Shiba diet changes and aggression

Question
We have two four year old female Shiba Inus (a black and tan and a sesame) not from the same litter but have been together since 10 weeks old. We were feeding them Beneful Healthy Weight dry food (yes we are now aware of our error) supplemented with green beans, carrots, brown rice. We started them on Innova Evo small bites dry dog food and were told at the store where we bought the food that they would not need a transition period (after we saw the aggression, I called and spoke to the manager and they were going to train the employee who misspoke). One of the two have had no problems with the new diet and now is on 100% Evo and thriving, but the other has become extremely aggressive (she has always been extremely food motivated but never food aggressive) both towards the other dog and recently towards us. We then shifted her diet to half and half of Beneful and Evo for the last six days and her aggression has decreased but not stopped entirely. The two got into a real battle this afternoon and after they were separated the dog with the issues snapped at me twice something that is totally out of character for her. What should we do put her back on the 100 Beneful and transition her at a much slower rate? Could there be something else going on and the food thing is just coincidental? They were both at the vets last month for their annuals and nothing was noticed then. Thanks in advance for your help.

Answer
Hi John,

The answer is not to put your dog back on an inferior diet, the answer is proper training and behavior modification exercises to eliminate food aggression in your dog.

The first step to fixing food aggression involves reinforcing the dog's role in the family pack. If there are other dogs in the home, the pecking order that the dogs have established must be reinforced as-is. Fighting and dominance issues most often arise when there is uncertainty about the canine hierarchy.

First, your dogs cannot be permitted to eat together, as the potential for a fight is extremely high.

If the aggression is directed toward you, or other people in your home, you must work to reinforce your position as alpha(s) at the top of the pack order. This can be accomplished by performing alpha exercises and by adopting the body language and attitude of a pack leader.

One effective and sometimes controversial method for resolving food aggression toward humans involves eliminating the dog's food bowl.

For several weeks, you should feed your dog hand. This places you in an alpha role, while reinforcing the idea that humans are "food givers," not "food takers."
Once the dog is completely comfortable with eating food from your hand, a food bowl can be added to the equation. Do not place any food in the bowl - simply allow the bowl to sit empty during the hand feedings.

Gradually, the bowl should be moved closer and closer during the hand feedings. Ultimately, your hand should be placed over the empty bowl when offering each bite of food.

Once your dog is comfortable with this hand feeding over the food bowl, each bite can be dropped into the food bowl for the dog to eat, while you sits beside your dog. Gradually, reduce the number of times the food is dropped into the bowl, while raising the amount of the food drops. Eventually, your dog will eat her entire meal from the bowl and the food aggression will be resolved.
If your dog regresses and begins acting aggressively, you should slow the process and take a step back.

It will also help if you practice the Nothing In Life IS Free behavior program with your dogs:

http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm

Best of luck,

Patti