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THE
CANINE BEHAVIOR SERIES
By Kathy Diamond Davis
Author and Trainer
Feeding Multiple Dogs at the Same Time
Keeping dogs together who
fight is miserable for them as well as for their human family members.
It also gets expensive in medical costs, both veterinary and human
ones.
A dog who has had to defend food from another animal may start
defending
it from humans, resulting in dog bites to family members, children in
particular.
Dogs who would never start fighting with each other for any other
reason will often start over food. Too often, the fighting among the
dogs extends to other situations if the humans don’t act quickly enough.
The best way to handle this—the safest all the way around—is to
establish a system in your home of feeding each dog in a noncompetitive
manner right from the start. The ideal family dog doesn’t even have
reason to think about the possibility of anyone taking that food away.
Chances are you don’t know about every eating experience your dog has
had. Even a dog you adopted as a puppy may have been pushed around
excessively by other pups in the litter after the pups started on solid
food. Genetics also influence how easily a dog will become defensive of
food. Obviously as a survival instinct, winning the fight and eating
the food would determine which dog stays alive and thrives and which
one starves, in situations where there is not enough food to go around.
Sometimes when dogs do okay eating together, it’s because there is no
limit to the food. But what if the dog is really hungry, the other dog
gets the food first, and it’s an hour before you notice and refill the
dish? For some dogs, that would be enough of an experience to make it
seem
the resource of food is limited.
Competing with other dogs for food will cause some dogs to overeat.
It will cause others to swallow food—and chew toys, which to a dog are
also food—without chewing. The dog may throw up food eaten too quickly,
or may swallow chunks of things that are too big to pass through.
Veterinary
expenses follow.
If you have one dog and have been just putting food into the dog’s dish
as you notice it being empty, adding another dog means it’s time to
change the feeding routine. By doing this, you ensure that each dog
gets the correct amount and type of food, including medications mixed
with the food if needed. And you reduce the risks of all the problems
mentioned.
If you are currently feeding your dogs together, changing to separate
feeding is important, whether you’ve already had problems or not. Even
if you’ve fed your dogs together for years, tomorrow may be the day it
becomes a problem. Once that happens, your chances of one or more dogs
developing dangerous behavior that will be difficult or impossible to
reverse begin
to climb.
Separation Options
To set up a system for feeding your multiple dogs, determine what it
will take to get each dog safely into a separate spot, keep them safely
undisturbed there to eat, and release them safely when finished so you
won’t
have a fight start then. Eventually it may become safe to let them
check
each other’s dishes when all are emptied, but it’s best not to start
out
that way. You can avoid this problem by removing each dog’s dish out of
reach of all the dogs before you give them access to each other’s
feeding areas.
Don’t let the dogs charge out like racehorses leaving their starting
gates! Too much excitement at this point in the routine can trigger a
fight. Heavy exercise after a big meal is suspected as a risk factor
for often fatal (and expensive) gastric torsion.
In fact, being agitated, especially at mealtime, is thought to increase
a dog’s risk of gastric torsion. So when your dogs are eating and after
they have eaten, they should relax. Make that a goal of your feeding
system. You can see that this is yet another reason to take competition
out of the feeding process.
If you have crates, you can feed the dogs in those. You don’t have to
feed all the dogs in crates. If you can get the dogs safely separated,
keep them that way until they have finished eating, and then release
and
reunite them safely and calmly; quite a variety of systems can work.
But
be realistic about their level of training as well as the ability of
the
person who is supervising the dogs.
Separate rooms with closed doors between the dogs can work. If dog A is
in the bathroom and dog B is in the kitchen, with either a closed door
or a safety gate to keep each dog in the right room until released,
here’s how you could proceed:
1. Give both dogs a chance to eliminate. Many dogs cannot eat without
first doing this and it takes emotional pressure off them, too.
2. Put dog A in the bathroom and confine.
3. Prepare the dog dishes.
4. Confine dog B in the kitchen. If you have more than two dogs, handle
each of the others the same way.
5. Take dog A’s food dish in and give to the dog.
6. Deliver dog B’s food dish.
7. Monitor to see when both dogs are finished, or when the designated
time has passed. Dogs will learn to eat the food when offered if you
limit the time it’s available. In the case of a picky eater, ask your
veterinarian to help you decide what a good time limit is: it’s
probably between 10 and 20 minutes.
8. The release is easiest to do safely if you have a fenced yard. Open
the back door. You can increase comfort in the house by having some
airflow protection at the back door, such as a drape you can pull
across the open doorway. A doggie door you can latch and unlatch works,
too.
9. Which dog to release first depends partly on the floor plan of your
home. If the dogs go through the kitchen to get out the door, you’ll
need to release dog B first, the one who ate in the kitchen. But you
don’t want dog B to follow you and fight with dog A over dog A’s dish!
So, go pick up dog A’s dish and put it out of the dogs’ reach before
you release either dog. Pick up dog B’s dish, too, and open the back
door so dog B can go outside. Then go open the bathroom door and escort
dog A outside.
Dogs tend to eliminate before or after meals, or both. When you get
the dogs out of confinement with no food or even empty dishes to
“guard”
and take them straight outside, you reduce fight risks at least two
ways.
They’re likely to think first about eliminating, especially if it’s
their
regular schedule. And they have extra space to move around, which
almost
always reduces the risk of a fight.
Don’t let them play hard or long outside after meals. You just want
them to eliminate and unwind, and then it’s best for them to come back
inside and settle down to rest.
As precautions against gastric torsion, some people feed their dogs
lifelong in crates, and keep the dogs crated for awhile after eating.
Most
dogs can adjust to this delay before going outside when they are mature
and in good health. Some breeds have such a high rate of gastric
torsion
that every possible precaution is worth the effort.
Keep in mind that after feeding in a crate, a dog needs to exit that
crate calmly—and in fact, it is important to teach dogs to always exit
the
crate calmly. For the purpose of this discussion, a calm exit reduces
the
risks of fighting and of gastric torsion, but it has a lot of other
benefits,
too.
Feeding in the crate is almost always a good fallback position. It’s
hard to go wrong doing this. It helps shape a dog’s thinking that it is
not a place for elimination. But if you do feed your dog in a crate,
also feed in other places occasionally.
In fact, do that no matter where you routinely feed a dog. Otherwise
some dogs will become so accustomed to their usual place that they will
refuse food anyplace else. This can put the dog’s health at risk when
traveling, hospitalized, or being cared for by someone else.
Dogs need both the comfort of a routine and the flexibility to cope
with changes. Sometimes this happens naturally in a home when more than
one person feeds, and they don’t all do it exactly the same way. Just
make sure each person does it safely.
Using a tie-out to confine a dog for meals is risky. Dogs will tangle
themselves terribly when overexcited, if there is any possible way to
do so. Tie-out also allows another dog to run up on the dog who has
food to guard and feels trapped by the tie-out. Other barriers are
better.
Feed at least twice a day, more often for young puppies, or on your
veterinarian’s advice. Whenever you feed one dog, feed them all, even
if
some of them only get a tiny bit of food in the dish. They won’t care
about
the quantity, just that they got included in feeding time.
If one dog is getting something that smells appealing to the others,
give each dog at least a tiny taste of that food, provided it’s safe.
Dogs care more about the smell of food than the taste or amount. They
will feel all is fair if they get fed when the other dog gets fed and
their dish smells like the other dog’s dish.
Training at Feeding Time
Feeding time is a great time to train. Don’t try it, though, unless
you’re going to give full attention. The dogs can easily become
over-stimulated and fight. Here are some ideas for training at
mealtimes:
1. Sit. Have your baby beginner dog sit in order to persuade you to
put the dish on the floor. Have your trained dog sit-stay from time to
time to practice a little self-control while you set the dish down and
until
you give the release to eat. Do not require a dog to sit or to lie down
in
order to get fed, though, if the dog has any orthopedic problem. That
could
cause the dog pain, and training should never do that.
2. Down. Mealtime is the ideal time to help a beginner dog over the
hump about lying down on your cue. You’re standing there holding a dog
dish, so you’re not going to be pushing, pulling or luring the dog into
the down—the dog has to be ready to voluntarily take this position. The
dish in your hand is a powerful motivator. You’ll probably only do this
a few times on your way to getting the dog comfortable with the down.
It’s
a wonderful opportunity.
3. Group Stay. You can make this a sit-stay and then a down-stay, or
just one stay. Someone MUST be supervising the dogs. A good time for
this exercise is while you are preparing the food dishes, before you
escort the
first dog to the eating area.
It is crucial to release the dogs from this stay calmly in order to
avoid triggering a fight. In fact, you need to teach your dogs to
always
come calmly out of stays. Exploding out of the stay position just isn’t
a safe habit, and good habits save lives.
4. Tricks. The approach of dinner makes dogs frisky. If your dogs are
clearly stable in their relationships, you may want to make use of this
bounciness to work on tricks that take energy. If you’re using food
rewards
(part of their dinner calories), give each dog a reward whenever any
dog
earns it. That reduces competition and encourages a great team spirit.
Do
this exciting stuff before you start moving dogs into individual areas
or
preparing food.
5. Recalls. Remember the old expression, “You can call me anything,
as long as you call me to dinner.” This is pretty much the canine
credo.
When the dogs know it’s dinner time, you’ll have trouble sneaking away
in order to call one to you! But do try. It’s fantastic practice. Make
it quick and calm, so as not to overexcite them.
6. Name Recognition. Along with the recall, mealtime is useful for
helping a dog new to your home learn his or her name. Just use the name
as you call the dog, as you set the dish on the floor, as you bring the
dog out of
the feeding area, etc. You’ll do this at other times, too, of course.
With
a good handler, a dog will be familiar with the new name in a couple of
days. Changing a dog’s name with a change of homes helps the dog adjust
to
new routines and new people. If the dog’s past was sad, changing the
name helps you avoid triggering bad memories in the dog.
7. More. If you have only one untrained dog and everyone is getting
along great, you can do some other training at mealtimes, too. It’s a
good
time for 3 to 5 repetitions of the focused attention exercise
with
each dog [see Eye Contact]. You can fit
in
a little retrieving [see Retrieving in Play]
if the dogs will bring you their dishes. Along with retrieving and
other
training, it can be a good time to help your dogs learn new words.
Can You Use Mental Barriers?
If all your dogs are at the point you can safely have them working on
focused attention and carrying empty dog dishes around at feeding
time—and if they are all spayed and neutered--you may be able to
consider feeding them in a different structure. With some dogs, you can
set the dishes down several feet apart and stand between them
supervising while they eat free in the same room.
Dogs who are intact pose greater risks and are better separated for
meals. The same goes if there is any tension between dogs, if any are
untrained or if any are slow eaters.
Be alert to changes in your dogs that mean you need to change feeding
arrangements. An injured, sick, or aging dog may need the security of a
crate for meals, while others continue to eat with dishes spread apart.
When you first start confining a dog for feeding, be sure to remove the
dish from that area before you allow other dogs in.
That need may relax as they all get used to the new arrangement. When
dogs eat loose under supervision, you may be able to let them go sniff
and lick each other’s dishes when they have all finished eating and
walked
away from their own empty dishes. If there is food left in a dish, you
pick that one up without letting another dog eat it. Having one dog eat
out of another dog’s dish is asking for future conflict.
The water dish will probably not be a source of conflict if you keep it
full at all times and on a spot with plenty of secure footing. It’s
best if more than one dog can drink at a time, and one good way to do
this for multiple dogs is to set a couple of full water dishes side by
side. Dogs
need water available as much of the time as possible. Gently discourage
them
from drinking a lot with meals. That can lead to vomiting and can also
increase the risk of gastric torsion.
Who Eats First?
The question of who to feed first is an interesting one. Those who
believe in dominance theory with dogs often say the dominant dog should
be fed first. This is not so easy to do, and perhaps not even advisable.
First, which dog is the dominant dog? Most of the time, owners are
wrong in their assessment. A dog they consider dominant may be
defensive due to fear, weak nerves, or poor social ability. Quite often
the dog is guarding resources rather than trying to run the pack. And
dog packs accept different of their members as leader in different
situations, depending on each dog’s strengths and weaknesses. Besides
all that, the pack has a top male and a top female, as well as dogs
trying to move up and dogs stepping down to “emeritus” status with age.
A blanket rule of feeding the “dominant” dog first can cause you
problems.
Second, feeding the dog perceived as most dominant first may give that
dog the wrong message about food guarding [see Food
Guarding]. With your dogs in your home, food should not be a pack
issue. You should be perceived as the giver of food. Does this make you
pack leader? It depends on how you want to define that. You need to be
your dogs’ leader. But you are not a dog, so you are not the “Alpha
Dog.”
Your position needs to be above any of the dog positions. Leading a
group requires that you be the leader of the top member of that group.
Possibly the best psychology, then, is to feed the most dominant dog
last!
But again, we’re not 100% sure which dog that is. One dog to feed last
is any dog in the group who is too protective of food. By eating last,
and waiting calmly for you to feed, this dog acknowledges your
leadership
and practices performing good behavior to “earn” that food at every
meal.
We have an obligation to feed our dogs, so it is not appropriate to
deprive them of food for a training purpose. That doesn’t mean we can’t
delay it a bit, though. The dog who might tend to get nasty over food
without
your proper care is a good dog to feed last—after calmly feeding the
others. No wild games at mealtimes with a dog like this.
It’s also good to get this dog to sit before you put the dish on the
floor occasionally. But do not yell “Sit,” do not use physical force to
position the dog, and don’t take the dog’s food away just to rub his or
her nose in the fact that you can do so. Keep your voice calm, and
simply be more persistent than the dog.
If the dog has an orthopedic problem, do not require a sit or down.
Instead, have the dog do a stay several feet from the feeding location,
walk to the feeding location, wait 15 seconds, and then call the dog.
This
way the dog acknowledges your leadership by obeying you, but you don’t
cause pain in the process. Set the dish down slowly and have the dog
wait
for your release before starting to eat.
The Way to a Dog’s Heart
Most dogs love to eat and all dogs need to eat. It’s a pleasant time,
and we don’t want to do anything to make it unpleasant.
Handling your multiple dogs correctly at feeding time may save them
from having to be permanently separated and one or more of them
re-homed.
That is a common outcome of fights that start over food and spill over
into other issues.
As so often happens in training and behavior modification work with
dogs, what could have been a weakness can be turned into a great
strength.
Every time you feed your dogs can renew their good structure as a
group.
It doesn’t take any extra effort—in fact, it’s easier. Handling
feeding
time this way makes it more relaxed and enjoyable for every member of
the
family, including the canine ones.
Kathy Diamond
Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to
Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere
not be
effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in
behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no
medical
cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who
specializes
in behavior or a local behaviorist.
Date
Published: 3/6/2006 10:57:00 AM
Copyright 2006 - 2007 by Kathy Diamond
Davis. Used
with permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright 1991 - 2007, Veterinary Information
Network, Inc.
This work was originally published by Veterinary Information
Network, Inc. (VIN) and is republished with VIN's permission.
**************************
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THE CANINE BEHAVIOR SERIES
By Kathy Diamond Davis
Author and Trainer
Food
Guarding
Guarding food or toys from
other animals is a normal canine behavior. The instinct is triggered
when a dog is put into a situation where other animals pose a threat to
the food.
In a wild pack, dogs guard food in order to eat it and survive, rather
than starve to death. Dogs higher in the pack hierarchy may exercise
the right to take the food from lower-ranking members. A pack requires
strong leaders in order to survive.
Life with dogs in our homes is safer when dogs do not guard their food.
A confrontational attitude toward training has long maintained that
people should force dogs to give up their food to humans, and punish a
dog in various ways for not doing so. The sad result of this is to push
the dog to guard food more and more ferociously. Happily, we have a
wonderful alternative that works extremely well. We simply condition
the dog to expect and to fully believe that humans are the givers of
food, not the takers.
Prevention
When you first get a dog of any age, hopefully the dog will not have a
strong tendency to guard food. Organizations with the responsibility of
finding adoptive homes for dogs avoid placing dogs with this problem,
unless
the new home is informed of the problem and capable of dealing with it.
If
that's the case with your new dog, you'll want to move on to the
rehabilitation instructions.
For the dog who doesn't yet guard food, your task is to keep this
problem from starting. Here's how:
1. Whenever you feed the dog, ensure adequate privacy from other
animals (including cats), so the dog does not have to fret about others
approaching the food. Instill in your dog the confidence that mealtimes
are reliable and that you will provide the necessary structure. Control
the environment around the dog's mealtimes so that the dog's instincts
to protect food don't get triggered in the first place. This applies to
puppies, too. Feed the dog regular meals instead of leaving a food dish
out with food in it.
2. Walk by your dog during a few meals, and see how the dog reacts.
Any tension in the dog's body is cause for concern. If you see this, be
sure to do the prevention exercises thoroughly, and frequently for the
life
of the dog. Also stay alert to changes in the household that might
result
in other animals or little kids disturbing the dog during meals.
Remember
to maintain the dog's trust that meals are provided without the need to
defend them!
3. Walk by your dog while the dog is eating and drop something a little
smellier and tastier than the regular food into the dish. Do this many,
many times. Add the treats in small amounts. The idea is that each time
a person approaches the dish, a good thing happens. That good thing
does
NOT need to be a jackpot amount of food.
4. When you feel comfortable trying it (not too soon with an adult
dog), touch the dog affectionately while the dog is eating. Add a treat
to the dish at the same time. If the dog accepts this easily, continue
to do it when you approach the eating dog, and start letting a second,
two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, and finally five seconds,
pass before you add the treat to the dish.
5. Include your children in the activity of walking by the dish and
adding a treat, but only AFTER you are confident the dog will not react
aggressively. It is extremely important that a dog in a home with
children
is approachable during meals, but rushing the program could get a child
hurt, and we certainly don't want that.
For safety's sake, teach young children to leave dogs alone during
meals, except when they are doing this exercise with your help. Kids
don't fully understand consequences, and certainly don't understand
that a dog is much more the victim of instinct than a human is. A dog
will instinctively react to what a child might think is a fun teasing
game around the food dish.
There are certain situations in which a dog can't intellectually
understand to play nice, and this is certainly one. Condition your dog
to accept the approach of kids during eating for safety's sake-but also
for safety's sake, teach your kids not to do it! In case a child does
occasionally err-or an adult errs by not supervising the child-the
conditioning you've done can save the day.
6. Feed the dog occasionally at various places in the house, outside
the house, and on outings. The idea is to keep the dog from thinking of
one place as being the inner sanctum of meals. The result in some cases
is
a dog guarding that special meal-place. It's also better for the dog to
feel comfortable eating in different places so that the dog will eat on
trips, when boarded, or in other situations outside the daily routine.
7. Do the prevention exercises with your dog's toys, too. Have an adult
ask the dog for the toy, gently take it, look at it, give the dog a
treat, and then return the toy. Eventually include the children, but
maintain
a high level of adult supervision when you do this, and teach the kids
not
to take the dog's toys at other times. If a dog shows a strong tendency
to
guard any particular toy, that toy must be removed. Better the dog lose
the
enjoyment of a toy than to lose the dog's life when the dog becomes too
dangerous. You may be able to allow the dog to enjoy it strictly in a
private place such as the dog's crate.
8. Never chase a dog down to get something the dog has stolen. This
triggers the same instincts as food guarding, and also teaches your dog
to run from you. Condition your dog instead to bring things to you for
great trades, plus praise and other rewards.
9. When humans eat, develop a sensible plan for the dog, depending on
how the particular dog responds-and how family members behave. When
people give dogs some of the humans' food, not only does it teach the
dogs to
beg, but also it can trigger food-guarding instincts. Some dogs will
develop
the attitude that ALL food should be dog food! If you cannot prevent
your
family members from feeding the dog at the human dinner table, place
the
dog in another area when humans eat. Watch out for human behavior
around
picnics, backyard barbecues, parties, and TV snacking, too. If the
people
can't behave, they don't get to enjoy the company of the dog! Place the
dog
in a safe confined area with a nice treat to enjoy.
10. Teach your dog to "sit" and also to "down," and from time to time
have the dog perform one of these actions prior to your setting the
food dish down for the dog to eat. This is an especially great way to
help the dog enjoy learning the "down" cue.
Rehabilitation
If your dog already has a problem with food guarding, you will
certainly need to continue the prevention exercises and management for
the life of the dog. Initially, it may be too dangerous to walk up to
the dog's dish at all while the dog is eating, and we certainly don't
want you hurt. In such
cases, enlist the help of a behavior specialist in person, to evaluate
the
dog and the situation and to add an extra measure of safety for the
people involved.
For the food-guarding dog, remove the dog dish from the floor between
meals. Leaving the dish out gives the dog something to guard, and our
goal is to lull the whole food-guarding instinct to sleep.
If this is a fairly moderate problem, start by putting the food dish on
the floor at mealtime-with nothing in it! Walk several feet away, and
have the dog's food with you. Also have some means of giving the food
to the dog in small bits. For a dog who reacts to a hand reaching
toward the dish, get the help of a behavior specialist. But one way to
work it would be to use something long to put the food into the dish,
rather than your hand. A reaching tool for people with disabilities may
be an option, depending on the food you're using. These tools are not
expensive.
When the dog realizes there is no food in the dish and looks at you,
walk up to the dish and put a small amount of food in it before walking
away again. When the dog finishes that bit and looks at you again, walk
up
and place another bit in the bowl and go back to your position several
feet
away from the dish.
You're conditioning the dog to accept having a person approaching the
dish and putting a hand down to the dish. You don't want to just stand
next to the dish dispensing food. You want to include an approach to
the
dish each time, in order to turn the approach of a person at mealtime
into
a positive event in the dog's mind. A good way to end the meal would be
to give the dog an especially tasty treat as you pick the bowl up off
the
floor. This is to condition the dog that having the bowl removed is a
good
thing, too, and also to let the dog know the meal is finished.
If your dog is extra-touchy about the person's approach or some other
aspect of the exercise, you can start by taking a step back from doing
it as described above, or more than one step back. Here are some ideas
for "back up steps":
1. For the dog who has become defensive about the dish itself, you
could start with no dog dish, and feed the dog from your hand. In order
to switch the dog to safely eating from a dish, you would gradually
include the dish. After the dog gets used to eating from your hand, you
could place the dish on a surface nearby and gradually move the hand
with the food closer to the dish for successive bits of food.
Start holding the dish in your other hand, and gradually move the dish
to the floor level. Eventually set the dog dish on the floor, and
continue gradual steps until the dog is ready for you to start setting
the empty dish on the floor and moving several steps away.
Take these steps slowly. You want to do the whole process over as long
as period of time as it takes, as slowly as necessary, to avoid
triggering the dog into a food-guarding or dish-guarding reaction. Such
a reaction is a big setback to training. Slower is faster in this case,
because taking the steps slowly will achieve the desired effects much
more quickly than if
you rush things.
2. You could hold the dog dish in your hand rather than setting it on
the floor, and have the dog come to you for food rather than you
walking up to the dog. You may want to move around, stepping away from
the dog,
having the dog come with you to a new spot for each bite.
A next step would be to teach the dog a simple "stay" and have the dog
hold the "stay" while you walk up with the dish and still hold it for
the dog to eat. Now you're introducing the approach, but the dog has
nothing to guard as you approach, because you still have the dish and
the food with you.
Gradually you would put the dish closer to the floor, and then
eventually on the floor. When using a "stay" with training on food
guarding, avoid creating a situation that rewards the dog at the
release from the "stay." This can make a dog somewhat explosive,
exactly what you do not want.
Always bring your dog out of a "stay" command calmly. Do the same
whenever you bring a dog out of a crate or other confinement. Exploding
dogs can be dangerous, and we sometimes unknowingly condition this
reaction by making the release too rewarding. Give the dog something
calm to do immediately on release from the "stay" or the confined area.
3. It could enhance an adult's safety to place the dish on a raised
surface for early training, so that you're not bending down and putting
your face near dog teeth, and so that you're less physically off
balance
when you deposit food into the dish. A raised dish and a reaching tool
to
add the food would be additional safety. Note that raising the dish
could
put it closer to a child's face, and therefore not be a good idea. You
wouldn't be including the child in the conditioning process at the
early stages anyway, though. The child should not be brought into the
exercises until the dog is completely steady with adults.
4. You could tether the dog before putting down the dish, so that the
dog cannot nail you with teeth as long as you stay out of reach. Again,
if you feel this is necessary, get a behavior specialist to help you
with
the dog rather than going it alone.
5. For extra safety, you could use a head halter or muzzle that allows
the dog to eat but prevents the dog from biting you. If you want to try
this option, work with a behavior specialist-and have that person help
you fit the mouth-controlling device so that you don't get a nasty
surprise if it accidentally comes off at the worst possible moment.
Remember, too, that conditioning might quickly seem complete with the
mouth-controlling device on, and fall apart appallingly quickly when
the device is removed. Don't try to take short cuts on the
conditioning. If
a dog has this big a problem with food-guarding, it's going to be a
long
process to make that dog safer.
6. Keep confrontation and punishment strictly out of this process. No
matter how difficult the dog or how serious you might consider a
particular transgression the dog has committed, human aggression toward
the dog over food or toys is virtually guaranteed to make the problem
worse. It is quite often what causes the problem in the first place.
Happy Dog, Happy Family
With a little effort-most of it quite enjoyable, since dogs love to
eat and people love to see dogs happy-food-guarding can be prevented in
the first place. Where it has emerged, it may not be completely
curable-instincts are POWERFUL-but it can be made safer.
Once a dog is calm about people approaching the dish during meals,
continue to practice good management, including whenever you have
guests, the household is rearranged for any reason, you get another
animal, or someone new joins the family. For the life of the dog,
continue at least occasionally to walk up to the dish and add something
nice. Keep it uppermost in your dog's mind that the approach of a
person during meals always carries the possibility of a bonus!
Kathy Diamond
Davis is the author of the book Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to
Reach Others. Should the training articles available here or elsewhere
not be
effective, contact your veterinarian. Veterinarians not specializing in
behavior can eliminate medical causes of behavior problems. If no
medical
cause is found, your veterinarian can refer you to a colleague who
specializes
in behavior or a local behaviorist.
Date
Published: 6/14/2003 6:16:00 PM
Copyright 2003 - 2007 by Kathy Diamond Davis. Used
with permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright 1991 - 2007, Veterinary Information
Network, Inc.
This work was originally published by Veterinary Information
Network, Inc. (VIN) and is republished with VIN's permission.
********************
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Food guarding
We work very hard training
our dogs to fit into our lifestyle and our family unit, we think we
have done great, then just as we are congratulating ourselves on a job
well done the growl starts - it may be as we pass the bed, food bowl,
or pigs ear, or even as we remove a toy or tissue.
This is a common problem, often called food guarding, or resource
guarding. In reality it is a natural innate tendency for dogs to
protect what they perceive as theirs. Possession to a dog is 9/10ths of
the law, and some dogs will resource guard anything, and that includes
us.
This happened to me recently. Kai my white German Shepherd, (they are
also known as the Swiss Shepherds), is about 13 months old, lovely
temperament nice nature, but growled as I walked past his food bowl. To
say I was shocked would be putting it mildly. I have never owned a
resource guarder or possessive aggressive. I have treated dozens, but
never owned one.
Kai is a rescue who had five homes in the first 8 months of his life
before my daughter who was dog walking him thought that he should join
our extended family. 5 homes! Not exactly the best of starts - he had a
bit of baggage but nothing that a bit of TLC and positive reinforcement
could not put right.
Unfortunately, I had no impact or influence on his previous owners, or
what they did or believed with regard to feeding, possessions and
training. The myths and beliefs that surround this common problem are
many-fold. There is the “let him know who is boss brigade” and the “if
he had done that to me I would have belted him” Others that will tell
you he is dominant. Dominance and dominant behaviour is a somewhat
outdated term in modern canine behaviour therapy. It is too easy and
simplistic to label everything as a bid for power and control. The term
suggests that the dog is personally threatening you in a bid for top
dog slot. Which I assure you is not the case with possession aggression.
Jean Donaldson a US based behaviourist has written a book called “Mine”
a guide to resource guarding in dogs. A practical how-to guide on
resource guarding/aggression - food bowl, object, bed, crate, owner,
guarding. Though written primarily for trainers with the owner seen as
the third party, it is still an excellent book; in it she lists a
number of myths and untruths.
• Resource guarding is the result of giving a dog too many privileges
• Resource guarding behaviour is abnormal
• Resource guarding is driven largely by genetics therefore cannot be
altered
• Resource guarding is a symptom of dominant and naturally aggressive
behaviour
These beliefs/myths probably get more people bitten every year than
probably any other single behavioural problem I encounter. The belief
that the dog is being disloyal and biting the hand that feeds it is
unfortunately commonplace, once again anthropomorphism raises its ugly
head. This problem is also one of the key reasons why some dogs are
euthanised.
Back to young Kai. When he growled, (just a low almost subliminal
rumble, but a subtle threat no less) I did not react or even look at
him nor chastise him in any way. To challenge him at that time would
have suggested that the growl wasn’t sufficient to warn me off, so lets
up the anti and perhaps a snarl or a snap would be in order. I am of
the belief that violence begets violence, therefore why challenge if
there is no need to.
I waited until his next feed time; I feed my dogs twice a day,
therefore it was that evening. Instead of using one bowl, this time I
used two. I prepared his food as normal in one bowl, and then got him
to sit and wait. I then
put the empty bowl down.
The look of confusion on his face was classic. He looked round the
bowl, nudged it to see if his food was underneath then sort of semi
collapsed and just looked at me totally bemused. It was at that time,
taking a long handled wooden spoon I tossed a small portion of his food
into the bowl. The reason for the spoon was if he were to grab at
anything, he would grab the spoon and not my fingers.
I proceeded to feed the whole meal in spoonfuls. What I was telling him
was that me getting access to his bowl was a condition of him being
fed., I continued with this method for three days. Sometimes this may
take much longer depending on the severity of the guarding.
After the three days, I could tell by his posture and body language
that he was relaxed and comfortable with me near his bowl. I gradually
decreased the distance between myself and the bowl on every spoonful
until I was standing next to it. I then started to put a small amount
of his food in the bowl before putting it down rather than spooning it
in, then gradually increased the amount over a few days until I was
putting all the food in at one go.
Once I had reached this stage, I started adding a very tasty titbit
whilst he was eating, I usually use a chunk of cheese or frankfurter, I
started this from a little distance away and gradually decreased the
distance. What he learns during this exercise is your approach to the
bowl is no threat, in fact quite the opposite it is positive as it
means he is going to get something
really special and tasty.
This is a positive reinforcement technique that requires no aggression,
threats, or force; these rarely if ever work in the case of possession
aggression. You must make sure your dog is relaxed at all times - if
you hit a problem then you have gone to far to fast, go back a couple
of stages and work back up to the area where the problem or behaviour
was being displayed. Take your time, there is no need to rush, its not
a race.
If I wanted to analyse why Kai growled in the first place I would only
be guessing at the trigger. Without talking to all the previous owners
to see what they had done, then its pure conjecture, though I can
imagine a number of possible scenarios. As an educated guess someone
probably thought it was the right to take his bowl away whilst he was
eating, just to show the dog that he could. This can often create a
seed of doubt in the young dog’s mind that his food could be stolen,
and he may therefore start to feel
threatened or uncomfortable when you are in close proximity.
This seed of doubt could germinate with the onset of maturity and could
blossom into full-blown food guarding. If I had lashed out or acted
differently to the first threatening growl then things may have turned
out very differently. As it happens Kai has never growled or showed any
inclination to guard since.
If you are training a puppy not to guard then start training him not to
touch the food until you give permission, to achieve this start with
the
pup on the lead. Put the food down as normal, then as the head goes to
the
bowl give a slight check on the lead and say “Leave It” - this may take
a
few checks. Make sure this check is really light and gentle, then as
the
dog looks to you for permission, immediately praise by using a trigger
word
such as "Good" or a Clicker and treat with a tasty titbit then say
“Take
It” or “OK” this is the release command.
Continue with this training until you can do this whilst off lead. The
object of this exercise is to train him not to touch on command. Once
you have done this you can then stop him eating on command by using the
“Leave it” . Once you have reached this stage then occasionally
approach his bowl and put in a tasty treat, he should never have doubts
that your proximity to his bowl is positive, never negative.
Stan Rawlinson May 2005 ©
Stan Rawlinson (Doglistener) is a Behaviourist and Obedience Trainer
with over 25 years experience of working with dogs. He now has a
successful practice covering London Surrey and Middlesex. Web site www.Doglistener.co.uk
E-mail enquiries@Doglistener.co.uk
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The above information is simply informational. It's intent is
not to replace the advice of a veterinarian nor to assist you in making
a diagnosis of your pet. Please consult with your own veterinarian for
confirmation of any diagnosis. Your pets life may depend on it.
