Dog Obedience Training Prevents Food Guarding Aggression

Dog obedience training techniques rely heavily on food, which is a huge motivator for any dog. This is an example of positive food motivation. But when food becomes a catalyst for aggression in your dog, you’ve got a food guarding situation, which can escalate to become dangerous for you, and the other dogs in your household.

Your dog’s ancestors guarded food because they often didn’t eat for days at a time. When a kill was brought back to the pack, the wolves that fought for the right to eat got to eat the most, and the best, meat.

The submissive dog might develop a food guarding habit, or eat her food in large gulps, to protect her meal from more dominant dogs, who feel that they have the right to horn in on lesser citizens’ food. Conversely, dominant dogs might scarf food or develop a food guarding issue in response to the scroungers who circle, hoping to usurp the right to eat.

Food guarding might be perfectly natural, but, as with many dog behaviors that we feel the need to change with dog training, it’s not ideal for modern day living. Prevention of this behavior, when your dog is young, with dog obedience training techniques, is the best course of action. Take these steps to prevent this potentially dangerous habit from developing:

Divide your puppy’s meal into segments, adding a few pieces of food to his bowl at a time, then picking up the bowl, putting more food into it, and replacing it.

Train your puppy by petting her while she’s eating.

Hold the food bowl in your hands while she’s eating.

Command your puppy to sit before feeding him. Then, while he’s eating, ask him to stop and sit again. Reward him with a piece of turkey or chicken, or anything that he prefers over what is in his food bowl.

While he’s eating, command your puppy to stop eating and to sit. Put a piece of meat into his dry food and dig your fingers into the food, stirring it around. Now, allow him to finish.

Pick up the bowl of food, halfway through his meal, add a piece of meat to it, and then return it to the floor.

Invite other members of the family, and visitors, to perform these exercises.

These dog obedience training techniques train your dog to grasp the new concept of mealtime: that no one is trying to steal her food, that mealtime is actually more fun with humans around, that there’s a constant supply of food, and that mealtime can be relaxing and enjoyable. When you add clicker training to these dog training techniques, you will further reinforce all of these ideals.

Don’t attempt these dog training techniques if your dog already displays signs of food guarding: growling, snarling, dog barking, raised hackles, glazed eyes, or greedy and speedy eating.

It’s no longer necessary for your dog to guard, or fight for, her meal. Unlike her ancestors, she’s privy to an endless supply of food. When she fully grasps this concept, mealtime will be safe and pleasant.

Your dog’s development as a domestic pet has transferred the responsibility of survival from her to you. She can trust that you have her best interest in mind, and that dog obedience training, in and out of the bowl, is her ticket to a long and well fed existence.

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