Michelle Douglas

This is in response to a comment asking for suggestions on how to deal with food aggression. The original question was regarding a dog who would snarl over his food bowl and snap at his owners if they approached. He was not walked and had never had any formal training.

For food-guarders, I generally put them on some version of a ‘Nothing in Life is Free’ program, with hand-feeding as the major component. Simply teaching the owners how to teach some basic cues and adding an exercise routine may make a world of difference! While each case is different, some general recommendations for food guarding include:

1) The owners need to teach (at least): eye contact, come, sit and lie down. I would also suggest targeting (touch hand with nose OR ‘paw’) and go-to-your-place.

I received another e-mail today. You know the ones with a string of adorable pictures of babies and dogs. People send me these thinking I will love the cute photos of cute kids and cute dogs. I don’t. These pictures terrify me. They usually show a stressed out or aroused dog with a child who is too close. The videos that circulate are even worse! Children and dogs should not ever be set up for a photo opportunity. This is dangerous. A stressed dog can inadvertently smother or trample a small child, or scratch or bite them to stop them from screaming (or even giggling). Dogs can hurt babies by trying to play, or just in an attempt to get away, especially if mom or dad is there telling the dog to stay! This creates a conflict for a dog: instinct urges, leave the scene, but mom says stay, so how do I get out of this?