Maze gets aggressive with the kitten over special food

Hi there, I can share what I did with my dog when I brought the dreaded kitten home. I have a 15 month old GSD that is super exuberant, and a now 5 month old kitten that is fearless. I do have 2 older cats as well.

While I allowed the 2 older cats to set their own boundaries, I only had to step in and teach no chasing with them,  the kitten was another matter, the older cats had no interest in his food or things, the kitten did. So I had to teach the kitten and the dog at the same time.

I started with allowing the kitten to get into all his stuff, food, toys, bed, even crawl on Kord. I supervised all interactions and always corrected with a "gentle" command if Kord's excitement was starting to get out of control, then I would take the kitten away and find it another activity.

In regards to food and prizes I had to teach Kord that I had the final say. To do this I allowed the kitten to eat out of Kord's dish, but would always remove the kitten after a min or so. Same thing with prized bones, allow a few nibble's, then remove the kitten. Rinse, repeat. I firmly believe that since this is Kord's food he had the right to eat it in peace, but at the same time I dole out corrections, not him. I now have a dog that will come to me if the kitten is trying to steal his "stuff" and a kitten that will try, and will only try, because he knows he is not going to get eaten by the big bad doggie.

Kord has never shown resource guarding to us, so it was very easy to teach him what was acceptable here, not sure how it would work with a dog that is a bit more hordy. You could do a couple of things, start with sharing a prize between them, giving them bits together or alternating between them. In the end though, if it is Maze's food or prize they do deserve to eat it in peace and enjoy it.

Good luck.

When you give Maze her "special" high value treat, keep the kitten away from her.  If she hasn't made contact and hurt the kitten, then she didn't mean to.  She was giving him a warning, in essence saying "This is my special treat, back off."  Then after Maze protected her food, her food went away.  Now she really thinks she needs to protect the food, or at least she will if you follow the same protocol.

Whenever Maze gets her special food, give the kitten a special reward too but in another room.  Teach Maze that her food is hers and she doesn't need to guard it.

My boy only protects one food from the cat...his raw meaty bones.  Other than that the cat can almost push him away from his bowl (and has on at least one occasion.)  I completely allow my dog to growl out a warning to the cat.  Cats growl to protect their food too, so it's a little bit of interspecies communication that is very well understood. 

Great idea! Thanks. I'll try that. They do share the same bowl sometimes and the kitten wanders away after a couple minutes. I'll try the sharing thing with her special bones and such 

I let her growl once but I take it away from her if she lunges at the kitten. After she calms down for a a few minutes, I'll give it back to her and the kitten doesn't try again. 

I would just use a crate.  WHy should the dog growl if the cat is trying to nick her lunch?  Pick your battles and crate the dog is my advice.

why are you disciplining the DOG? it's the cat that is being rude and needs to learn manners- stealing food and treats right out of a dog's mouth or bowl is a big No-No.

The kitten wasn't stealing anything, he was just sniffing at the bowl. Sometimes Maze will growl at him, even if he's just walking by.

I'd love to use a crate, but my place is to small to have one. I've started placing a mat on the floor for her that the kitten isn't allowed on. 

I agree with Ed.  Don't take the treat away b/c the kitten is the one being rude.  Keep the kitten occupied while the dog gets the treat.  Kenya lets my cats eat out of her bowl, but I believe this is pretty rare.  She doesn't like Coke coming near her bowl and she will curl her lip.  As long as there is no real aggression, I'm fine with it.  Humans can take anything from her.  To dogs, it's rude to be taking things from their mouths.  If you take the treat away when the kitten intrudes, that only gives the dog a real reason to be more protective of it. 

One thing that I did with Kenya and Coke is have them sit by me and I hand feed them treats.  Since then, Kenya stopped curling her lip at Coke.  She realizes she has NO reason to protect her food b/c *I* control all the food and I give it out equally.  Coke gets one, and then she gets one.  You could do this with the dog and the cat.  I did this with Kenya and my cats when we first got her.  I had her stay in a down and coaxed the cats over with food, then alternated giving everyone small treats. 

I never even thought of that. Hmmm.. Now if I can get Maze to sit still long enough. Lol. One thing I am doing is digging out her crate again. I put it away cuz I really don't have room for it. But I found a corner where I can put it, so I'm gonna start crate training her over again and feed her in there from now on.  

oranges81

I let her growl once but I take it away from her if she lunges at the kitten. After she calms down for a a few minutes, I'll give it back to her and the kitten doesn't try again. 

Go online and get a book called "Mine: a guide to resource guarding."  

The methods you are using are setting you up for a violent resource guarder that will soon be guarding her "special treat" from you. 

I agree with Ed. Do not punish Maze for guarding her treat, remove the kitten. Your dog needs to know that she can trust you with choice items. If you have to, feed the treat in her crate when you get it set up.

Well, from what I read, you took the food away and when you gave it back to Maze and the kitten showed up, he didn't do anything, right?  If this is the case, then I would have to say your right on track!  Damn!  Your good!

Janet808

Well, from what I read, you took the food away and when you gave it back to Maze and the kitten showed up, he didn't do anything, right?  If this is the case, then I would have to say your right on track!  Damn!  Your good!

Thank you! I was started to feel really bad for what I did even though I've done it all my dogs before.. Since I've started feeding her in the crate Crombie will sit outside of the crate and wait for me to open the door to go cuddle with Maze when she's done.

I have never had a dog resource guard from me. They know I control the food, treats, ect.