Food aggression

This topic has been covered many times, many will tell you to beef up on obediane and hand feed the dog. I tested "food aggression" on our search engine here on i-dog and it came up with a ton of things!

Time for *dun dun dun!!!* NILIF!
 
Nothin In Life Is Free for this pup anymore!  Everything he gets comes from YOU!  He's still incredibly young, which means you can correct this issue. 
 
When he growls at you, do you recoil, or correct him?  If you're pulling away, you're only reinforcing his inappropriate behavior.  I think for a few days, if not a couple of weeks, you need to be hand feeding this puppy, kibble by kibble.  He needs to be understanding that he who giveth can taketh away.  What I mean by that, is while you don't always want to be taking away his dish, he needs to understand that food comes from YOU.  It doesn't magically appear at his whim.
 
You should be able to touch his dish while he's eating, and, if needed, stick your fingers in the dish to retrieve anything that may be unsafe. 

Hi and thankyou!
Firstly no i dont recoil if he growls.i growl at him NO in a deep gruff voice,then take it away (not sure if im doing right but thats what i do),then after a min or 2 i give it bk to him and try again,yes ive put my fingers in his bowl etc and still do,sometimes he growls others he dont,so i think ill try the other you suggested feeding him by hand,i can take chews or toys or sticks etc away from him no problem at all,its just seems to be around his dinner bowl.[8|]

Personally I think you are teaching him to resource guard. If a dog believes that humans or dogs coming near his food are going to take it away from him, he loses trust and begins to resource guard. Why would you take his food away from him while he's eating? This is not showing him who's boss, it's just being disrespectful. I'm not saying that to be rude, just to offer the dog's point of view. Polite dogs don't do that to each other and neither should you. There's no need to have an adversarial relationship with your dog... teach him to trust you. Instead of coming near when he's eating and taking his food away, come near and drop more food into the bowl without making eye contact. Come near and verbally praise him quietly. Come near and (announcing your presence verbally) touch his flank and walk away. The idea is to teach him that are you not going to steal from him - and he doesn't have to guard his resources.

Please i put topic on here for advice,i never took it as you being rude,i need advice and would gladly be told if im doing wrong,.and i wondered that myself to be honest but wasnt sure.
And to add food sounds like a great idea,i must admit he does seem more (mmm shes coming to take my food away)sort of thing,ill try that,good idea thankyou

ORIGINAL: jones

Personally I think you are teaching him to resource guard. If a dog believes that humans or dogs coming near his food are going to take it away from him, he loses trust and begins to resource guard. Why would you take his food away from him while he's eating? This is not showing him who's boss, it's just being disrespectful. I'm not saying that to be rude, just to offer the dog's point of view. Polite dogs don't do that to each other and neither should you. There's no need to have an adversarial relationship with your dog... teach him to trust you. Instead of coming near when he's eating and taking his food away, come near and drop more food into the bowl without making eye contact. Come near and verbally praise him quietly. Come near and (announcing your presence verbally) touch his flank and walk away. The idea is to teach him that are you not going to steal from him - and he doesn't have to guard his resources.

 
Ditto, perfectly said!

14 weeks is still just a baby....I CAN take a food bowl or a bone away from any of my crew of six, but I rarely do.  However, when I feel the need to remove anything from them I tell them "leave it" or "drop it".  Anne, spiritdogs has a great "trade" protocol as well. Oh, and I feed them in their crates so no one has to resource guard against any of the others.  However, right now Sheba and Tyler are laying side by side in my office chewing on their knuckle bones without the first word.....

Thankyou everyone,i can clearly see now im making matters worse,my other german shep i can take anything away from,but i never do ,Its just good to know you can,if you have to.
Ill try adding feed and a gentle hi,etc[]

AND, you'll likely be able to with this guy down the road.  Be sure to start working on leave it and drop it...those commands could save his life.

just a few other thoughts-- a good way to start work on food guarding problems is to walk up to the eating dog and toss a lovely treat into the bowl. So the dog soon starts to think someone approaching during dinner is a really fun thing. Another good thing to do is to take away the food or bone for a minute, add something even better to it, and give it back.
I wouldn't suggest petting the dog while he eats, that just seems rude to me-- would you want someone to do that to you while you eat? Walk near him, accidently bump into him, sure, these are good things to get your dog used to.

Mudpuppy is right adding yummie treats while he is eating will show him you are a giver of food and not a taker of food.  My dog was a serious bowl guarder starting a very early age.  A behaviorlist gave me a technique that worked within two weeks.  Now I can approach and take his bowl if I need too.  Of course, you never want to take it just because.  I remember people saying when they are puppies be sure to handle their bowls and food - that is a BIG MISTAKE.
 
Here is the technique we used and worked wonderfully - give it a try, if you are two busy and can't at one feeding then don't.  Feed in the crate that time and use the technique the next - we are all really busy and sometimes don't have the time dedicate for each feeding.
 
Here ya go and good luck.
 
When it is feeding time measure your dogs food servering and put in a different bowl out of his reach.  Place his emply bowl on the floor and throw one small amount of kibble in the bowl.  Walk away, don't speak to him - when he is done he will coming looking for you, for more.  Walk over and pick up the emplty bowl and move it to another area (have your dog sit if he know this command) and throw another small handful in his bowl- again, walk away and don't speak wait for him to come find you for more.  Move his bowl again and repeat until dinner is done. 
 
Good luck!!  I know this technique works so give it a try!!   PS:  With a child, once you feel  comfortable let the child participate as well - closely suppervised of course.

sounds like a fab idea,ill try that one[]