Dog Community

Dogs, Babies and Food

Posted : 5/16/2008 4:51:49 PM

We are due to have our first human child in a month. First I will say I had fully planned on taking my dog in for more training classes before the baby. But soon after I stopped working 6 days a week and it looked like I may have some time for such things, I had some complications, baby almost came 11 weeks early, spent a week in the hospital and had abdominal surgery that took me out of work 2 months earlier than planned. So although I have time $ is much tighter than expected.

So now the problem, we have a 6 yr old mystery mutt Stamp who is very territorial with food, I can take anything I want from him at any time with no problems, other dogs are the problem. He hasn't had a lot of exposure to kids but he seems to ignore babies, but has gets a little snippy (he has never hurt, just scared them) with toddlers and small children who don't know not to just grab a strange dog's head. We also have a 9 yr old sheltie that is very submissive.

I never have food around when people bring over their dogs, feedings are always done separately and seems to work well. With our dogs they can be fed in the same room but they both have to lie down while I fill the bowls and stay that way till I say OK, they both finish at the same time and it works great for everyone. When the baby comes my plan is to send the dogs to their rooms, any time the baby is eating and stay there until all residual food is removed. I know bottles and breastfeeding won't really be a problem but I plan to start the habit early.

Well today my friend came over with her 11 month old and her boxer. Everyone was introduced and it was going well we where sitting outside enjoying the weather when I realized she was feeding her daughter animal crackers which where being tossed straight to the ground and my dog was enjoying the little food dispenser. She assured me they where just animal crackers thinking I was concerned about what the dog was eating, well I was but much more concerned about the other 2 dogs that where starting to crowd him. As I pulled him away from the food he snapped at our sheltie, he took off running. So I make my dog lie down have a little domination moment with him. Call the other dog back confirm he's really ok just freaked out. All while trying to keep the boxer from trying to play. Go sit back down, Stamp is still down I keep him that way till he forgets he's in trouble the food and the food has long since been put away.

I know Stamp well enough to have never knowingly put him in this situation, but by the time I realized what was going on everything was wrong. How do I prevent this from happening again and how could I have handled it better?

Thanks for your suggestions.

luvmyswissy

Posted : 5/16/2008 6:01:45 PM

I have the same issues with my dog and food. He is 4 years old, he is well trained and I have been working on his guarding of food for 3 years now. He is better, but he is not ok and I WILL NEVER trust him 100% - especially with children around. What I have learned to do is manage him very well when food is around. My Swissy will growl at a child who is trying to feed him! When I have company and we are going to cook or eat he gets crated - or.. he is outside and we are in. If there are children around he is crated period. People don't like that he is crated they think I am mean but I know my dog and I won't take that chance or put him in that situation.

Your dog maybe different and maybe if you start now you can feel comfortable but I don't beleive a resource guarding dog, with food can ever be trusted 100%.

JMO - Good luck

spiritdogs

Posted : 5/17/2008 7:34:23 AM

As a trainer, I agree with luvmyswissy. No food aggressive dog should be left to his own devices with kids around. It's pretty much a deal breaker if a dog bites a child, so prevention and management are imperative. If money's tight, you could dispense with classes for now, but get yourself a copy of "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs". The kicker is that you may be able to get your dog to respect you and exchange food objects without aggression, but it is unlikely you will get him to respect another dog or a toddler. So, separate when food is present. JMHO - and having seen a lot of dogs lose their homes because the parents didn't believe me...

Anonymous

Posted : 5/17/2008 9:12:34 AM

I have a 2 1/2 year old that can do anything to all my dogs including sticking her hands in their food bowl to get a piece out so she can get them to a command. They range for 2 lbs to 6o lbs. I get after her about it all the time but you know how kids are. My daughter loves to sneak the dogs food she is done with. But my dogs arent food aggressive.

So having said the above since you know your dog is food aggressive I agree with crating or being in a totally different room for your dog when any food is around. Start the training as soon as possible so the dogs wont connect it with having the baby around.

Good luck!!

Laura B

Posted : 5/17/2008 9:19:04 AM

I had no idea there was food involved until he was already boxed in by a stroller and 2 other dogs. If I'd known she'd planned on feeding her daughter Stamp would have been inside the house. I guess I need to make it more clear to visitors that no one regardless of age should give him anything to eat.

Thinking back on the situation I wish I'd asked for the the cracker flow to stop and move the other dogs away before pulling him from the food.

I think I'll also start shopping for that book.

luvmyswissy

Posted : 5/17/2008 10:08:58 AM

agave

I had no idea there was food involved until he was already boxed in by a stroller and 2 other dogs. If I'd known she'd planned on feeding her daughter Stamp would have been inside the house. I guess I need to make it more clear to visitors that no one regardless of age should give him anything to eat.

Thinking back on the situation I wish I'd asked for the the cracker flow to stop and move the other dogs away before pulling him from the food.

I think I'll also start shopping for that book.

This is a great idea but it only takes one mistake! Unless you are there every minute to supervise it is a risk. Spiritdogs is exactly right, it only takes one time. When you have company with a child why not be safe then sorry and remove the dog from the visit, period. Then you don't have to worry about going to the bathroom and something unexpected happening. People tend to feel comfortable around a dogs when the owner of the dogs are confident and carefree with the interactions and therefore don't suspect that they could possibly cause harm. If you were to tell someone with a child your dog could bite if there were food around you can bet that Mom would not be comfortable with the child and dog together at all. I know I wouldn't, so don't' mislead people in thinking you have a bullet proof dog by your actions (not saying that you are or it is entional) and remember resource guarding can extend to other things beside food, toys, resting places etc can be a sore spot. Even if he has never exhibited those feeling before he might with a child or stranger. If you are not going to confine the dog make everyone well aware that the dog is a resource guarder than everyone can be vigual around the dog. I pull no punches with my dog, if there are only adult visitor I tell them all about his behaviors and insist they follow my rules for their safety.

Resource guarding is as unpredictable as it is predictable and you need to understand this and take every precaution and it seems like your on track.

Chuffy

Posted : 5/17/2008 3:42:42 PM

agave
As I pulled him away from the food he snapped at our sheltie, he took off running. So I make my dog lie down have a little domination moment with him.

I can understand why you did this, but I think your pulling him away made him feel vulnerable and that made him snap. Does that make sense? With hindsight, I think you would have been better to walk away and call them cheerfully. Chances are they would leave off the scrounging to see where you were going. If that failed, rustling a food packet or some other underhand technique probably would have done the trick and they ALL would have come away at the same time, with none of them feeling vulnerable to the others.

To avoid it happening in future, I suggest you teach a really solid "leave it" and strengthen your recall with distractions. I have ALSO taught my dogs to "back up" and I say "back up" as I reach for the item I have just asked them to drop, or an item that I have dropped that they want. With the eldest dog, this is now so solidly conditioned that my "reaching" has become the signal for "back up" and he responds without thinking about it. This is useful with having a small son around!

Also, I think that you keeping the dogs seperate is fine while there is food around. Pick your battles I say, and the plan you've got in place sounds like a good one. I would go further and crate your dogs while there is food about, ensuring they get a tasty chewy or somethig while they are crated. Our dogs go to their crates without being asked now, as soon as I bring the human meals out. Even if I don't give them a kong or a bone, they seem to understand that that is their place at mealtimes and they are content to wait there until we are finished. This is after a long period of establishing this habit though.

You don't have to get either dog to a class just because of the baby. It's a great idea if you can manage it, but if not don't beat yourself up. There are dozens of things you can do at home, classes or no, to make sure everyone gets on OK! The No 1 thing to remember is - there is nothing wrong with segregation. Don't set you or your dogs up for situations you can't handle. Know your limitations and manage the environment to make everything easy for all of you, rather than get angry or frustrated. We have used a LOT of segregation here since Will was born and we've allowed them all to get used to each other very gradually. It's been a smooth and natural progression and I think it has caused the least stress all round.