# Growling (Food)



## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

This is the first time I have notice this. I normally have Piper sit before giving her food to her. But this time after giving her food to her I saw a bit of eye "gunk" and wanted to clean it. So went to grab around her middle section the pull her away from the food and look at her eye. Well she growled a bit when I did this. Then I repeated what I did to see if she would growl again. She didn't. Then I touch her eye while she eating and other parts of her body no problem there.

She is 9 weeks 4 days now. It's not like she has had to fight for her food. Even that video I show on here showed her right in the middle of the feeding trough.

Just wondering if she is getting more comfortable in our house. But then I don't want her growling at *ANYONE* while she is eating. What should I do to nip this in the butt before it gets out of hand. We can't tolerated a dog growling like that. My concern is for our grand-kids that come up.


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## dio.ren (Jan 18, 2013)

When Molly was small I would put my hand in her bowl while she ate so she would learn not to bite the hand that feeds her Also I would make her sit and take the food in my hand and let her eat it from my hand. Now if I put my hand in her bowl when she is eating she will sit and look at me or just eat around my hand not touching me. I would also pet her while she ate. Also since she was about 9 weeks (when she learned to sit) I always make her sit before she is served.

If your grand kids are around get them to feed her if she can sit get her to sit for them and then they give her the food.


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

Hi Kim
dont worry at all! she is going to test you, see what she can get away with and what she cant, you didnt let her away with it, so all will be fine. dont worry. other things you can di is feed her right from your hand so that she knows the food comes from you....and dont worry!


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi yes I think Amanda's advice is good. Get puppy used to having you around her food bowl but only in a positive way. Add more kibble in, add extra tasting treats while she is eating. Try to make sure there are no negative experiences from having you near her food ie do not take her food away or her away from her food. It's just teaching her that humans around her food is positive not the opposite.
She will test you buy should quickly realise there is no reason to dislike you around her while she eats.
Cockers are known for being resource guarders so lots of hard work now will nip any issue in the bud before it starts.


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## Grove (Oct 17, 2012)

The advice I've heard for preventing food aggression is:

1) Approach her while she is eating and add something tasty into her bowl so she starts to associate people approaching her whilst eating as a sign she'll get something extra nice. 

2) Start to touch and stroke her a bit as you do this.

3) When she looks forward to you coming over because she thinks she's going to get something nice, occasionally lift up the food bowl, put the treat in and put it back straight away. 

Get different members of the family to do this so that she feels happy being approached by different people.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

Thanks Grove and dio.ren. Frankly I hadn't thought about the food aggression as an issue. I know it can be a problem in rescue dogs or dogs that are around a lot of other dogs and has to defend their food.

I will start doing those things. I do have her sit before giving the food to her. The first few days she was here that was impossible to do. Now she will sit and each time I have held the food just a bit longer before putting it down. But haven't pet her at all.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

Thanks for the info... Yes I think she is testing me more then my hubby..  Oh well, she behaves more around "daddy" then me. LOL But we will get that worked out. She still is young...


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## RangerC (Jan 23, 2013)

I've just had this too Kim and barney is 7 months old. He has always been a bit possessive about his food but our trainer at puppy class showed us how to put your hand in the bowl and pick up some food for them to eat from your hand. All very well when he was on barking heads but now he is on raw I had stopped doing it. 
Barney took his breakfast (frozen chicken wing) to eat on the stair carpet and when I went to get him to "leave it" and move him back to the kitchen he was having none of it and really growled at me. I got him back to his bed (with chicken wing) and really told him off and he sat there shaking, but still holding on to the wing. I know that dogs are not supposed to understand our crossness but I was so angry with him. He is such a loving faithful dog but give him a bone and he turns into a demon.
I think I've got my work cut out to iron this out.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

RangerC said:


> I've just had this too Kim and barney is 7 months old. He has always been a bit possessive about his food but our trainer at puppy class showed us how to put your hand in the bowl and pick up some food for them to eat from your hand. All very well when he was on barking heads but now he is on raw I had stopped doing it.
> Barney took his breakfast (frozen chicken wing) to eat on the stair carpet and when I went to get him to "leave it" and move him back to the kitchen he was having none of it and really growled at me. I got him back to his bed (with chicken wing) and really told him off and he sat there shaking, but still holding on to the wing. I know that dogs are not supposed to understand our crossness but I was so angry with him. He is such a loving faithful dog but give him a bone and he turns into a demon.
> I think I've got my work cut out to iron this out.



Do you use a crate? If so give him his wing and shut him in, he will be able to eat his breakfast without worry and it prevents him from taking it somewhere you don't want him. Or perhaps try the garden? Unfortunately it doesn't take to many incidents of a human getting involved negatively in food time for a dog to build negative associations and begin guarding. Don't be angry with him, it's pure instinct not nastiness.
When I give a high value bone/chew to my dog he goes out in the garden until he is finished or I want to call him in. He knows he won't be bothered when he has these things so the odd time I have had to take things away there has been no challenge or argument.


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## lady amanda (Nov 26, 2010)

MissCupcake said:


> I'd just like to add as a side note to this, we've been told by SO many people that you should never ever ever shut your puppy/dog in the crate if they've been naughty. This makes them associate the crate with very negative experiences and won't like it, they'll think that being put in there means they've been naughty each time and gives them very mixed messages. Seen several people make slip ups with this and having a very hard time training their pup and going to work!!


sometimes they do need a time out. the way to deal with this is to just pick them up, dont scold them at all. and put them in until they calm down, the idea is that it is a calming place, and it just means its time to relax...you dont yell at your puppy and then put them in, just quietly put them in their crate. This is a technique that I used, as well it was suggested by our trainer who has her masters in animal behaviour.


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

MissCupcake said:


> I'd just like to add as a side note to this, we've been told by SO many people that you should never ever ever shut your puppy/dog in the crate if they've been naughty. This makes them associate the crate with very negative experiences and won't like it, they'll think that being put in there means they've been naughty each time and gives them very mixed messages. Seen several people make slip ups with this and having a very hard time training their pup and going to work!!




The dog is not being put in the crate because it has been naughty, it is being put in there to enjoy his chicken wing in peace!


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Kim, maybe you should have waited until Pyper had finished her food before you looked at her eye. In a way I can't blame her for getting fed up, mine are very focused on their food when they are eating, perhaps it was a bit hard to pull her away from her food.

Right or wrong I was taught as a small child never to touch our dogs when they were eating and I taught my own children the same. Perhaps not everyone would agree with me but I think it's an instinct in dogs and I always give mine space when they are eating. They are also the same with each other, they never go near each others food bowl when they are eating and give each other a wide birth when given chicken wings. In fact they often go to opposite ends of the garden to eat them!


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## Weaktea (Feb 19, 2013)

Having a 4 yr old boy in the house has meant from an early age Bruno has got used to having meal times interrupted by cuddles, food bowl being shared with a dinosaur or even a small boy (yuck). He's always known that he will get his food no matter what so just goes with the flow. Now he is wearing his cone he finds it difficult to eat out of his bowl & so my son had given himself the job of hand feeding him one biscuit at a time. Bruno is do gentle & just nibbles it off his fingers. I think it's a good idea to get a puppy used to distractions while eating & learning that they wont go hungry. I do get him to sit & wait while I get the food ready & we all take turns in feeding him so he doesn't associate it with one "food provider" but a family thing.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Neither of mine have problems with me being near them during food, bones, raw, treats, etc etc. I know Nina is young but Nina would nearly prefer to be cuddles while she eats. She's such a cuddle!

Lola just accepts whatever I do. I don't take her food away but I have often touched her and moved her bowl and she is happy. She also stops eating to listen to me if I need her to. 

They know I'm not a threat and that I'm the boss (mostly)!!


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

I read a lot, maybe too much, and somewhere read about how in the wild alpha eats first then the others. So when I first fed them I would pretend to eat out of their bowl before I placed it in front of them. I would also hold the kibble in my hand and feed them or pick it up from their bowl and feed them. Basically all different ways that they know my ands are the food source. I think that helped me when i would need to take things they shouldn't eat, like stuffing or bugs, out of their mouth. And if in anyway they make an aggressive gesture with food or treat or toy, I immediately pick it up, wait for them to calm and then they get it back. I figure letting them have their food/treat/toy after being aggressive reinforces the wrong thing. Taking away is done with little fanfare. Once nicely sitting and patiently waiting lots of praise and treat back.


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

MissCupcake said:


> I'd just like to add as a side note to this, we've been told by SO many people that you should never ever ever shut your puppy/dog in the crate if they've been naughty. This makes them associate the crate with very negative experiences and won't like it, they'll think that being put in there means they've been naughty each time and gives them very mixed messages. Seen several people make slip ups with this and having a very hard time training their pup and going to work!!


So the delay between their bad behavior and getting put in the crate is so long that that type association doesn't work. That's why unless you say no as the dog is peeing/pooping inside they don't associate the punishment with the behavior and you just clean up. What ends up happening is you say no right after when they are in the process of doing something you want like sitting and that's what they will associate the no with, not the fact they went in the house.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

tessybear said:


> Kim, maybe you should have waited until Pyper had finished her food before you looked at her eye. In a way I can't blame her for getting fed up, mine are very focused on their food when they are eating, perhaps it was a bit hard to pull her away from her food.
> 
> Right or wrong I was taught as a small child never to touch our dogs when they were eating and I taught my own children the same. Perhaps not everyone would agree with me but I think it's an instinct in dogs and I always give mine space when they are eating. They are also the same with each other, they never go near each others food bowl when they are eating and give each other a wide birth when given chicken wings. In fact they often go to opposite ends of the garden to eat them!


Well that would be the first I have herd that. I have seen that show Animal Cops on Animal Planet and one of the tests they do before adopting out any dogs is how they react when someone pets them while eating or putting there hands in the bowl. IF the dog growls or bits they fail the test and can not be adopted out. 

I did have dogs at a child too and I don't remember them growling while eating and someone touching them. Only a few times did that happen. I agree you don't want to bother the dog every time he is eating, but you should be able to pet or go into the bowl without any growling.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

Thanks for the responses, sorry for the delay. I have been so busy in the last few days. With what people have said on her and Ken and I have talked about it. I am going to get Piper use to being petted while eating and even at time having her eat out of my hand.

Now that I have had time to think about it, I don't think it will be a problem in the future. She never growls when I have to get something out of her mouth that shouldn't be there. Like the other night I took her out to wee and she found a nice fat toad frog. And I guess thought she was going to walk off with it in her mouth.. Needless to say I had "rescue" the poor toad. She let me get it out of her mouth.

We just need to work on "letting" her know that when someone pets her while eating her food is not going to be taken away from her. Plus Saturday will be two weeks she has been in the house, so there may still be adjusting for her. She did have 7 littermates so I'm guessing she had defend her area of the food.


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## Florida Cockapoo (Aug 24, 2012)

MissCupcake said:


> I'd just like to add as a side note to this, we've been told by SO many people that you should never ever ever shut your puppy/dog in the crate if they've been naughty. This makes them associate the crate with very negative experiences and won't like it, they'll think that being put in there means they've been naughty each time and gives them very mixed messages. Seen several people make slip ups with this and having a very hard time training their pup and going to work!!


The way I do this is Piper gets into one of her biting moments with me I just simple get up and up her in the carrier with no fuss or screaming. In a few moments she calms down and then she can come out. We have had to do this with our cat a few times. Although she get put out to the hangar when she gets into a biting mood. And she LOVES going out to the hangar without any issues. 

I think it in how you use the carrier. She goes in there a lot right now. She goes in there for sleeping, confinement and when she gets over excited. I put her in the same way all the time. I just place in the crate and go to your bed.


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