Re: [PyrNet-L] Chat: Anais at 5 Months

["Tracy Bassett" <espinay@dynamite.com.au>]

Stephanie wrote:
>One new problem has come up.  She has started to growl when my son (28
>years old, not a child, whom she adores) or one of the other dogs comes
>near her crate when she is eating.  My four dogs are all on separate
>diets so they have to be kept separate to eat.     I don't know if being
>fed in her crate is part of the problem.  We have tried feeding her
>while holding her dish in our hands, feeding her out of our hands,
>adding a treat to her dish while she is eating, and just petting her
>while she eats, depending on the circumstances, and it seems to be
>getting better, at least with the people.  Are we doing the right
>thing?  How common is this?  Any other suggestions?


Jan wrote:
<<Stephanie, get your son whenever possible to give Anais her food rather
than you. It's possibly a territorial thing " my crate, my food". It's
probably
advisable to feed her separately as you are doing. >>



Jan is right.  Food guarding is a dominance/territorial thing.  I would
definitely suggest that you keep the other dogs away while she is eating.
You will need to work on this in regard to food guarding from people
though - this is a no-no.

Here are a few thing which may help.

Give her her food a little bit at a time.  Put a little in the bowl, give it
to her, and go about your business.  When she is finished, put a bit more in
the empty bowl.  Do this until the meal is finished.  You may want to get
your son to do this as well as yourself and any other members of your family
(not young children).  What you are teaching her is that she should not
worry about people getting near her bowl as people put food in empty bowls.

You could also do this using,say, three bowls (more washing up I know! :-/)
and alternate putting a bit of her dinner into each bowl.

 It can also be helpful not to feed her in the same place every time if you
can help it.

I would also suggest that you (and the rest of your family, including your
son) do some other 'alpha' activities.  She is at an age where she will 'try
it on' and try to get the upper hand.  Food guarding is one manifestation of
this. It is a good idea to do these activities fairly intensively for a few
weeks until things settle down and she is sure where she stands.  You can
usually ease off a little then (unless she is still 'pushing the issue'),
but make a point of doing them once in a while just to reinforce you
position. Here are some things that you can do to consolidate the human
family members positions as more 'alpha' that hers:

The human always walk through doorways first. Hold her back and walk through
in front of her if you are going through together.

Humans always eat first.  Have your meal before you feed the dog.  If it is
not time for you to eat, eat something (however small) in front of her
before you put down her bowl.

If you are playing a game with her with a toy, YOU always get the toy last
and get to keep the toy (put it away).  She should not be allowed to 'win'
the toy from you.

If she is lying in a doorway/walkway etc and you need to get past, don't
step over her, ask her to move out of your way so you can walk by.

She must earn ALL her treats and her food by doing something for it.  Even
if it is just sitting on command.

When you are patting/cuddling her finish by putting your hand over the top
of her muzzle.  Gently hold it there for a few seconds.  This mimicks the
action of a more alpha dog pack member who will often hold a lower ranking
pack members muzzle with their mouth.

She is only allowed on the bed/furniture etc if she is invited to get up.
If she gets up with out permission, ask her to get off (a tug on the collar
helps :-D).  If she gets up again without permission, invite her off again.
See if you can keep her off for about a minute, and then give her permission
to get up.

If she is sitting on the couch etc (most particularly if it is in a spot
recently vacated by you) ask her to move down or off so you  are sitting in
that spot.  It is your 'right' as the more alpha member to have the prime
sitting/sleeping spots.

I can sympathise with what you are going through.  I recently went through
the same thing with Milou (now 8 months) when she was also about 5 month
old.  She decided to 'push the issue' with me by guarding her food and
deciding that the bed was hers etc (she is quite a dominant thing to start
with). We had a real 'battle of wits' for a couple of weeks! :-D.  I did
these things and in a few weeks the problem had pretty much rectified
itself.  I do keep the dogs pretty much apart when I feed them though - even
if it is just separate sides of the room.  It is best not to invite trouble.

Tracy Bassett
Canberra, Australia
espinay@dynamite.com.au
http://members.dynamite.com.au/espinay/index.htm