[Dailydrool] Food Aggression

[Jane Hay]

I emailed Vicki privately about how we handle Ginger, our food aggressive
houndette, but then thought maybe someone else might want to read what we do
too so here it is. Honestly, we haven't found an answer to curb her food
aggression and, at this point, I don't think that we ever will. I
guess there isn't a cure for every dog so here is what I wrote to Vicki.

Our Ginger is our VERY food aggressive one. We have never found any kind of
a resolution for her aggressiveness so we leash her at mealtimes....she is
on one side of the room attached to our pantry and the other three
Houndettes are on the other side of the room eating together peacefully. I
can give cookies out with all of them together but all of them have to sit
and she gets her cookies last. I'm always prepared for her to rip into
someone for their cookie though. I NEVER give everyone a chew that is going
to last a while without putting her in her crate. The bottom line is I know
she's aggressive when it comes to food and I'm not willing to risk bloodshed
or have her terrorize the other three over a treat. We did have a trainer
come (Dawn Gardner who is also on the DD) and observe Ginger at her worst
and Dawn give us some wonderful tips on how to treat Ginger's aggression
but, when it comes to food, isolating Ginger and keeping the other dogs away
seems to be the safest thing to do. Now, Ginger was a lot older than your
Quincy is when we brought her home as a foster and then permanently into our
pack so maybe, if we had had her as a puppy, things would have been
different. I wouldn't hesitate to consult with a trainer now before things
get too far, especially if this is new behavior for Quincy but, until then,
keep him away from your other dogs until you have a plan of how to minimize
his snarking over food. We watched a lot of the Dog Whisperer and tried a
lot of his techniques and they did not work at all for us. Dawn trains with
positive reinforcement which, for us, is a much better fit. For us, watching
a trainer on TV just wasn't effective. Anyway, good luck with your Quincy. I
hope you can nip his behavior now before he gets too much older and it
becomes his regular attitude.

Jane & the Houndettes
Jersey, Shadow, Suzy
& the wild woman in a basset suit, Ginger
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