by Rhonda Erickson

Created on: April 17, 2008   Last Updated: October 29, 2011

"Thou Shalt Not Bite the Hand That Feeds You". Dealing with your puppy on food aggression and over zealous playful nips.

There is no rule that I have found that determines if a dog will be food aggressive or not. I have seen dogs that have never been hungry a day in their life, or ever had to compete with other dogs for food, almost take your hand off if you reached for their food, and would not let another dog eat near them. On the other hand, I have known dogs that were severely under nourished at some point in their life and never show any food aggression with humans or other animals. The size or breed of dog doesn't seem to matter either, small dogs can be just as vicious over food as larger ones. The only common thread I have pinned down is, on the average, most of the puppies out of larger litters... having eight to ten litter mates or more.. seem to develop food aggression more than puppies from smaller litters. That is not a proven fact, just an over all thought and observation on my part.

Most of all I think it comes down to the dog's individual personality, and needs to be nipped in the bud as early as possible. First, I would like to express that if you are dealing with a grown dog, especially a larger one, with a food aggression problem, please get some help from a professional dog trainer. Chances are, if the dog is over six or seven months old, he has had this problem for a while, and may have some other underlying condition that needs to be addressed. Do not take a chance on someone, or one of your other pets getting injured. Food aggression can be a serious and dangerous problem.

I have met many young puppies with mild food aggression. It seems to go along with the first independence from their mother, and establishing hierarchy in a new pack. Some are only aggressive with food and other dogs, and some with anyone or anything that comes near them while they are eating. Either way, as a pet, this is a zero tolerance behavior.

If you notice your new puppy growling or trying to bite you or another pet during feeding time take action immediately. Remove the food bowl, give the puppy a few bites of food from your hand, then praise and pet him. Empty the bowl out, and set it back down for him, then put a few bites in the bowl with your hand. Just give him a few bites in the bowl at a time, leaving your hand down by the bowl each time. Praise and pet if he allows your hand, if he growls or shows any aggression, take the bowl away again and feed him

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