i have a amstaff girl and she is about 14 weeks now and has all of a sudden started getting aggressive over food. we have 4 other dogs at home a toy poodle english staffy and a brittany spaniel and they all get fed at the same time in separate bowls but the other dogs are used to swapping bowls with each other or they eat out of the same bowl then move on to the next we just let them go. and when we 1st bought the pup home coz she's on puppy food we have been trying to stop them from eating out of her bowl and she wasn't minding them if they snuck out of our sight and got into her bowl but all of a sudden if they do get to her bowl she is growling and snapping and the other day she had our poodle on her back with her mouth around her throat so i immediately took her food off her and told her no waited 10 minutes and gave it back then my english staffy came up to her and she started snapping at her so i took her food off her for 10 mintues then gave it back is this the right thing to do or is there anything else i can do coz i would like her to be like our other dogs and be able to share her food

One of the best ways to PREVENT food aggression is to frequently "disturb" the pup while she's eating - but not in a negative way. As the pup eats, offer "better tasting" food or treats to the food dish right from your finger tips. Do this often during the pup's developmental stages and practice removing the food dish from time to time as the pup eats.
Once a dog has developed food aggression, the best thing I've heard is to take away the food bowl all together. Feed handfuls at a time but only when the dog accepts the food gently in a non-aggressive manner. Reward gentleness with more food and hold it back if the dog is acting greedy or "snapily". This process may take time, but it's better than having a food aggressive dog. After about a week of this, introduce an EMPTY bowl and drop food into it a little at a time. Again, reward gentleness and withold if the dog is acting snappy or aggressive. Remove the bowl from time to time. After time, you should be able to remove and replace the bowl at will, with no aggression issues with your dog. It is going to be even more of a challenge with the other dogs around, but you'll have to first work one on one with this one. Good luck and keep us posted. Bob

I never let my dogs swap bowls or let them around each other while they're eating and NEVER left alone to eat. As long as they're not aggresive to me when there's food around I don't care if they growl at at each other if one gets to close, mums will snap at pups if they come to close to mums food at the wrong time and I don't want people coming up and eating off my plate so I let them sort it out and now they know not to bother each other while eating!

Food is important to dogs and one of their greatest pleasures.

Let your pup eat in peace -- feed her separately from the others.

Feeding your pup together with the other dogs when she OBVIOUSLY doesn't LIKE it doesn't bode well for any relationship you would like her to build with the other dogs.

Let her eat in peace. It's an important time for her. Don't destroy her relationship with the others before it gets started.



Carla

chevlay123 wrote:ii would like her to be like our other dogs and be able to share her food

No, that is silly, in my opinion.

Carla

No, that is silly, in my opinion.

I agree completely I don't see the point of it, as long as it's not toward you it shouldn't be a problem. I'd snap too if someone started trying to take stuff off my plate!

My dog allows the cats to stick their heads in his bowl but never another dog. To each his own bowl and keep it at that.

Sagebrush wrote:Let her eat in peace. It's an important time for her. Don't destroy her relationship with the others before it gets started.

Agree!

I guess I'm taking the less popular opinion on this one because I also believe there shouldn't be any food aggression toward people OR the other dogs in the household. My dogs have food out all the time and eat and drink out of each other's bowls (sometimes out of the same bowl at the same time) with no aggression issues whatsoever. I would not tolerate it. Right from the beginning, I got my Amstaff pup used to eating with my Pomeranians and stepped in if she ever thought about growling at either of them. To me it makes sense to keep peace within the pack, no matter what possible issue may be. Brandy and my Boston/JRT will even chew on the same real bone at the same time. There are times when a coveted piece of food may be laying around and I will not let my dogs fight over it. You can't keep an eye on them every second and if you know they won't fight over food it's one less thing you have to worry about. If the pup is young enough to train and discourage food aggression around the other dogs, I would try to do it. JMO. Bob

it seems that your dogs finish their food once their bowl is given to them?

It's important that puppy have all the nourishment they could get, there's more protein and it smell stronger in puppy food then it is in adult dog food.

Why should dogs interrupted other dog's bowl when they have their own?

She may have got food aggression around your other dogs because she doesn't get enough nourishment she need or felt threaten that there will be no food left for her.

I feed my dogs separately so that i would know how much food intake they had and to prevent future food aggression.

I always made my dogs sit and wait for their food until i tell them to go ahead.

like other said.. you can always hand feed them with treat or touch their bowl now and again to avoid food aggression against human if not dogs.
I sometime lightly stroke their head or touch their bowl once they got into their food so that they don't feel insecure around their food because i have kids and other visitors comes with small children.

Here you have a puppy that has manners and doesn't bother the other dogs when they are eating THEIR food; but she must share with the others.

And she also has an owner that will not be the leader and protect her and her food.

She is learning to be nervous and fearful about eating.

Sad.

Carla

Feed you dog by herself, either in another room or in her crate. This breed is not a "pack" breed and by trying to teach your dog to share her food with others, you are going to see true dog aggression sooner than normal and you will be sorry. It does not bother me at all, unless the food aggression is with humans.