Myth Busting: Petting Your Dog Prevents Food Aggression
Over the next several months, the Koinonia blog will feature several dog behavior and training myths and what’s actually true. First up: preventing food aggression.
MYTH
Prevent food aggression by doing the following while your dog is eating: 1) petting your dog, 2) sticking your hand in his bowl, and/or 3) briefly removing the bowl.
This is SUCH a common myth and it’s so unfortunate.
No one wants an aggressive dog (especially one that growls at them or other dogs in the home), but in an effort to prevent aggression, people are actually creating it.
Consider the same scenario from a human perspective.
You sit down to a hot meal and dig in. Man, it tastes so good! While you’re eating, you dinner-mate reaches over and removes your plate. What?! That’s weird. You’re speechless for a second and then she puts the plate back down. A few minutes later, she does the same thing: takes it away and then puts it back down. This happens several times, and by the 4th time, you say, “hey! Quit that! I’m trying to eat here.” The next day, she starts it up again, but this time you’re not having it. You yank the plate away before she grabs it and leave the table.
Taking your dog’s food, sticking your hand in his bowl, and petting him does not prevent aggression and it doesn’t teach him you’re Alpha. It DOES teach him to be anxious when a human walks up while he’s eating.
TRUTH
Prevent food aggression by:
Ignoring your dog while he’s eating. Let him eat in peace without fear the food will be taken away—even for a second.
Dropping some plain chicken, scrambled eggs, or wet dog food near his feet while he’s eating then immediately walking away. Human approaching while I eat = even better stuff on the ground and nothing taken away.
If your dog or puppy is currently showing signs of food aggression, skip the above and contact a qualified, positive-reinforcement professional ASAP. Aggression is nothing to mess around with and I don’t recommend a DIY approach. No one wins if your dog escalates to growling, snapping or biting.
(BTW, ditto everything above for bones, chews, and food puzzles)