Food aggression

Maybe something happened that you just didn't see that caused this. But, I never feed any of the dogs (or cats) at the same time. I just find it too problematic and don't want to put any temptations for fighting out there.

I agree with Connie - I'd feed in seperate areas / different times. Even though we don't have food guarding with Roo's attitude, I still feed them sepeartely in their tents to avoid any issues. I wouldn't want to see Titus get more aggressive with Izzy. Ojo & Roo had been best friends for 2.5 year until one morning.... you just never know.

Our kitties always have food available to them. Their bowl is on the opposite side of the kitchen than Titus'. I guess we're just going to have to train Izzy to leave hoghead's food alone until he's had his fill and wonders off.

I have a feeding routine. If it wavers by a kibble...Hoover is snarking and growling. Kirby gets fed first (Lola picks out of his bowl every time). While Kirby is eating, I hand feed Hoover one kibble at at time to keep him occupied. Once Kirby is done, Hoover's food gets dumped in his bowl. I then put Lola's food down about 10 feet away from Hoover's and body block him and Kirby away from her food. This takes up about 10 min. each time. It works though!

Our cats' bowls are up on the counter and they are free fed, so the food is not an issue. I have had Maddie growl at a cat if she is drinking water and they approach. I go right over and jerk her by the collar while telling her NO and she stops.

So long as the dogs are the same size, they tend to sort things out for them self. Pack order and all that stuff. But if they get aggressive towards people thats when I put my foot down and I claim the food for myself, as the top dog.

I know my son feeds his 2 beagles in different rooms.
When I feed all 3 dogs, I feed them apart from each other. I never had any problems but I do this just in case. And...from time to time, I will slowly go over to one dog and see how he/she would react if I took the bowl away....again no problem.

My husband really feels that dogs talk to each other in their own way. They send signals to each other. Maybe Titus and Izzy are sending each other signals about the food so Titus is protecting his. I think that every dog knows that the food that is placed in front of him/her is theirs and no one elses.

This may sound silly, but going on what Debbie said, if you are worried about Titus growling at you and want to nip it in the bud, mauybe try hand feeding him for a few days... so it is CLEAR that you are the food provider. I saw on my (new favorite show) "It's me or the Dog" where a dog had a bit of food aggression and the owner first pretended to eat the food from the bowl... pretended to dip in chips and eat the food... THEN the owner hand fed the dog its food so two things were clear 1. Owner gets to eat first; 2. Owner provides (and takes away) the food.

Good luck!

Ours all have different spots to eat. The 3 permanents each have a rug on a different wall of the kitchen. Sweetie eats right outside the kitchen in the living room. They all have to sit and wait to be released before they can eat. We get a lot of jumping up while we're fixing food but nobody's ever been snappy. They all go lick each other's bowls afterwards. Poor Blitzen is the slow eater of the bunch and ends up with the other 3 watching him eat. We also take away food or bones at random so they're fine with us reaching into their food. You should feed your dominant dog first so he can maintain his pack status. Good luck and hopefully it was just a one time glitch.

There is a book called Mine! (I checked it out from IMCPL.) Though it is very short it deals directly with all types of resource guarding and how to correct it.

A trainer we used recommended the human eat first in front of the dog and also to handle the food before giving it to the dog so that the sent of the top dog (thats the human) is on the food. Jack is food agressive but they are able to be fed in the same room and I just make them both sit and then put the bowls down at the same time spread as apart as my arms will go. We haven't had any fights at mealtime although one time Jack must have given Calvin some type of look because he backed away from a full food bowl.

Lastnight when feeding Titus dinner for a split second I thought he was going to growl at her again then he looked up at me and decided otherwise. This morning I gave Izzy a small spoon of yogurt in her bowl to keep her away from Titus's breakfast. Everything seemed fine but he wouldn't touch his food, go figure.

Same here. I feed mine in different areas of the house. Joe can be around the cats while he's eating, because he's Joe!! LOL. He doesn't care. Jasper used to be VERY possessive aggressive over his food, toys, space, etc. Of course, that was when he was younger, but we continue to work him on this issue, so that he does not forget. If he is eating his food, and either I or my husband walks up to his food or bone, he knows to drop it, and step back. Had we not trained him in more of an aggressive manner, he'd have bitten someone in his youth, and he would not be with us now. Mikey, well he's a big goober, he's never, ever showed any signs of that, but there has been a couple occasions between he and Jasper, which I think Jasper started by a "look". Probably your kitty got a little too big for her britches, and Titus was letting her know. As much as Joe loves Trixie, he will, on occasion, growl/grumble, at her, when she is pestering him with his raw bone. If you want to work on Titus with "give", or "leave it", work with him on a leash, give the food, tell him leave it, and pull him back. Don't let him eat his food until you tell him "free", and also, let the kitten walk up to the food, and check it out. If he shows any sign of growling at her, correct him on the leash, and when he does not do this, be sure and praise, praise, praise. To keep him from thinking it's "his" food, give him handfulls of it, out of your hand, and tell him good boy. He will realize that food comes from you, and it's a good thing when he's not being overly grumpy about anyone being near it.

We feed in different areas, too. Olivia is crated in the living room, Penelope eats by the front door in the living room, Charlie eats in the kitchen and last night, Samson ate in the kitchen, too. When Charlie was done eating he moseyed over to Samson and ate some kibble that had spilled out of his bowl. Samson couldn't have cared less. We hope Titus chills out at supper time! Oh, and the cat's food is always out on the kitchen table, out of reach of the heathens.

Abby tries to bully Petey for his food, so I put his bowl down first and let him start eating. Then, I take Abby's bowl to the other side of the room and make her sit there for a minute or two, until Petey is almost done. So, if he finishes first, then I have no problems.

Well Clyde used to not growl at me. But as he got to know me, he started acting like an Alfa(a leader in a pack) to me. I go to me Mommy for help and comfort and she says that "he is just acting like and Alfa to you and you should'nt worry".He is just warning me not to eat HIS food and I should eat my own. so as you can see,Titus is just now telling Izzy that HE was Here Fist and I get to be Alfa. Do they play together still?

Andy and I can eat at the same time, but Mom puts the bowls a good distance apart. It probably helps that we both pick at our food instead of eating right away though.