# POLL: Is your golden food aggressive?



## foreveramber (Feb 25, 2007)

just curious to see how many are or have been at one point.


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## MisterBailey (Jun 28, 2007)

It kind of surprising Bailey isn't, considering how much he loves his food! I haven't had a problem with him being protective of it. He has to sit, shake hands and then he gets the bowl put on the floor to eat. I somehow also got into the habit of patting him and saying "good boy" once he began to eat.


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## foreveramber (Feb 25, 2007)

we are working on it. he has never snapped, but tenses up and sometimes growls when i pet him while hes eating.


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## Sunny Delight (Mar 10, 2007)

foreveramber said:


> we are working on it. he has never snapped, but tenses up and sometimes growls when i pet him while hes eating.


Have you tried making him work for his entire meal? Make him sit, and down, wait, watch me, give paw, etc. for each little handful of food. The trainer with our rescue even said to spit on the food, because that's what the leader of the pack does. I never did that... but she worked for a while with one of our rescues who was food aggressive and he did great with her. I saw him have self control that from watching him at other times I had no idea he had in him. 

And of course Cesar says it's not Jake's food, it's yours. And your bowl, too. I've seen him stand in a way that just blocks the bowl when the dog goes to it, claiming the bowl as his. The dog has to then wait until the leader tells him it's OK to eat. 

My own thoughts would be that if you tried petting him while he was eating and he growled, you take the food bowl away for a bit and try again. He only gets the privilege of eating as long as he isn't growling.


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## ILoveAMonster (Nov 11, 2007)

If I take Monster's food or even put my hand in it while he's eating he just looks at me expectantly as if to say, "Well, Mom, what are you waiting for, eat some." or "What are you doing, mom?"


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## Sparky's Sidekick (Nov 7, 2007)

Sparky is not any kind of aggressive--not food, not toy, not dog, not cat, not people . . . you get the picture. He is an all around good boy.


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## HovawartMom (Aug 10, 2006)

She is not food aggressive and will even share her food bowl with Titus!.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

No................


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## fostermom (Sep 6, 2007)

None of my dogs are. I require them to sit or down and wait until I release them each time I feed. When they were young, I would reach down and rub their faces and noses while they were eating to get them used to it. I also do not allow one dog to go to the other dogs' dishes until everyone is done eating. Then they take turns licking each others dishes.


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## norabrown (Jul 20, 2007)

Samson tends to growl when he has a bone or something special. But if he does, it gets taken away. We make him understand that anything he has is actually "OURS". We do a lot of giving and taking back and touching it all over. If he continues to be agressive, he can't have it. If he behaves, he can.


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## Bailey & Bentley (Feb 25, 2007)

My dogs have never been aggressive at all when it comes to food.


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## bwoz (Jul 12, 2007)

No, but I had a GSD that does exactly what you're describing.


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## lovealways_jami (Apr 17, 2007)

Diesel snapped once ... and I (reflexes yall, sorry) slapped him in the face  Instinctively didnt mean it)!! But I must have got him good because he hasnt done it since. But Ive also been working with him on it. Ill let him eat, and while he is Ill take it away and make him wait for a little while, usually a sit command involved, and this has worked well for me.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Robbie will growl if you pet him while he's eating. I hand fed him for months, have made him work for meals, held the bowl and petted him while he eats, worked with him every meal for months. He got better but has not stopped, and he's always in a guarding posture and very tense when he eats. I don't think he will ever get over it. 

He did have a big problem about growling and threatening us over bones or chew treats and I worked a long, long time with him on that because that's while he's just laying in the floor of the room with us. I always talk to him when I'm approaching and have taught him to "give" the bone, he doesn't like it all - his boy language is really tense - but he has learned that we WILL take bones when we want to or need to.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Nope, I could sit down beside him and shove my face in his bowl and he'd let me eat away. (not that I'd ever eat dog food...lol)


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## jason0618 (Sep 17, 2007)

Nope. I make a habit of petting Ellie sometimes while she's eating. She won't STOP eating, but she just continues merrily eating away. She's such a good dog.


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## jason0618 (Sep 17, 2007)

lovealways_jami said:


> Diesel snapped once ... and I (reflexes yall, sorry) slapped him in the face  Instinctively didnt mean it)!! But I must have got him good because he hasnt done it since.quote]
> 
> I think we can forgive that one... I know I can, at least.


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## Lisa_and_Willow. (Dec 18, 2007)

When my shepherd was a pup every couple of days I would walk up to him while he was eating and put my hand in his bowl to drop something yummy in there, chicken, cheese etc.. Only good things came from me being around his food. 
He also has to sit and wait until I tell him to eat. 

Never had any sign of food agression from him. I will do the same with my Golden.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

None of my Golden's are, now the terrier will growl at the other dogs not me I can stick my hand right in his food. I move his bowl out so he can eat in peace


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## Jazzys Mom (Mar 13, 2007)

Nope, no food agression here

Jazzys Mom


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## HuntersMomma (Sep 25, 2007)

I did not vote but what i do to try and make my dogs ( the one's i use to have) is right from the start when i got them i always petted them when they were eating and stuck my hands in their face and bowl so that way when ever someone besides me did this to them they would not become food aggressive I have found that this works for me and this is something that i will do with hunter also


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## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

A food agressive dog wouldn;t make it around here very long.


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

fostermom said:


> None of my dogs are. I require them to sit or down and wait until I release them each time I feed. When they were young, I would reach down and rub their faces and noses while they were eating to get them used to it. I also do not allow one dog to go to the other dogs' dishes until everyone is done eating. Then they take turns licking each others dishes.


hehe, mine do the same thing. When Taz came to live with is, I knew I would have to figure something out to keep her away from Sage while they were eating. Sage is food aggressive with other dogs except Sydney, my beagle mix. So I fed Taz in her crate. Now, I can leave the crate door open and Taz will leave Sage alone til she's done, then they rotate and lick all the bowls to make sure someone didn't leave something


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## Griffyn'sMom (Mar 22, 2007)

Griff always has food in his bowl so he could care less if you come over and pet him or put your hand in while he's eating. When he does eat, I usually go over and give him a pat and say "good eat" to him. If I put something special in his bowl he is to sit until I give him the "OK" to go eat it.


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## Joe and Sam's Mom (Sep 2, 2007)

Neither has any aggression with food in the house. I can move their bowls around, back and forth without anything other than a rather pleading look! They both eat at the same time, though I have them set up on opposite sides of the kitchen. When we are outside, however and somebody comes across a morsel of something they will "have words". It seems to be happening more lately with all the snow, but that is probably just because I can't see he goodie before they do. Because of the recent frequency ( 3 or 4 times) I don't let them sniff in the same place and we seem alright. Any other suggestions?


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

No problem with my girls either--in fact have to make sure they each out of their own dish as they are on different foods and kayCee gets joint sups in hers along with the sups they both get.


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