Great Dane Food aggressive at 4 mos

I am stepping out of this conversation at this point...there are people here such as Anne that can help you with certain issues... I'm sure she will be back to help.
I do give you so very much credit for trying to straighten out these issues...I just know you will do it.
I really like that mudpuppy suggested NILIF...(Nothing In Life Is Free) it helped Bubblegum so much.
Stick around and accept some help from the trainers here...they can really help.
I just came back to tell you that he is just so very cute!

no, do not pet him while he is eating. That is very rude to dogs. And definitely don't let the baby touch him while he is eating-- you'll need to teach your child to leave eating dogs alone. Your goal isn't to get him comfortable enough to be petted while eating, but to have him comfortable with you walking past him while he is eating. Don't take the growling personally, don't get angry, he is acting like a normal dog who just needs to be taught how to act like a dog who lives with humans.
 
Try this for a couple of days: give him art of his daily portion of his food in the bowl. Ask him to sit. If he does, give him the bowl to eat out of, and briskly move away-- make sure no one else is in the room. When he's done eating his small portion, call him away from the empty bowl, give a treat for compliance. Take bowl, re-fill, and repeat. This is a basic NILIF protocol-- if he wants food, he has to comply with your wishes.
 
Do you have a very quiet place to feed him in? a crate, a corner of a back room? dogs who exhibit food guarding should for everyone's safety not be fed in high-traffic areas.
 
How skinny is he? young danes always look incredibly skinny (unless being overfed) because they have no body fat and barely any fur. Visible ribs, visible vertebrae, visible hip bones are common. If he seems energetic and has a glow to his coat it's ok.
 

ORIGINAL: dane mom

I fed him last night with me holding his food bowl and him eating out of it and he didnt want to eat out of it that way... he nearly refused to eat with me holding the bowl but he did eat out of my hand if i fed him the food by hand... and i could pet him the whole time but if i got close to his face he gave a deep snarl and growl as if to say back off and i didnt i kept my hand there until he stopped and then i backed off and took his food and gave a treat but if i put the bowl on the ground he is growling and the thought of someone touching him again.... i put my self between his face  and the baby last night while he was eating and the baby reached over and pet his side and dudley looked up at him and then just started eating again. i dont know what his problem is with me i have never taken his food away or anything like that i just dont understand his behavior change unless it is that he is comfortable in our home now and this is the true him....[]

 
He is really cute!
 
You are just starting out on the handfeeding.  Don't put your face near his just yet,   it's very threatening to a dog that has resource guarding issues.  Heck it's threatening to anyone that is eating.  Use some common sense and don't push too far or your work could backfire. 
 
Keep up the handfeeding, and start a strict NILIF program and you'll start to see results very, very soon.  Then to help further desensitize him for later in life, when he's eating walk by and drop a really yummy treat in his bowl.  Keep him thinking "here comes human, I'm gonna get something GOOD!" 

The book "Mine! A Guide to Resource Guarding in Dogs", by Jean Donaldson, is inexpensive and very worthwhile for anyone with a dog that is growling at anyone over food. 
My advice would be to find a really good positive training class and take this dog there yesterday.  Training gives you a "vocabulary" to use with your dog, and enables you to practice NILIF (nothing in life is free) without resorting to correction, or physical punishment, which will hardly be of use when he weighs 100 lbs.  Clicker training is great because it's hands off, and dogs generally love it.  (Clicker training is used to train killer whales, chickens, and other species, too - including humans LOL - Google on TAGTeach).  I really hope you will not wait to do this simple training.  Get the book and get to class.  Training is fun, and so is having a safe, well-mannered huge dog. []

For dog books:
www.dogwise.com
For positive training search:
www.peaceablepaws.com
www.clickertraining.com
www.apdt.com

[color=#000000]Please remember that dogs have many types of growls.  Everything from "I am having fun playing tug" to "I don't like that" to "Please leave me alone" to "I am scared" to "I am getting mad".  They have a right to their likes and dislikes as does any other animal.
 
Besides growls, barks, whines, howls, yodels, etc., they don't have a lot of other ways to communicate with us, because most of us (me included [sm=party.gif] ) are pretty dumb when it comes to reading their body language (a BIG part of canine communication).  Frankly, they must get awfully disgusted with us at times because we can't understand them when they are "talking" to us with body language.
 
Donaldson, Jean[/color][font=verdana][size=3], Mine! A Guide To Resource Guarding In Dogs, 2002
[linkhttp://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB740]http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB740[/link]

Aloff, Brenda[font=verdana][size=3], Canine Body Language: A Photographic Guide Interpreting the Native Language of the Domestic Dog, 11/2005
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/yrhl99]http://tinyurl.com/yrhl99[/link]

Rugaas, Turid[font=verdana][size=3], On Talking Terms With Dogs: Calming Signals, 2nd edition, 12/2005
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/2tk7dt]http://tinyurl.com/2tk7dt[/link][/size][/font][/size][/font]

Donaldson, Jean, [font="times new roman"][size=2][/font]The Culture Clash, 1/1997
[linkhttp://tinyurl.com/642uk]http://tinyurl.com/642uk[/link][/size]

A description of NILIF and pack leader info:
[link[/link]>http://forum.dog.com/asp/m.asp?m=298804]http://forum.dog.com/asp/m.asp?m=298804[/link]
 
Critical Periods in a Dog's Life -- Developmental Stages:
[color=#000000][link>http://westwingsess.com/critical_stages.htm]http://westwingsess.com/critical_stages.htm[/link][/size]
[link[/link]>http://www.dogclub.co.uk/advice/puppygrowth.php]http://www.dogclub.co.uk/advice/puppygrowth.php[/link]
 
Example resource guarding feeding program:[color=#000000]
[link>http://forum.dog.com/discus/messages/169/142179.html#POST433669]http://forum.dog.com/discus/messages/169/142179.html#POST433669[/link][/size][/size][/color][/size][/color][/size][/font]

He is going to have to get used to being petted and touched while eating if he is going to stay with me i am not going to have a dog i cannot trust with a 2yr old in my home most of the time and a full time 10 month old he seems to be responding to the petting in the same way you said he should as if i were just walking by he is allowing us to touch him and if he allows it without a growl he gets a treat then i go away for a while and come back a little later to treat him again. i can just barely see his ribs no hip bones or anything pertruding just thinner than i like my average dog to be. my neighbor has a dane girl 2 weeks older than dudley and she is stocky and much healthier weight in my opinion... but as long as it is normal its ok

[font="trebuchet ms"][color=#ff3366]He is going to have to get used to being petted and touched while eating if he is going to stay with me

[/color][/font]
 
He is young and can learn. I hope you can take the time to teach him.  I certainly understand what your fear is,,,,but he needs training and has to depend on you to do that.
Best of luck!

jumping in late - you've gotten some great advice here - I have a dane mix and he is STRONG so train your pup as much as you can.  If you want to walk him later on or need to control him you had best have a great training foundation.
My boy never had food aggression but you can do anything to him while he eats, he certainly doesn't see it as an imposition.  I feel that petting him while he's eating is an achieveable goal.
Danes eat a lot.  He will start eating less probably about a year old but if I recall correctly 4-8 months there wasn't enough food to feed him!  And he is smaller than a full male dane.  Keep him thin and if you can get it or afford it feed the Eagle Pack giant breed puppy.  Danes have specific needs.
Other observations are that my boy is handsy, and now as we approach 2 can be joined on the floor without getting rough - although he still does with DH sometimes.  He as others described likes to think he's in charge. He is very bright and HIGH energy.
Having a giant breed dog is a big decision its not like having a 60lb dog.  He is very cute and I hope that you spend the time to make him a super part of your family

We got him a friend and they now have a .65 acre yard fenced to play in he is doing much better but he is not wanting to let go of this food aggression though he is attached at darcy's hip 24/7 but hopefully he sees she isnt this way and he will stop nothing is working with the advise i got from here he is still aggressive he actually bit Darcy the otherday over his food. i then removed him from the food and he didnt get anymore until she was done....he needs to realize that behavior isnt allowed by anyone.. when he growls she just backs off i have to feed them in two seperate feeders... he is on diamond puppy and that food is good quality the vet said he is fine... and healthy.... he eats about 3.5 pounds all together in a day he eats little bits here and there throughout the day.... and Darcy eats the same we think she is a Doberman shepherd or a collie and either or both of the first mentioned we arent sure any suggestions??? she is the same height and much stockier than dudley and close to the same age...

He isn't going to learn not to be food aggressive from the other dog.  It seems as though, his aggression is just being reinforced by the other dog's submission.  

With two dogs, they should be fed from two different bowls in two different locations.  Also, with two dogs, you should not be free feeding.  You have no idea who is eating what, and I suspect that your more aggressive pup may end up with most of the food.

You really have to incorporate more structure now with two dogs to get this pup in line. 

We feed our girls at 7:00 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m.  They sit and wait at their bowls and do not eat until they are told "OK".  That way, if I have to feed one meds or a special diet, I know she's eating it. 

P.S.  How about using some punctuation so that your posts are easier to read?

ORIGINAL: diane303

With two dogs, they should be fed from two different bowls in two different locations.  Also, with two dogs, you should not be free feeding.  You have no idea who is eating what, and I suspect that your more aggressive pup may end up with most of the food.

You really have to incorporate more structure now with two dogs to get this pup in line. 


P.S.  How about using some punctuation so that your posts are easier to read?

 Well lets see here first off if you read they are fed with two different feeders and they are fed on seperate sides of the water feeder about 6' apart they only fight over the food when it is people food...
Second i do know who is getting what because we are right there when they eat they eat with their own bowls.
Third my dogs eat at 5:30 am little bits through out the day and then again at 5:30 pm i refill the feeder and they are both healthy neither of my dogs will take anything from anyone until "I" tell them too....
Last, if you dont like the way i write then dont read my post all you do is critisize and put people down anyway and you dont read anything people write and you tell 13y/o girls that her dog wants to go back to the pound cause it doesnt consider her comfort and love home...
If you cant read what people are saying you dont need to respond you are giving falsified information by not reading their whole story just like this one for example...

He isn't going to learn not to be food aggressive from the other dog.

I agree!  Food aggression toward other dogs and food aggression toward humans are two different things.  Both dogs should regard you as the provider of all good things.
 
How does the Great Dane now respond when you handfeed him?

He is doing better since she has been here she is the dominate dog... Darcy rules the roost except for food but she normally doesnt back down like that she usually pays him no attention at all but this time he bit her but they are normally fine and he lets me touch him now when he is eating and it started when i brought Darcy home he realized he doesnt rule the roost!!!

Hi Brittney!
First of all, I want to say I'm glad you have things under control...seems like you know what you are doing.
I don't know much about food aggression, so I can't say too much. I though the idea of hand feeding was a WONDERFUL idea to help Dudley.  I just want to say  something though,,,because I think a lot of people here DO know about food aggression...and they know how to help before the dog gets out of control completely.   Here is what I worry about. Just today where I work...I saw the aftermath of two dogs that got into a fight. After I left work (at a vet) on Thursday, they had an emergency.  A girl brought in her dog that was attacked by her other dog.   I don't know why, neither does the girl...I spoke with her today when she brought her dog back in for a check up.  The dog still can not walk, everyone is hoping she will be able to eventually.  She had just started eating and regained her body functions.  I can't believe how many stitches in that poor dog...I wonder how it lived.  They came home to finding it, so they don't know. It might not have anything to do with food. I only know that after seeing that (I'm glad I was gone when they came in the first day) that I would want to make sure that Dudley was taught to not be aggressive about his food. I am sure people here were correct to say that you can help him to learn not to be, I hope you try what they tell you and not just let the other dog teach him. Especially if he bit Darcy.  He might need more than Darcy to help teach him.
He is soooo cute..I just love that pictue of him in your post. I want to make sure he is around a long long time to watch him grow up!

I apologize if I offended you. Oh I see in your post that you feed them now in two separate feeders.  That should eliminate food aggression, don't you think?

All I read was this:

he actually bit Darcy the other day over his food. i then removed him from the food and he didnt get anymore until she was done....he needs to realize that behavior isnt allowed by anyone.. when he growls she just backs off

and didn't notice the rest of the sentence. 

Sorry.  I'm really not trying to be a grammar natzi, but it makes it easier to read and understand your posts if you punctuate and separate your sentences.

 This is off subject, but I did explain my statement on that separate post.  Rescued dogs don't really trust that they are at their "forever" home for up to 6 months and will often want to return to a previous situation even if it is less than great.   I even sent her a PM personally apologizing to her if my post seemed overly critical and praising her for her efforts.  I just wanted to impress upon her that it takes lots of time and patience with a rescued dog. 

Good point:

I agree!  Food aggression toward other dogs and food aggression toward humans are two different things.  Both dogs should regard you as the provider of all good things.

Don't worry about Dudley being the boss.  You should be the boss, right?