<div>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. </div>
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<div>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.<br>
<br>Jane & the Houndettes<br>Jersey, Shadow, Suzy <br>& the wild woman in a basset suit, Ginger</div>