Aggressive puppy help!

[wendy]

I’ll add that he needs to learn NOW that food aggression is not acceptable. Going for your hand when you take his food? No way. A guttural UH-UH (mama dog grunt) along with, if needed, scruffing his neck (mama dog discipline). Don’t lose your temper, don’t make a big deal or yell. Simple, firm, no-doubt-about-it, impersonal & effective discipline. If you reach for the food you get the food. He must never drive you away by aggression from anything you want to do.

this is the WORST thing you can do with a food-guarder- you just taught the dog he has a real reason to guard his food, because you ARE going to take it away, and now he’ll guard even more aggressively. Many people have turned mild cases of guarding into seriously dangerous dogs by punishing the guarding behavior.

The way to teach a food-guarder to stop guarding is to teach the dog that you’ll never forcibly take his food away- build trust- so he has no reason to guard it. You teach him that it’s GOOD if you handle his food because you not only always give it back, but you usually give him extra goodies as a bonus.

There’s a little booklet called Mine! you can buy that goes carefully over the tried- and proven- protocol for fixing resource guarding.

[Anne_FS]

This is a young puppy. I stand by my statement.

He has no reason to guard his food now yet he’s doing it.

I also agreed with several of the other methods. If this is generally a mild breed or a mild individual, I see your point, but dogs need to learn that they are not the boss when it comes to the feeding dish. Period. I stressed and specifically stated, as did others, teaching that you taking the food in no way means puppy is losing his meal, he’s not. They learn very quickly that the sooner they acquiesce, the sooner they’re eating.

[OveroHunter]

I had a Blue Heeler/Australiah Shepherd cross female puppy that was the same way as a puppy. She was the biggest in her litter and quite a bully with her litter mates from what we were told. We called her Devil Puppy and were worried if she would ever quit being human/food/dog aggressive. We just continued working on socialization with other dogs and people and she got over it. Today she is the sweetest and most submissive dog around.

Her devil puppy days attacking our male Aussie: http://file1.npage.de/001804/17/bilder/bopum.jpg
Now the sweetest, most-perfect overgrown lap dog: https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=2076419358507&set=t.4923850&type=3&theater

[Arrows_Endure]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6702613]
This is a young puppy. I stand by my statement.

He has no reason to guard his food now yet he’s doing it.

I also agreed with several of the other methods. If this is generally a mild breed or a mild individual, I see your point, but dogs need to learn that they are not the boss when it comes to the feeding dish. Period. I stressed and specifically stated, as did others, teaching that you taking the food in no way means puppy is losing his meal, he’s not. They learn very quickly that the sooner they acquiesce, the sooner they’re eating.[/QUOTE]

My puppy was 8 WEEKS OLD and resource guarding. He is NOT a “mild breed” nor is he a “mild individual”. He is an Austrailian Cattle Dog, a breed very well known for being tough, intelligent, sharp, independantly thinking individuals. In three weeks of training using positive methods, he is relenquishing extremely high value goodies to me without any fuss, and is happy to do it. A dog should NEVER be forced to give up a resource unless there is an immediate danger to them or someone else. Forcing to give something up by scruffing or any other method just teaches the dog that he absolutly has a reason to guard his food, and he’s likely to get more aggressive next time. Telling someone to force a puppy, sharp or mild breed, is a good way to get someone bit.

You teach them to give stuff up, not force them to do it. I don’t care if the dog is 8 weeks old or 8 years old.

Take your cutie to a good, positive trainer and learn the methods needed to teach him to give you things. In practically no time you will have a puppy who is happy to learn, happy to share, and pleasant to be around.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Arrows Endure;6702905]
My puppy was 8 WEEKS OLD and resource guarding. He is NOT a “mild breed” nor is he a “mild individual”. He is an Austrailian Cattle Dog, a breed very well known for being tough, intelligent, sharp, independantly thinking individuals. In three weeks of training using positive methods, he is relenquishing extremely high value goodies to me without any fuss, and is happy to do it. A dog should NEVER be forced to give up a resource unless there is an immediate danger to them or someone else. Forcing to give something up by scruffing or any other method just teaches the dog that he absolutly has a reason to guard his food, and he’s likely to get more aggressive next time. Telling someone to force a puppy, sharp or mild breed, is a good way to get someone bit.

You teach them to give stuff up, not force them to do it. I don’t care if the dog is 8 weeks old or 8 years old.

Take your cutie to a good, positive trainer and learn the methods needed to teach him to give you things. In practically no time you will have a puppy who is happy to learn, happy to share, and pleasant to be around.[/QUOTE]

Speak it Arrows. Speak it loud, very loud.

[jetsmom]

[QUOTE=Arrows Endure;6702905]
My puppy was 8 WEEKS OLD and resource guarding. He is NOT a “mild breed” nor is he a “mild individual”. He is an Austrailian Cattle Dog, a breed very well known for being tough, intelligent, sharp, independantly thinking individuals. In three weeks of training using positive methods, he is relenquishing extremely high value goodies to me without any fuss, and is happy to do it. A dog should NEVER be forced to give up a resource unless there is an immediate danger to them or someone else. Forcing to give something up by scruffing or any other method just teaches the dog that he absolutly has a reason to guard his food, and he’s likely to get more aggressive next time. Telling someone to force a puppy, sharp or mild breed, is a good way to get someone bit.

You teach them to give stuff up, not force them to do it. I don’t care if the dog is 8 weeks old or 8 years old.

Take your cutie to a good, positive trainer and learn the methods needed to teach him to give you things. In practically no time you will have a puppy who is happy to learn, happy to share, and pleasant to be around.[/QUOTE]

This.^^^^
OP- don’t scruff your dog or take things away as you risk making him very aggressive and distrustful. Instead, handfeed, or trade up. Follow arrows advice.

[Anne_FS]

I agree that if you don’t know how to do it right, don’t do it. If it takes you THREE WEEKS to train an 8 week old puppy to let you pick up his food dish without a fuss, then by all means you’d better stick to that type of training. Most definitely.

[threedogpack]

Anne FS, there is no right way to scruff a puppy in regards to his food.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=jetsmom;6708901]
This.^^^^
OP- don’t scruff your dog or take things away as you risk making him very aggressive and distrustful. Instead, handfeed, or trade up. Follow arrows advice.[/QUOTE]

I would take things away, but not when he’s anxious. I’d do it when he offers to step away from his dish, and THAT you can train.

[LauraKY]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6709382]
I agree that if you don’t know how to do it right, don’t do it. If it takes you THREE WEEKS to train an 8 week old puppy to let you pick up his food dish without a fuss, then by all means you’d better stick to that type of training. Most definitely.[/QUOTE]

Translation: You’re an idiot, my way works, but if you can’t do it my way, it’s your fault. And when my way doesn’t work, you need to stick to positive reinforcement because that’s a bad thing???

[Anne_FS]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;6709487]
Anne FS, there is no right way to scruff a puppy in regards to his food.[/QUOTE]

You’d better tell all the mama dogs in the world. They obviously don’t know this.

[IdahoRider]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6709382]
I agree that if you don’t know how to do it right, don’t do it. If it takes you THREE WEEKS to train an 8 week old puppy to let you pick up his food dish without a fuss, then by all means you’d better stick to that type of training. Most definitely.[/QUOTE]
It should take as long as it takes to do it correctly. All the sarcasm in this quoted post aside, three weeks of work is nothing in the over all scheme of things. I would rather do it right over a three week period, as oppossed to screwing it up forever over an afternoon.
Sheilah

[Anne_FS]

[QUOTE=LauraKY;6709629]
Translation: You’re an idiot, my way works, but if you can’t do it my way, it’s your fault. And when my way doesn’t work, you need to stick to positive reinforcement because that’s a bad thing???[/QUOTE]

It doesn’t need translating. The translation is if you cannot grasp the concept and/or you cannot perform it in an emotionally neutral way in dog language that a young puppy totally understands, and couple it with praise & rewards, then don’t do it.

[LauraKY]

AnneFS, why do I have the feeling you really like Cesar Milan’s “training” methods.

How about clicker training?

[Anne_FS]

[QUOTE=IdahoRider;6709633]
It should take as long as it takes to do it correctly. All the sarcasm in this quoted post aside, three weeks of work is nothing in the over all scheme of things. I would rather do it right over a three week period, as oppossed to screwing it up forever over an afternoon.
Sheilah[/QUOTE]

Right. If it takes you 3 weeks to do it your way and you are successful with a happy puppy, then by all means stick to what you’re doing. You’re doing the right thing for you & your puppy. I’m saying that some people would do it a different way and still totally not “screw it up forever.” Just because you might doesn’t mean someone else would.

[Anne_FS]

[QUOTE=LauraKY;6709646]
AnneFS, why do I have the feeling you really like Cesar Milan’s “training” methods. [/QUOTE]

Because you’re totally uninformed?

I have no idea why you’d think that. I’ve seen his show twice and don’t care for him at all.

[IdahoRider]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6709632]
You’d better tell all the mama dogs in the world. They obviously don’t know this.[/QUOTE]
But we aren’t dogs and even puppies know it. We don’t look like dogs. We don’t smell like dogs. We don’t act like dogs.

Do we sniff a dog’s butt when introduced? Do we lick their urine to check health or reproductive status? Hell no! So why do we so often hear crap about “treat them like another dog” for stuff like resource guarding? We are not dogs! No matter smart we are, we can’t fake being dogs.
Sheilah

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6709632]
You’d better tell all the mama dogs in the world. They obviously don’t know this.[/QUOTE]

actually I’ve never had a mama dog scruff a puppy. I’ve had them, pick them up as tiny puppies and carry them, I’ve had them teach a puppy that if another dog has a toy (or food) and the owner of the toy growls you go away. I’ve never had a mama dog set a puppy up and then scruff it when it does it wrong.

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Anne FS;6709635]
It doesn’t need translating. The translation is if you cannot grasp the concept and/or you cannot perform it in an emotionally neutral way in dog language that a young puppy totally understands, and couple it with praise & rewards, then don’t do it.[/QUOTE]

so are you saying that it’s the emotion that is the problem?

[Anne_FS]

I don’t know what the problem is with the people who are over-reacting here.

I’m just stating that proper corrections are simple. Dogs need simple, they understand simple. Effective training is never anger. Praise is always to be “bigger” than any correction, and corrections are to be emotionally neutral. It seemed that from some of the responses people think the mama-dog-type-hand-on-back-of-neck is harsh, when it’s not. You don’t do it harshly. It’s dog language to a young puppy. If someone is angrily shaking a puppy around, of course that’s wrong and of course no one should ever do it, ever.

The guttural “uh-uh” which little puppies catch on to immediately before they learn what the sound “no” means, you might say is negative as opposed to neutral, and maybe I can’t explain it in writing, but it is emotionally neutral.

Maybe like hating the sin but not the sinner? Puppy knows don’t do that (whatever it was), but puppy also knows that’s ALL it means. “Stop that.” Puppy knows full well it’s loved & cared for and we’re not angry because it gets big praise when it does what we want and/or refrains from doing what we don’t want.