Food guarding in a 6 month old Mini Australian Shepherd

[Arrows_Endure]

I may be a new age Loonie, but my search and rescue dog is trained with positive reinforcement, treats (a lot), and a clicker.

I do not have to go fishing in my pocket for a treat to get him to work. A good positive reinforcement trainer teaches the dog to work longer and longer between reinforcements. And can use things other than treats.

[In_The_Gate]

I agree with Arrows completely. Positive reinforcement training does not mean they get food every time, nor does it mean a dog is rewarded for simply not biting. I have a dog who is reactive towards other dogs on leash. When we see a dog approaching, I get his attention BEFORE he fixates on the other dog and ask for behaviors he does well and that give him the opportunity to be successful at ignoring the other dog (primarily “look” and focus on me as we walk). He is rewarded for doing THAT when asked, and the behavior I chose to ask for “eyes on me” means that if he is listening he is not barking or running towards the other dogs. I am not rewarding his lack of action - I am consciously choosing to create a behavior I DO want in place of one I don’t want.

The reward can be food, his ball or just a verbal praise. If he does make a mistake, then yes, I have to physically stop him from going towards the other dog for safety reasons. However, at that point he’s excited, stressed and not focused or learning. Me physically stopping him does not decrease the unwanted behavior. Having him attentive and focused on me and not the distractions around him creates a calmer, happier dog who is more apt to offer the correct behavior going forward. Can I say we accomplish this perfectly? No. However there is no question there is a huge improvement in my dog when I take the time to work with him on giving the correct behavior as opposed repeatedly punishing him for incorrect behavior.

For a food aggressive dog, that means creating the drop command over a series of steps to keep you safe. It’s great to say I’d never need to use mind games (trading) to teach correct behavior - but the reality is while punishment in that scenario may have worked for one dog many people who try pure punishment in a guarding situation end up bitten with the dog worse than when they started. I had an Aussie who guarded as a child. I only wish I knew then what I do now. Maybe it would have given us a better alternative than prying bones away from him with a broom while he was growing when he accidentally got ahold of a high value object we normally did not give him due to his instinct to guard them.

[Nicker]

We adopted a mini Aussie 2 years ago this Dec. She was dumped on the steps of the Humane Society the day after Christmas in a dirty crate. At the time we were told she was a 10-12 week old pup. Right off the bat we started having issues with her. She would growl if you reached over her, tried to take a toy away and at feeding time. It started off very mild, just the show of one canine and escalated pretty quickly. She nipped my daughter in the face and went after my hand on another occasion. By the end of the first week I was ready to send her packing. I called a well known Aussie breeder and trainer. First visit she could tell she was definitely a mini, closer to 4-5 months and definitely a snotty puppy. But to please not give up on her. At the time she was our only dog. All toys were taken away. If she was given a toy, it came from my youngest daughter, after my daughter played with it and it was taken away multiple times. If she showed any negative behavior she had a quick come to Jesus moment(never laid a hand on the dog, except when I flipped her away from me for going after my hand). She always had a leash on, and at feeding time was forced to wait for her food. When she ate we frequently removed the food before she was finished(in the beginning I used a stick), she had to watch one of us mess with the food and then she got it back. Any aggression , she met Jesus, and the food was taken away till the next feeding. She worked for EVERYTHING. Nothing was just given to her. She was not allowed on any chair, couch or bed in the house, or to leave the house in front of us. Now she is the sweetest, most well behaved dog. She has her “wild hair” moments, usually when we first get home, pick her up from doggy day care or return from vacation. But I’ve never known another dog to wait almost 20 minutes with a bowl full of food less then a foot from her nose and not make a sound. The best commands we taught her are release, leave it, come and wait. It was a big change for us, considering all our other dogs had been sweet submissive types! She still has some issues with large dogs, but with help from the staff at the kennel she is getting over that too.

[Bicoastal]

[QUOTE=Calamber;7629838]
If I want to take a glove, shoe, bowl, bone, another dog or kitten out of the dog’s mouth I want it to drop it now, not wait until I go to the treat box so it can “trade” it’s “resource” for mine. Gad what a bunch of New Age loonies.[/QUOTE]

From a New Age loonie :lol:, there is a big difference between rewarding and bribing. Running to a treat box before asking for a behavior or to get the behavior is a bribe, not a reward.

I’m sure your beagle is rewarded for dropping the contraband, even if that reward is only the removal of pressure.

Did anyone mention feeding the dog in a crate while the behavior is being worked on? That would keep Dad safe. Contact a trainer or behaviorist and crate.

[Juliette]

Thanks everyone for your replies! This is ordinarily an incredibly sweet and good-natured little dog. He is crate-trained and has been fed only in his crate since the last incident with no further trouble…there have been some recent, temporary changes in the household routine which Dad hopes may have been the cause of his bad behavior. He’s contacted the breeder for a trainer recommendation in case of any future trouble, so it sounds like the situation is under control.