and requires time. but, when rescue dogs come into a shelter, alot of times the test them with a fake hand. if the dog attacks the fake hand while eating, they won't adopt him. that tends to be the policy for desiding a dog's fate, even at "no kill" shelters.

but i'm not saying get rid of him, spend some time working on it with him.

I agree with most of this except "not messing with him while he is eating."

I won't have a dog that growls at anybody in my family...EVER.

I also will take away his toys, bones, and his food bowl while he has them in his mouth. After he sits politely I will give it back. Once they realize you are the boss...and that the food isn't being taken away permanently...they start to relax the food aggression traits.

There is no substitute for time spent with the animal. He MUST know that he is at the bottom of the totem pole in the pecking order of your house.

You will be suprised how fast he comes around if you spend and hour a day or so walking and training him.

Something else...I never let him come in the house before me or go out of the house in front of me.

I don't let him walk in front of me.

I can ask this pit if "WOULD YOU RATHER RIDE IN A FORD MUSTANG OR BE DEAD" and he'll play dead.

Just takes time...

 

[V8Assassin]

I can ask this pit if "WOULD YOU RATHER RIDE IN A FORD MUSTANG OR BE DEAD" and he'll play dead.

Just takes time...

He is serious, saw the dog do it. Pretty funny stuff!

Gotta admit, probably the best behaved pit I have ever been around.

 

[dgoodhue]

I haven't had to deal with the water issue, but leaving a bowl with food around all the time can lead to food guarding and aggression problems.

Feed the dog enough food at his meal times, if he doesn't eat all of his food (within a reasonable time) take it away until his next meal. He might go hungry a few times, but the dog will figure it out pretty quickly.

 

[klrv6]

My 3 year old son can climb on, push on and take our lab's food. Both of those girls take it because of their temperament. I am sure you can get your dog to behave the same, maybe it has had to fight for it's food in the past. Perhaps a local dog trainer can make this issue go away real fast.

 

[scot w.]

I just became the proud owner of an 8 month old American Bulldog named Bo.

He sits on command and is very good about listning...however he is very very protective of his food and water. If you get with in 4 feet of him while eating or drinking he grawls...any closer and he freaks out and wants to eat you.

I really love the dog but with a 5 year old and a 3 year old sons i am not going to put up with this kind of aggresion.

I have a brazilian Mastiff and a yellow lab and NONE of them ever showed aggresion while eating. Now my Mastiff is VERY animal aggresive! It wants to kill other dogs but my 11 & 7yr old sons can ride him, Literally!

There are three key things in your first post here.

1) You JUST got a 8mo old dog - It seems to be a fine dog other than the eating part. Sounds like to me he was around alot of other pups while eating and thats more likely how that got started and he ended up being the dominent one there. You need to address this as soon as possible while he's young it will alot easyier. What you need to do is show him YOUR the dominent one there!! Holding the food bowl is a good way and forcing him to be uncomfortable eating when you hold the bowl.

2)He listens & sits on comand - Thats a real good sign, Now just work and work and keep working on the food issue and since he's a smart dog and listens he should come around!

3) 5 & 3yr old sons - I would keep them away from him while eating untill you make him more comfortable with humans around his food.. Family first!

You can do this! Keep us posted on the progress

Scot W.

 

[GNBRETT]

It's actually a pretty easy fix. Do you have a electronic dog collar? Buy one and place it around his neck. Place the setting at the lowest level the dog would react to if you were actually poping a prong collar with a hard correction. Prong collars are actually called training collars in Europe. Start on the lowest level possible.

Dogtra dogtra.com sells the better E-Collar brand. Give the dog some food, approach him and try to take away. When he growls give him an immediate verbal correction then a quick nick of the E-Collar. He will figure it out in about 10 minutes. Repeat till he behaves properly.

My dog is taught not to eat unless he is given the command. It is just another way to control the dog. The dog does not see you as the pack leader.

Age of the dog does not matter. I start training my dogs at 8-10 weeks. Aggressive behavior with food is NEVER tolerated for any amout of time at ANY age.

 

[BadAssGN]

One of the first things this dog should learn is Dominance... Who is boss.

I'm Not saying you should go and beat the crap outa the dog, but Be very stern when reprimanding the dog.

My dog pulled the same thing with my kids...

Try what I did.

Make your dog sit and wait while you fill the dish. if the dog goes near the dish before you say it's okay, sit the dog down again.

When you let the dog eat. pet your dog the whole time. stay away from the head for a while until you build that trust.

if the dog growels Yell back or get your food back.

every dog is different but show him who's boss...

He's most likely been competing for food or starved...

 

[BLACK6PACK]

A lot of good advice. Another trick is to put the empty bowl down and you get a small handfull of food and place the food in the bowl. Let him eat it, then place another handfull in the bowl. He should learn not to bite the hand that feeds him. Once he realizes you're the one providing the food, then he will not growl at you. The problem is the boys are still not seen as feeding him.

As has been said, he needs to learn who the pack leader is. Dogs either lead or follow. He's trying to lead. One thing that will get a dogs attention is a rolled up newspaper. A good whack on the butt will make a loud sound, but doesn't hurt the dog.