help for my hands...

S

scottermac

Forums Regular
I have a 5-year-old rescue sheltie and I have had him for 10 months. I am having some food aggression issues. He is okay with his food but when you give him a treat he can get really aggressive. He has gone after my hand on 4 occasions. Broke the skind and drew blood all four times. The first two incidents involved me going to take the remains of a bone from him. All ready stopped giving him steak bones. The third time was when he had a pigs ear. He wasn’t eating it, but it was near him. All I did was pet him while he was lying down. The forth incident was when I tried to remove a piece of fuzz that was hanging from his mouth. Any help??
 
Has he always been food aggressive towards treats ?:eek2: I would for certain not give him treats that make him aggressive.:uhoh: With a stern NO!! Put a thick glove on and grab the treat away. Sounds like you may need some expert trainer or maybe someone on the forum has dealt with more of these issues. This is a serious problem and must be dealt with or he can do someone some real harm.:cry:
 
Sorry to hear this, it must be distressing. I know a bichon frise that would not let you anywhere near its face - it was only 5 months and didn't have the excuse of being a rescue like your poor boy does.

Do you know anything about his past? Sometimes dogs learn to be possessive if they've been on the streets and have had to defend food resources, but then again dogs from pet homes can also have this problem.

Professional help is the best way to go, you have to get it solved as soon as you can. I have no advice as I have never dealt with such a situation, but I wish you all the best and good luck.
 
I'm sorry you've had to deal with this! I'd definitely consult a good trainer who may be able to give you some tips on alpha training and food aggression
 
Professional help would be the safe bet, but I think any dog can be trained. You just need to protect yourself in the meantime.

It seems that its back to basics with him. How is he with other training - e.g. sit, down, come, stay, leash walking? etc. ?

You are going to have to go super slow with him - and work with him on the "Leave It" command - but not with big bones or pigs ears. You're going to need to start small with treats small enough to close your fist around (maybe gloved for awhile).

When I brought Indy home, he was super-aggressive (tho' not so bad) about treats. He was in the breeders with 8 other dogs for the first 10 months, so I guess competing for treats was par for the course. The first time I went to give him a cookie, I almost got bit. It's only because I was wary that I was able to throw down the treat and get my hand away in time.

Now after just a few weeks of Leave It, Indy will sit and with the treat in my open hand in front of him, wait for me to tell him to Take It. And when he does, he no longer snatches it but takes it softly from my cupped hand (and the beginning I had to ensure my hand was totally flat)

There are threads already on the forum for Leave It. If you can't fine them, let us know and we can point you again.

It really does work - especially with a dog that is food motivated.

Good luck!
 
Be prepared a trainer is very expensive. The trainer who had my sister's pup, was exactly what you are explaining in your post. Three trainers came, and it cost her $800 for the last behaviorist. The first two never came back, because he was so nasty. The last trainer took the Lhasa out of my sister's house for three weeks. She left down her guard, and he just about bit her finger off recently, this is a Lhasa.

Everyday you have to remember to put your sheltie through the paces of what some call Tough Love, there is a site all about this. The trainer used chains in a bag thrown at the dog feet, you can also use a shake can but use it as little as you can.

I think toys are great too, if your sheltie brings you a toy, ignore, you go pick out a toy, you and your sheltie play, and when your finished playing you take the toy, and you always win.

If you are eating popcorn, or whatever watching a show, your sheltie receives not one treat with you. Don't permit him on your lap. I know one poster stated also do not permit him in a chair, on the couch. Its called tough love, and you are the leader.

Get him used to moving his bowl while he eats. Throw a treat to distract him and move the bowl once and awhile. I am sure he does not like you messing around with his food. Build confidence you are just moving the bowl of food not taking it away from him.

If he nips, scream OUCH as loud as you can. I heard that helps. NO, is a good one also.

These are just a few things that have worked on fear biters, I can tell you one thing never let up on your guard. Believe me just about everyday my sister has to remind herself to do Tough Love, and she can't spoil him to death, otherwise her dog will take her hand off. Horrible situation, and I feel for you. You got a little stinker on your hands too. I would also call where you picked up your sheltie from, and ask this person some questions, your sheltie had to pull this stunt on her also. ???

Hopefully others can add to the posts that have been posted too.
 
You might find this site helpful. It has links to articles on various dog behavioural issues - I've given you the link to food guarding articles

http://www.k9events.com/behaviourR.htm#resource

I've used the articles linked many times and they are always good.

Don't forget to always 'trade' or 'exchange' a resource (eg toy or playtime for the food) at this stage. And don't despair, its not unusual - good luck!
 
I'm guessing the food aggression developed sometime in his history, maybe on the streets where he had to fend for himself and his food (even if he's not eating it) if he was abandoned.

My trainer is also helping a friend's sheltie deal with food aggression and other guarding problems. She said it's really a case of "if I let go of this/let you have this, will I lose out?" for the dog. That's why she suggested the trading/exchanging technique that Caro mentioned too. Trade the pig's ear/steak bone for something even more high value for the dog. It'll learn eventually that giving the pig ear/steak bone up means it gets something even better and won't mind relinquishing it to you.

Also, if he takes food from your hand (like treats) without biting you, you can handfeed him his meals. I like handfeeding because it builds the bond between dog and handler. And for a rescue dog, I'd think he may have problems trusting you, and handfeeding can really help that.
 
He is really good with a normal treat like dog biscuits. He won't take it out of my hand until given a command. If he goes to snap, the treat is pulled away, he is given the gentle commnad. Then he will gingerly take the treat out of my hand. At meal times he has to sit down and stay until given the command to eat. Which is hard on my floors. Doggie drool is not good for wood floors. :lol: He also does fairly well with the leave it command when something falls on the floor.

His history? He was turned in to the sheltie rescue by his family. He was fostered in a home until I adopted him.
 
I wonder if this family gave your sheltie up because they were having this problem, and I bet the foster mom must have had this problem also. What bothers me if they knew, and you had a young child around your sheltie, not a good thing. They should have had something out there no young children.
Now there is a red flag, soooo why?

Hopefully you can get the behavior corrected. My sister is still working on her situation. I pray for her hand everyday, will pray for yours too.
 
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