Dog Obedience Training Prevents Food Guarding Aggression
Food has been made an integral part of dog obedience training because it appeals to a dog’s survival instinct; it’s an effective motivator. But when that food becomes a mechanism for aggression, causing a dog to guard his meals with violent means, that dog’s food instinct has overcome his enjoyment of that dog training motivator.
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.
Just because a dog behavior is natural, doesn’t mean that it belongs in modern day society. The best way to deal with this particular behavior is to properly train your dog and stop it from developing. These dog training techniques can help to keep food guarding habits from forming:
When training puppy, feed him only a few pieces of food at once, picking up the bowl frequently and adding more food to it.
Stroke your puppy while he’s eating.
Train your puppy by having him eat from a bowl that you hold in your hands.
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.
Ask children and other family members, along with visitors, to try these dog training techniques, too.
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.
Fighting for, and guarding, food is no longer necessary. There’s plenty more kibble where his current bowlful came from. It’s important to convey this idea to your dog at a young age, ideally during puppy training.
Your dog is no longer responsible for his own longevity. That’s up to you now. With the methods that make up positive dog obedience training, clicker training, and the dog training tips that prevent food guarding, he’s bound to pick that up in no time.
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categories: dog training,dog obedience training, dog training tips
