Food aggresion

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jill,
I read another anwer you gave on food aggression but we have an added twist - a big family with lots of kids.

I have three dogs, an 6 year old standard poodle, a 5 year old mini poodle and a 5 month old "Decker" rat terrier.  it's a large rat terrier - will grow to be around 40 lbs.  He is a typical terrier tons of fun, super high energy, stubborn, silly etc.  Gets along great with his brother and sister, almost no issues there.  The problem is chewies and food.  If ANYONE gets near him while he is eating or chewing he will barg and growl and assume a really defenseive stanse as if he plans to attack.  We also have 5 kids ages 4 to 17, he seems to have a soft spot for the four year old and have had no issues there but the other kids ages 12 - 17 and myself and my husband are the ones he really gets upset over.

He's a bit better with me as I am the one who is doing the bulk of the training with him and I think he sees me as the boss and caves in pretty quickly but if I'm not around I'm afraid someone will get hurt.

I read in a bood that dogs who do this should not be allowed special chewies at all but that would devastate him, he needs them so much as he is in the midst of teething.

Everything I read conflicts with the last thing so it's all very confusing.  I am all about positive training but I feel like this dog needs to know his place in the family "order" and am not too sure how to establish that.

Thanks in Advance

ANSWER: Your dog is confused and guarding his trophies; the fact that he "likes" the four year old child is more about her perceived low rank (because she has no pheromones) than anything else.  I worry about how this dog will react if she suddenly decides to interfere with his trophies.  At five months of age, unless someone has seriously teased him (with food, treats, toys....possible when you have lots of children who don't know any better), his guarding behavior is very troublesome and worrying.

First, your concern that he will be "devastated" without his chewies is not acceptable (although I understand the kindness behind it.)  He will be far more devastated should he injure one of your children and find himself in the local shelter (or worse.)  A chewie is a REWARD and a trophy object, something a dog earns, not something he is entitled to.  Food aggression normally self extinguishes; this is not food aggression it is a strong, dominant dog making a statement to every human in your household.  Your Rat Terrier may be developing rank opportunism or he may be reacting to an event (or events) where his toys, food, etc., were interfered with...I can't see that from here.  He requires positive reinforcement training and a NILIF regimen (Nothing in Life Is Free)and he needs to be placed on behavior modification.

An interview of your entire household (including your children), observation of the dog alone, with the other dogs, and then with the family, and first hand observation of his trophying behavior MUST be done.  This question cannot be answered in a text box.  I strongly advise you to seek professional help.  This is a very young dog who is developing a very serious behavior that may cost him his life.  Contact the veterinary college in your geographical area and ask for referral to a certified applied animal behaviorist.  Don't attempt to fix this on your own.  Meanwhile, remove his trophies immediately.  Instruct your children to not, for any reason at all, interfere with his food; also instruct them that if the dog growls at them, they are NOT to MOVE FORWARD or MOVE AWAY, but merely stand there silently until the dog stops.  Moving forward may provoke further defense aggression; moving away WILL teach the dog that growling works, and a growl is a bite waiting to happen.  Feed this dog twice a day by putting his bowl in a room with him for FIFTEEN minutes; when time is up, go into the room, distract the dog with a toy and pick up the food, but do NOT remove it from under his nose, as this will exaggerate his guarding behavior.  Get professional help as soon as you can.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: no teasing going on with the kids - they are pretty dog saavy and either ignore them or play with them.

Thanks for the idea of standing still rather than retreating or coming forward when he growls - will definitely use that one.

We did start last night with the kids walking past and adding some grated cheese to his bowl - he LOVED it and caught on quick that it was a good thing - no growling at all.

I am also guilty of gibing treats for no reason so will stop this immediately and make him work for everything.  He only knows a few very simple commands but he does them well.

We have a really good behaviorist/trainer that I have just started working with.  She is completely different from anything I have read and seems to follow your same school of thought.  We have been working on some other things like behaving on the leash and some basic impulse control but she said we could start on the food issues this week.

A breeder also suggested I add to his feeding schedule as he may be not getting enough to eat.  He is quite skinny looking still so I'll add a third feeding in the middle of the day.

I promise not to drag this issue out for days but would like your thoughts on the cheese idea and also the idea that hungry dogs are more likely to guard their food/treats.  Our other dogs self regulate and are quite fit and trim.  I did notdo this with him as he is just a puppy and I wanted to have a little more control over his poop schedule but perhaps he shold be allowed to eat more freely.

Thanks for everything.  I am completely committed to this doggie and I think he will get through this if I do the right things - just making sure I know what those things are :-)

Answer
Well from all you've said, you're a WONDERFUL owner!  And your trainer sounds like s/he knows what s/he is doing.  The cheese is not a problem so long as he is NOT being rewarded for any display of aggression.  I didn't mean to imply your children were unruly or cruel by teasing the dog; children do things naturally that they will not repeat as adults, which is why so many children get into trouble with so many dogs!  yes, your puppy may be hungry!  And this would DEFINITELY provoke a guarding response to food and food trophies (bones, cookies, etc. and then generalize to toys.)  House training does require control of the time of meals but it shouldn't impact the amount the dog is fed.  Congratulations on your lifelong commitment to your dogs!  You have NO IDEA how many people do not feel as you do.  Any further questions regarding training techniques or the dog's developing behaviors, feel free to repost.