[Dailydrool] Treat aggression

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

Though I have one hound who came to me with food aggression, we really have very little in the way of trouble in this household. But there are some rules that keep it that way.

1. Whenever I give one hound something special, the others get it too.
2. When there's a hint of aggression, the hounds are handed their treats in pack order--from alpha down to gamma (we have only three hounds). Most days, I can feed the hounds treats in any order I please. Because they are used to fairness, they expect theirs to come very soon. But the higher rated the treat, the more the likelihood of a problem. So items like pig's ears (back when I used to give them) would always be given out in pack order.
3. I am very rigorous about fairness. Sure, one hound may get a slightly larger treat than another, because I  broke the treat unevenly, but everyone gets to enjoy the same thing at pretty much the same time. Everyone seems OK with that, as long as the treat size is not greatly different. If it is, the other hounds get a second bit to make up the difference. And I tell the one who got the big piece all about it. I swear they understand, if they don't, I step in to keep the peace.
4. When we feed the main meals, everyone gets fed in a different room. Each has a place to be fed and knows to go there. If someone changes rooms unexpectedly, a human should be in the room to make sure the peace is kept.
5. If I must give one hound a special treat, it's given in a place where none of the others can see it and get jealous. This requires complete separation, to keep a fight from breaking out.

My hounds know that things are fair in the household, and over the years, even Belvedere, our aggressor, has become fairly reliable. Jane, who is our alpha, could probably eat right out of his bowl, and he'd just turn aside, but Abner, being bottom of the pack, still cannot get too close when he eats--though now that Bel has lost much of his sight, he even seems willing to defer to Abner a bit. I usually end up defending Bel, since he is a bit skinny and needs all the groceries he can get. But this is usually a meal situation, not a treat one, since everyone knows that treats come to everyone equally.

The dog who ends up losing food is probably below the food thief in pack order. That's just the way it goes in the dog world. Humans who want to equalize the situation need to adhere to #5, above.

Food aggression is largely a matter of security, in my experience, and pack order. But I have made sure that I can intervene at any time to create peace. Fortunately all our hounds do not appreciate spray bottles filled with water. If I need to break up a fight, I can use a spray to stop it--usually it's just a matter of shaking the bottle, but they know I can and will spray, if necessary. But if you have a hound who is not fazed by water, take a towel (preferably one you do not mind getting holes in) and carefully drop it between the fighters's faces. When they cannot see each other, they should stop the fight. Take that moment to intervene, removing the object in question and probably moving one of the hounds too. Be careful in all this that you do not get bitten. I usually make certain the object that started the fight permanently disappears, so that everyone gets the message that fighting means no one gets the prize.

I hope these tips are of use to you and bring peace to your home.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets