Food or treat aggression

[Sherry1999]

I need some suggestions, you guys have always been a lot of help in the past....Okay, for 2 weeks now we have had our new Newf Trition. We have had no problems at all until yesterday.... we have 4 dogs Triton (2) Winston (2.5) both Newfs, Gabby (14 yr old mutt), Cilla (6 yr old American Eskimo). Yesterday Cilla, Winston and Triton we askiing to go out.... I have not got a clue what happened, it all happened very fast...Triton attacked Cilla... Cilla started yelping very loudly and is still acting as though her leg is hurt... I screamed and he backed right off... Later in the evening, Gabby was laying under the table while my grandson was eating... a piece of food rolled under the table... in the blink of an eye Triton was barking and going at Gabby, the only thing that saved her was the chairs were all pushed in and Trition could not get to her...
Any suggestions? Tritan is a very sweet boy and I think he is trying to figure out where he fits in... We feed them all seperatly, the 2 little dogs eat in their crates and the Newfs in seperate rooms (we did this to avoid problems) In this case would hand feeding be a good idea?

 

[bria]

Hand feeding definitely helped me when Sherman decided to flex his muscles (at about 1 1/2 years). Also was Tritan underweight when you got him? I had serious food aggression with Bria when I got her. She was fed out of the same bowel as another bitch and Bria so obviously not the alpha there. It isn't uncommon for dogs that had to fight for food to have aggression issues but you will get past this I promise. Hand feeding makes them rely on you for every bite and also tells them you're alpha. As for grandchildren eating where the dogs are this could be a problem so you might want to separate Tritan in cases like this until you can get a handle on it.

Susan

 

[R Taft]

I too would be very careful having any children and food near the dogs at present whist this is happening.
Triton is getting more confident and now seeing where he fits in......i have learned after a lot of work-shops and training with different rescue people that this often happens at about week three, sometimes earlier.
it is you though who has to be in charge. and it should not be allowed. With all the training I did with Annabelle, I was also taught that yelling is just about the worst thing you can do. And I know from very personal experience it is the most automatic thing to do. Back on leash, even in the house and back to basic obedience training. And if he makes any attempt at being #1, Heel him up say "off" or "leave it" and do some "sits''/ "drops" and "heels" with a lot of praise when done. If you other dogs are not part of this aggression you might be able to get away with just doing all of this with Triton. you are letting him know you are in charge not him. But no aggression from you or yelling, just the training. And also everything is given or asked for.......He has to work for everything. We now feed our dogs all side by side, they live together and no growling or "one up man-ship" is tolerated. We are in charge. Same as the we go through the door first and they have to "wait" for a lot of things. We allow them on the couch and even a snuggle on the bed some mornings, but they are asked and never just expect. it is basically constant training initially in the house, but ends up as a very peaceful happy houseful of polite dogs. We basically never stop training. We do not crate our dogs and can leave our dogs for hours in the house with no problems. We have no counter surfing or chewing and the dogs are happy and content. Dogs love having a leader, it makes them confident and happy. Good luck and remember training is always happy, Ronnie

 

[oldehome]

I too would be very careful having any children and food near the dogs at present whist this is happening.
Triton is getting more confident and now seeing where he fits in......i have learned after a lot of work-shops and training with different rescue people that this often happens at about week three, sometimes earlier.
it is you though who has to be in charge. and it should not be allowed. With all the training I did with Annabelle, I was also taught that yelling is just about the worst thing you can do. And I know from very personal experience it is the most automatic thing to do. Back on leash, even in the house and back to basic obedience training. And if he makes any attempt at being #1, Heel him up say "off" or "leave it" and do some "sits''/ "drops" and "heels" with a lot of praise when done. If you other dogs are not part of this aggression you might be able to get away with just doing all of this with Triton. you are letting him know you are in charge not him. But no aggression from you or yelling, just the training. And also everything is given or asked for.......He has to work for everything. We now feed our dogs all side by side, they live together and no growling or "one up man-ship" is tolerated. We are in charge. Same as the we go through the door first and they have to "wait" for a lot of things. We allow them on the couch and even a snuggle on the bed some mornings, but they are asked and never just expect. it is basically constant training initially in the house, but ends up as a very peaceful happy houseful of polite dogs. We basically never stop training. We do not crate our dogs and can leave our dogs for hours in the house with no problems. We have no counter surfing or chewing and the dogs are happy and content. Dogs love having a leader, it makes them confident and happy. Good luck and remember training is always happy, Ronnie

Well explained & I agree.
You need consistent, positive leadership. Training is more fun & the pooches are happier. Sounds like Triton is finding his place in the pack and is getting more confident in his new home.
Even our "wee Ella" initially had some issues with a bit of food guarding with her buddies. She is a fairly confident pup and was testing to see where she fit in. Our old 'original' Denver gets his food first, then we go in order from there. They all know this. Now they all eat (including the kittys) at the same time, side by each. I feed in the same order, in the same spot and they sit and are calm (but excited..the drool flows ) before the bowl goes on the floor, they wait a few seconds, then I give the 'ok' to munch away! I often stick my hand in the bowl and feed a few kibbles while they are eating & I don't leave the room while they are eating to make sure that nothing changes in our routine. Everyone is happy at feeding time.
As Ronnie said, the training never stops.
Good luck...I know it will all work itself out!
Keep us posted on how things are going!

 

[Erika]

Gandolph was a resource guarder..good advice here.......nothing in life is free and you are the boss.gandy is fine now but I never let up on our routine

 

[newflizzie]

I am a total newbie with newfs, but I have rescued and fostered another breed for a long time and the advice above is great. I normally would see this happen between week 2 - 4 when the dog would become more comfortable and start to push. If it was just one dog, I tethered the dog to me and they had to work and ask for everything. When I was firmly alpha off the tether they'd go. It's hard not to yell especially when a bruhaha just breaks out but try just to get their attention and be firm. I carried a mini air horn to help break things up and get their attention (if fights were particularly vicious) if need be but rarely needed it. The more consistent I was, the faster they learned the expectations of them. I have small kids too and now that we are introducing the newf (who is not a rescue) to our dog (who is not a rescue) they eat in a separate room from the kids and I make sure the kids are off somewhere else before I give out rawhides or whatever. We've had one mini-scuffle because left over fruit loops fell on the floor and the older dog put the pup in her place - but I'm still glad none of the kids got mixed up in it. Good Luck!

 

[sara722003]

Food issues are so touchy!! We have a rescue mutt (who we brought home from the shelter with a 1" medical file, due to so many issues!) She immediately became the Alpha in this house, poor Newf Boss had lost his big brother Berner several weeks before at age 9.5, so BossMan had NOT ONE alpha gene in him. This submissive pee'ing gal flipped into the alpha role in our house, and totally RULES this boy.

She'll actually pull pranks (she's not too food oriented) like waiting until he's done eating and interested in what she has left, and then when he hesitantly approaches, she begins this ridiculous growling routine. When that starts, I pick up her food immediately and dump it. she waits again until evening to be fed, and there is no problem (or gamesmanship) with the food when she's actually hungry.

I feel sorry for these animals brought into shelters with so many horrible issues, you don't even know where to start. But I promise you this: a no-nonsense food issue (as they lose the chance to maintain control over where and when to eat) can straighten them around fairly quickly. She still tries it every now and then, but it's MUCH less than her first year. And she can go hungry for a few hours, most dogs do!!

Stay strong and good luck!!