Ending Food Aggression in Your Dog

By Maya on July 19, 2011

Food aggression seems to be a common problem with a lot of dog owners, but I think in most cases it can be a rather simple fix.  Maybe give these techniques a try if you aren’t AFRAID of your dog.  If you are afraid of your dog, you should probably get a trainer to help you conquer the fear otherwise you’re unlikely to have much success.

My German Shepherd Lizzie had tendencies to food aggression soon after I got her, and I am 100% sure that I had not addressed it immediately, it would have become a very dangerous situation.  The techniques I used were intuitive, but I’ve later heard them discussed by trainers and was surprised to see Cesar Millan do similar things on a couple of his shows.  I was 100% determined there was to be zero food aggression, especially toward me or one of my tiny Papillons.

I discussed in a previous post the major benefits in having a dinnertime ritual.  Well, I realized that if you haven’t established that early, it’s probably not an easy thing to implement if you have multiple dogs.  If you have multiple dogs, train them one-by-one separately until you can work on bringing them together.

Some simple tricks:

1.  MOST IMPORTANT RULE:  You can’t be lazy when feeding your dogs.  You MUST stay and supervise as your dog eats.  Don’t just put the food down and walk away!  Feeding is a hugely important time, so make sure to put aside 5 minutes while they eat.  Dogs don’t small talk during meal-times so it rarely takes long.  If you have a finicky dog that refuses to eat, just put the food up and try at the next meal time.  Dogs are just like us, if they are hungry, they will eat.

2.  HOLD THE BOWL.  If you have a dog that shows food aggression, use the dinnertime ritual to make him wait until you say “ok” to eat.  Then, don’t put the bowl down.  Hold the bowl up off the ground where your face is not near the bowl, you have complete control over the bowl, and if your dog makes the slightest sound or aggressive gesture, you can quickly remove the bowl.  I used this technique with Lizzie and her growling possessiveness over her food bowl came to a grinding halt.  She couldn’t feel possessive of a bowl she couldn’t control.  Feed this way as many times as it takes for you to see the dog let go of possessiveness.

3.  STAND CLOSE AND SUPERVISE:  Once you feel comfortable that your dog has progressed with the holding the bowl exercise, start putting the bowl down.  But do NOT go back to dropping the bowl and running or you’ll end up right where you were before.  Put your dog in a sit-stay, place the bowl in front, and only when you release may the dog go to the bowl and eat.  Again, DON’T leave.  Stay right there close to bowl.  You should be able to touch the bowl, the dog, stick your hands in the bowl, whatever.  Don’t take the food away from the dog as long as they are ok with all this.  The second you see your dog tense up and guard, use your feet and back your dog up off the bowl IMMEDIATELY.  It’s your bowl and you paid for the food, so let him know that.  If the aggression is still strong, maybe go back to holding the bowl.  Keep doing this until you trust your dog 100%.

4.  EATING AMONG OTHERS:  When eating all together, you absolutely must stay and supervise.  If you do not, whoever finishes eating first will inevitably try to go nab somebody else’s bowl whether they are still eating or not.  Each dog has THEIR bowl and the do not eat out of anybody elses bowl.  You are the referee.  If one dog starts moving into another dog’s area, YOU back them up.  If you do this consistently, your dogs will trust YOU to be the moderator and not feel the need to fight amongst themselves.

Four Dogs and their treatsFour dogs eating treats

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope those little tips are helpful.  They have worked wonderfully with my pack, big and small!

 

Any other techniques or comments are very welcome!

Posted in , Tagged , Leave a Comment

The Doggie Dinnertime Ritual

By Maya on April 18, 2011

In my experience, the dinner time ritual that I started with my oldest dog is the most effective behavioral tool in so many ways.  It reinforces so many important dog behavior rules and training all in an exercise and it takes less than a minute a day.  Your dog learns respect for you, it reinforces your place as pack leader, prevents food aggression, promotes harmony between dogs in multiple dog households, teaches restraint, good manners, sit, look, ok release, and stay.  This is real doggie training bang for your buck.

Four dog dinner time ritual

Four dogs politely waiting to eat

I don’t remember why or when I started doing this with my first dog, Carmina, or even where I learned it.  I learned it from somewhere, but it has been so long I don’t know where.  Carmina, the mixed breed rescue dog who is now 12 years old was once what Cesar Milan famously terms a “red zone dog.”  She is the reason I started learning about dogs, simply to learn how to prevent her from knocking me off my feet while attempting to attack any dog in sight.  She was my only dog for 8 years, until I got Riyo four years ago.  Obviously, by the time I got 4.5lb  Riyo, I was comfortable knowing that I could trust Carmina.

Each dog since has been indoctrinated into the dinner time ritual.  It is much easier training one dog at a time, as you can imagine.  If you already have 4 dogs, it will be much harder to get this started.

Here’s what you do.  You have their food prepared, and your dog is all excited to start chowing down.  Usually, you put the bowl down and the dog’s head is in it before the bowl hits the floor.  Many dogs immediately become possessive of it at that point.  Instead, make the dog sit, then start to put down the bowl.  As soon as the dog starts to move in, stand up again and put the dog back into a sit.  If you have to put the dog into a sit, do it.  Don’t let that bowl hit the floor until your dog understands it is not allowed to move forward.  After the bowl is down, your dog will undoubtedly move toward it again.  Stay over the bowl like you own it and put the dog back into a sit.  You will be surprised how fast they figure this out.  Do NOT let the dog move toward the bowl until you release it with “OK!”  Most likely after a few days, they will get this ritual perfectly.

I taught each dog the same ritual as soon as they came into the house.  Since Carmina already knew the drill, I could easily focus on training Riyo because she knew the rules already.  Riyo learned within a couple of days.  The Darcy came and the same drill.  Carmina and Riyo would sit politely and wait until I explained the rule to Darcy.  He got it within a few days as well.  I also fostered a Doberman for a week that also learned the same drill within a couple of days.

Then, I added Lizzie who exhibited signs of food aggression, growling over the bowl, right off the bat.  That stopped within the first week I had her and never returned.  It was the same drill, the other three dogs waiting patiently and politely as Lizzie got schooled in dinnertime manners.

I also added the word “look” to the ritual.  Carmina I did not bother with “look” as she is old enough that seeing at all is an accomplishment.  The other three, as you can see in the picture, actually have to look me in the eye.  They also learn the release word “ok” extremely well.  You can talk, countdown, whatever, but until you say “OK!” the dogs wait.  Start with 10 seconds, but work up to where you can do at least 30 seconds to a minute with no problem.

my four dogs eating together

My four dogs eating together

As you can see, the result is four very different dogs eating right next to each other with no problems.  Considering Carmina (lower left) came to me with the caveat “she needs to be separated from other dogs,” this is a great thing.  Lizzie also could easily be an aggressive beast if left to her own decisions.

In conclusion, in less than a minute a day, this exercise helps with numerous behavior issues as well as teaches and reinforces obedience commands:  “sit,” “stay,” “look,” and “ok.”  It doesn’t get much easier and less time-consuming than that!

 

P.S.  If you noticed Lizzie has very little food in her bowl, it’s because she already ate half a bag of chicken and a raw drumstick during her tracking run.

 

Posted in , , , , , , Tagged , , , Leave a Comment

Riyo’s 8 Steps of Social Conduct and the “Pick you up!” breakthrough

By Maya on February 23, 2011

Since the behaviorist fiasco, I have stumbled upon some methods that help Riyo cope with the few people who wish to socialize with him. In public, Riyo is actually fairly good believe it or not. His problem areas have become more controlled and tend to be worst in “his” places. I know, I know, I can practically hear Ceasar Milan reprimanding me when I say that. And I know the reason he hasn’t improved much at home or in the car at drive-throughs is my fault. I don’t work work on it enough! So he still barks madly at Taco Bueno and tries to remove ankles at the door.

He has, however, had some small successes in these areas. With the help of friends who would like to get along with him and actually make an effort (and they are few and far between), I discovered that if you observe proper social etiquette with him, he is not as much of a jerk. I will explain. Riyo is a perfect example of the Ceasar “No touch, no talk, eye contact” rule. Now, should you attempt to break these rule, there are more rules:

Riyo’s 8 Steps of Social Conduct

Step 1. Say hello very nicely in the gentlest possible manner. No tough talk or you’ll get it right back.
Step 2. In a non- threatening manner, slowly approach him — ideally turned sideways (one thing that behaviorist got right)
Step 3. Get down as close to his level as possible. No towering.
Step 4. Say hello again nicely as he grumbles at you and stomps his feet.
Step 5. Slowly extend your hand, palm up, and say “shake?” If he decides you are ok, he’ll chill out and shake your hand.
Step 6. This is for the few and the brave who wish to continue. Move a little closer and lightly touch him as you move your other hand up. As he sees the second hand, he will jump up and start grumbling again, but don’t give up.
Step 7. Say Riyo, I’m going to “PICK YOU UP.” At which point he will grumble a whole lot more. Repeat again if necessary, and say it like you mean it. Firmly but not loudly or angrily. He will grumble again, but despite the fact that he does not wish this to happen, he will move up and assume the pick me up position.
Step 8. Pick him up. And all is well. You may now pet and walk about the cabin.

The most interesting part of this whole thing is the “shake” and the “pick you up.” Once he learned shake, that seems to be a way he can associate with people in a civilized manner. The “Pick you up” part is even better. He used to literally freak out; thrashing, peeing, screaming, and biting if anyone tried to reach back and pick him up. It turns out 90% of the freak out was because he didn’t understand the person’s intentions! Once he understood the words “Pick you up,” he understood what was coming next and not only didn’t freak out, he’d actually assume the position. I find it convenient as well when I want to pick him up and he’s bouncing around acting silly. As soon as I say “pick you up” he quits his antics, runs up and assumes the position. It’s great.

If anybody else has these kind of problems, or even if you don’t, it’s a great thing to communicate to your dog! All it takes to teach it is repeating that phrase “pick you up” every time you pick him up for a 100 or so times. Next thing you know, the dog has put two and two together! It’s kind of neat.

For the front door issue, I tried the “time out” trick. I had a small piece of furniture near the door that I dubbed his “time out spot.” When visitors came to the door and Riyo attempted to give them nubs for feet, I would place him on top of this furniture and make him sit and stay. For whatever reason, once given the stay command, he would control himself and stay. It did require putting him back in time out a few times to get my point across, but it seemed to be pretty successful when I did it. I discovered pretty much in any place or situation when he starts being rude, the time out spot does work.

I have to add that for whatever reason, when it comes to me, none of this applies. I think he grumbled at me once, at which point he got a grumble 10 times worse back and it never happened again. Whatever I tell him, he does with joy; and he’s my best buddy. But if someone else tells him to sit…..well…..let’s just say if dogs could talk, he would be telling them where to go.

Posted in , Tagged , , Leave a Comment

Riyo flunks agility class and meets the doggie shrink

By Maya on February 21, 2011

Now that I learned a bit more about agility and have some renewed confidence, I will tell my first attempt at trying this sport. When I got my first Papillon, Riyo, I took him to a beginning agility class at an agility club. He was great learning  the basic commands in the class, BUT…the instructor wanted the dogs to do an exercise where another person in the class calls your dog, and your dog is supposed to go to them. I still don’t know why this was important for agility, but anyway…that little exercise Riyo failed with flying colors. Not only would he not move toward the other person, he would just stand there and bark at them. There was NO WAY. So, he was not permitted to continue and the instructor referred me to a dog behaviorist.  We never got within 50 feet of a tunnel, chute, or anything else agility. THAT didn’t go quite like I’d hoped, now did it.

Enter dog behaviorist. I did contact the lady I was referred to, and she showed up at my house in a little mini-cooper with a bag of chicken and a clicker. Her fee, a mere $300. WHAT? At that time I only had two dogs and more money, so I signed up and she started her first session. As soon as she turned her attention to Riyo, he started barking at her incessantly until he literally almost passed out. I’m not exaggerating. The little dope would bark so rapidly he’d hyperventilate and almost fall over. So she tries standing sideways to be less intimidating, ok good idea, and as soon as there is a break in the barking (aka hyperventillation) she would click and treat. Now in theory this sounds like this could be a good idea. Dog associates ceasing to bark with a treat and learns to stop barking. Now, the flaw in this plan, which Riyo also noticed, is that you must first bark to stop barking. Right?

Three sessions and $300 later, Riyo is successfully trained to bark incessantly when he wants a treat. He still despised the trainer and wouldn’t let her near him, but he’d bark to get a treat. I guess the up side to it was that the barking changed from a aggressive, defensive bark to just an annoying begging bark. And yes, you can actually tell the difference. So to this day, Riyo barks at whosoever may be holding food in hopes of getting a click and a treat. Now THAT didn’t go quite the way I wanted either, now did it.

Posted in , , , Tagged , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

King of the Stupids

By Maya on February 14, 2011

I must stress, I did NOT give poor Riyo this nickname and I never call him this.  But.. as I mentioned, his issue is he hates men.  When I go to my friends house to stay with her, Riyo barks at her husband ever time he moves.  It frustrates her husband to no end, because he tried to make friends with him, but it just never worked.  So, in retaliation, he calls Riyo “king of the stupids.”  Their two young sons find that name entertaining and often use it as well.  Poor Riyo.  He’s not stupid at all.  I have worked on this problem and it is better.  He even gets along decently with the boys.  But not enough to lose the nickname yet.  Maybe someday.  Stay tuned….

Posted in , Tagged , , Leave a Comment