# Food aggression/resource guarding only with my 4year old



## Jenelle (Sep 18, 2017)

This post may seem long winded, so sorry in advance. 
I have a 2 year old un-neutered male GSD.(we’ve had a GSD before who past away) We got him from a reputable breeder when he was 8 weeks old. He has been a great dog so far. He is very good with my son who is 4. They play together, the dog listens to his commands when giving treats or toys. He even jumps in the bathtub with my son sometimes and kisses him. Has never shown any signs of aggression towards anyone in our home. 
When we feed him his food, we feed him separately in the kitchen and have had no issues. My husband and I are able to take food from his mouth without issue. Never growls if we pet him while eating or while moving his bowl or putting our hands in it. My son can even open the dogs mouth to take a toy without any issue( We always tell him to never do that if we see it happening.) he has never tried taking any food away from our dog as we’ve told him to NEVER do that to ANY dog. He has always given him treats with no issues. Ever. 

The other day, I was taking a shower. My husband let the dog in the bathroom (he usually likes going in there and waiting for me to get out) my husband shut the door. (It’s a smaller bathroom) He also put a left over pot that had residual Mac n cheese from my sons dinner. ( I did not know that)

my son opened the door and walked in without incident. He told me something and i said okay I’m getting out of the shower. As I was stepping out and grabbing my towel, I saw my dog suddenly snap at my sons hands. I screamed and the dog ran. That’s when I saw the pan. My son had 2 abrasion type marks that were red and it scraped the skin a but and some bruising. No punctures. He was crying. He did not need to go to the doctor for it. My husband lost it and threw the dog outside. I asked my son what happened. 
He told me he walked by the dog and touched his head. (I did not see him touch the dog) The pan was between the dogs two front legs. I’m not sure if he stepped on his tail or foot and touched his head while trying to get by in a small space. There could have been so many variables. ( I didn’t see what transpired before hand.) He wasn’t aggressive with him entering the room or walking by him. Just when he went down to touch him. We are so very lucky. This could have been so much worse. 
This behavior is NOT acceptable. I have been depressed, sick to my stomach, crying, confused, etc. 
My dog had NEVER shown any type of food aggression toward ANYBODY! Or any resource guarding. I don’t know if he did that because he thought it was a high reward treat and had to protect it? I’ve contemplated putting him down or giving him back to the breeder. Or rehome. Which breaks by heart. My son is not afraid of him and does not want him to leave. He loves him. We all do so very much. He shows no aggression even if my son pets him or grabs his tail and ears. he’s very relaxed. He has been a fantastic family dog; until this incident. 
The things we have implemented since the incident are: 

feeding the dog outside with the door shut. 

Dog is not allowed to have people food ever. 

Cannot be near us while we are eating. And he is constantly supervised around my son. ( I am a stay at home mom and I am able to do this)

My son is acting like nothing really happened. My husband thinks this was an isolated incident and blames himself for putting the pan in there. The dog could have given warning signs but my son is too young to recognize them. The dog did not react with him walking past him, it seems he only did when my son touched him or seemed to reach down for the pan. 
My dog has an appt on Tuesday to be neutered. I’m also making an appt for a behaviorist. We are still thinking about what to do. My son is still able to pet him and play without issue. Dogs body language is not off. I’m super upset. I’ve talked to friends and vet and vet techs. They tell me do the things I’m already doing and putting him down wouldn’t be their first choice. I’m so conflicted. This is literally making me nauseous typing all of this. 
I’m looking for advice or anyone who can relate. I’m very upset and sensitive so please try to be nice. Thanks.


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## tim_s_adams (Aug 9, 2017)

I understand your upset, a dog biting a kid for any reason is unacceptable! That being said, IMO the incident you described doesn't warrant euthenizing. Given that you did not witness what led upto the bite, it's impossible to tell if the dog gave ample warning, or if like you said an accidental step on a tail or foot coincided with the head pat. But now you know that it's a potential issue, I would definitely watch the dog very very closely anytime he's around your son! (Sounds like you are already, so that's good). 

It's kind of hard to describe in writing, but I teach all of my dogs that when a small child is involved their only option is to move away. Contrary to what some people believe, I don't allow the dog to growl at a child. Some people claim that punishing a growl will make the dog bite without warning, so it's controversial. I don't punish the growl per se though, I just teach the dog to move away instead. And I do that by forcefully invading their space and then praising them when they move away.

If you are present and your dog nips or bites at a child, again IMHO, it's a come to Jesus moment for the dog! But you have to be right there when it happens! Punishing the dog after the fact does no good.

I sort of agree with your husband that this is a one-off, perfect storm kind of situation, and would be inclined to continue as are being careful not to let this happen again.

ETA: Take a few deep breaths and calm down! You ARE doing everything you can.


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## Blu_and_Redd (Oct 7, 2019)

My friend's GSD did the exact same thing to her little 1yr old daughter and she was devastated. The last thing she wanted to do was to put the dog down so she decided to rehome her. It was an extremely difficult decision for her to make because the dog hadn't shown any type of aggression until then. I have a 4 1/2 month old GSD and she's a sweetheart. My boys are grown but if that would happen to us, I would be completely heartbroken and as confused as you are. I hope you find a solution soon. Best.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

If the dog wanted to hurt your son, he would have. He showed bite inhibition. He may have been startled. He may have been guarding the pan. Or it may be something else. The solution I would try is to have the dog somewhere else away from your son when you are occupied, until your son is older. Crate him or,put him with your husband but don’t leave him and your son unsupervised. You want to avoid situations where it could happen again. When I had young children, my dogs never got food from our table or in cooking pans. We sometimes fed the first dogs treats away from the table. Now, we don’t at all.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Some dogs will never be resource guarders, no matter what. Some dogs are prone to be resource guarders and we make mistakes that make things worse. From what I read, you and your husband have made some mistakes. We have all made mistakes, so welcome to the club.

*"When we feed him his food, we feed him separately in the kitchen and have had no issues. My husband and I are able to take food from his mouth without issue. Never growls if we pet him while eating or while moving his bowl or putting our hands in it."/B]

Feeding him alone in the kitchen is great. But - leave him alone. Old school thinking was that petting the dog, sticking hands in his bowl, moving the bowl, etc. prevented resource guarding. (I'm old, so I used to do that too.) The approach backfires with resource guarding prone dogs. The dogs that allow all that stuff are dogs who never would have been resource guarders in the first place. Resource guarders fear that you are going to take their things. Every time you to do this, you prove the dog right. Now he must protect his things from you. Believe me. I know. I have a resource guarder. Do not do these things and under no circumstances allow your child to do these things.

"My son can even open the dogs mouth to take a toy without any issue( We always tell him to never do that if we see it happening.) he has never tried taking any food away from our dog as we’ve told him to NEVER do that to ANY dog. He has always given him treats with no issues. Ever."

Do not allow your son to open the dogs' mouth to take toys, either. Resource guarders guard everything, not just food. With resource guarders, it is always give and never take. Trade up. Teach drop it and leave it. You can recondition a resource guarder - build the bond and work on trust. But, you can never let your guard down with a resource guarder.

I'm going to be completely honest with you. I don't think you should put the dog to sleep. I do think you should return him to the breeder. I am so sorry to say that and I know how much that hurts. I have a resource guarder. He was a 12 week old shelter puppy and came to me with these issues. He guards EVERYTHING. I busted my butt working with him. He is 7 years old now and soooo much better than he used to be. This past year, though, I let my guard down, got stupid and got bit. It was more of a tooth drag than a bite, but I was pretty upset with him.

The huge differences, between your situation and mine... My resource guarder is a 26 pound hound mix. My GSD is an absolute sweetheart and would tolerate most anything. I do not have young children. Children ALWAYS come first.

I don't think you have a bad dog. I don't think I have a bad dog. I do think that your dog is not a good fit for your family. If I was in your place, my dog would definitely be a bad fit. You don't want to live on edge, worrying about your child getting hurt. You shouldn't have to. Don't blame yourselves. This isn't your fault. The resource guarding was bound to come out at some point. I'm so glad it wasn't worse. 

Go ahead with the behaviorist. Talk to your vet. Be vigilant. Trust your gut. At the end of the day, if keeping him isn't an option, allow your breeder to find him a new home. I am so sorry you are going through this and truly wish you all the best.

Hugs!*


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I have not read all the replies, but I do want to say that neutering will not fix this problem, and some research has shown that many dogs become more aggressive after neutering.


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## tc68 (May 31, 2006)

I've mentioned this story many times already in these forums. I'm sure some members are sick of it. My dog was/is a resource guarder. (He's now 2 months shy of 2 years old.) Long story short, a year ago he bit me twice...drawing blood: once when I was trying to take a frisbee from him and on the same day when I placed his food down. He wasn't playing around. He would've shredded my hand/arm if he had the chance. I was immediately stressed and worried that I'd have to put it down or rehome it...just like you are thinking now. I chose to work on the problem and have been doing that for the past year. I can now do things that I couldn't before. Last year, I couldn't get close to his food bowl while he was eating without him stiffening up and growling and snapping towards me. Now, I can put my hand in his bowl. Before I couldn't grab his frisbee/ball, now I can. These are just some examples. I realize that he will forever be a resource guarder, but it can be dealt with.

If your dog has resource guarding issues, don't worry. It can be managed. First of all, the fact that your son is not scared is a good thing. If your son is scared, your dog can sense that and will take advantage of the situation and the problem will never be fixed. For the time being, we don't know if the incident was a resource guarding related event, right? So chalk it up to an isolated incident. If he shows any kind of "aggression" again, then you know what the problem is. At that point you can come back and find ways to fix the problem. Meanwhile do not let your son and the dog be alone with each other until you're confident about your dog. Supervise their play at all times. Also, is your dog in any kind of training? If you're worried about it, find a good trainer right away.


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## Jenelle (Sep 18, 2017)

Thank you all for posting. I appreciate everyone’s opinion and advice. Our dog will never be alone with my son at any point. If I am preoccupied he will be put outside where the two of them will have no contact. We are doing our absolute best to make sure this doesn’t happen again while we are figuring out what to do. 
I’m pretty confident that this was a resource guarding incident, since the pan was between his front legs. He is not territorial to any room, toy, bed, blanket or any other item/person. We are monitoring when they are playing and my son is instructed to NEVER try and take a toy away from him(even though he has shown no aggressive behavior with toys) he’s instructed to never take anything away from the dog. Period.

My dog is still acting like his normal self. He has never growled at my son or us and still has not. If my son tries to play with him and the dog doesn’t want to play, the dog leaves the room and my son stops trying. He doesn’t growl, he leaves the situation. We are thinking this may Have been an isolated incident with many variables and are hopeful that by removing any “resources” and food/treats for him to guard will help this situation. 

We still plan to get him neutered and see a behaviorist while we try to figure out what to do.


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## Jenny720 (Nov 21, 2014)

You mentioned a behaviorist Was coming, I would suggest that they are a trainer and Highly Recommended and very familiar and work with and own German shepherds. All dogs have teeth glad you son is okay it could of been much worse sounded to me like a warning over food. With the dog maturing but still young and foolish combined with being in a small space with a high food item may have been things that led to this outcome- neutered would have made no difference. It’s good he was corrected but timing is important. I believe a dog should be strongly corrected in a situation like this and timing is important. I would make sure the dog is Not disturbed while eating any food and crated while eating, given bones or high food rewArds. Your son or any young child around any dog to be supervised like you said.


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## 4K9Mom (Jun 19, 2019)

This is how you remedy food/resource guarding. Lauri has GSDs, knows the breed extremely well, and is a smart trainer. 

Food Guarding

I would walk my dog through it many times so he knows what to expect. You and your husband separately. 

Then I would walk through it slowly with the child at my side. Move slowly. If your dog stiffens, shows signs of reactivity, Licks his lips, his ears flatten, etc, back up a couple steps. Stay at that point until the dog is comfortable.

Don’t rush this.

Don’t be in a rush for your son to do this all by himself. It may take months or much longer.

The point is to make your dog welcoming for *anyone* to approach his food. That takes time.


Don’t take things out of your dog’s mouth. I always have a pocket and small bowl of something better (toys and high value treats) and I ask my puppy to give me what he has in exchange for the better thing.

Eventually my young dog has learned to give items upon request and to reinforced (Rewarded) for that. 

With training, my dogs just drop the item when they see me approaching. That’s a couple years of training though.

Finally, all of my dogs are perfectly reliable. But still, I don’t leave them unattended with babies, toddlers or preschoolers. Too much can happen too fast. This is exactly why crates were invented.

If you’re afraid to have your dog near your little guy, I suggest talking to your breeder. 

There isn’t much scientific evidence that neutering dog will make them less aggressive. But he’s past the point where neutering would be considered harmful. So it’s up to you. I just wouldn’t expect much from the procedure. 

I do recommend a trainer that doesn’t use harsh punishment. If your dog associates punishment with your child, it could make the situation less predictable. Just trust your best judgment.


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## 4K9Mom (Jun 19, 2019)

_

My son had 2 abrasion type marks that were red and it scraped the skin a but and some bruising. No punctures. He was crying. He did not need to go to the doctor for it. _

This, by the way, is very much considered a bite.

https://apdt.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/ian-dunbar-dog-bite-scale.pdf

Whatever steps you take, you should treat this with the severity it deserves. I’m not saying your dog is bad. I think he was set up to fail in this situation. 

The first and most important part of dog ownership is management in that we manage his environment — without overreacting, without being cruel — but just giving the dog what he needs so he can always succeed.

It sounds like you’re willing to, but this has to have commitment from the whole family, including your little one to the extent he’s able. ❤


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

Jenelle said:


> This post may seem long winded, so sorry in advance.
> I have a 2 year old un-neutered male GSD.(we’ve had a GSD before who past away) We got him from a reputable breeder when he was 8 weeks old. He has been a great dog so far. He is very good with my son who is 4. They play together, the dog listens to his commands when giving treats or toys. He even jumps in the bathtub with my son sometimes and kisses him. Has never shown any signs of aggression towards anyone in our home.
> When we feed him his food, we feed him separately in the kitchen and have had no issues. My husband and I are able to take food from his mouth without issue. Never growls if we pet him while eating or while moving his bowl or putting our hands in it. My son can even open the dogs mouth to take a toy without any issue( We always tell him to never do that if we see it happening.) he has never tried taking any food away from our dog as we’ve told him to NEVER do that to ANY dog. He has always given him treats with no issues. Ever.
> 
> ...


I'm gonna try and be nice but I'm not very good at it so please be aware of that. I have a problem with feeding the dog mac n cheese, 'cause just yuck! But whatever, I've seen them fed worse I guess. 
But am I the only one who has a giant issue with your husband? First he puts a pan in the bathroom for the dog, that's disturbing on it's own, but then he fails to supervise your 4 year old???!!! Are you not entitle to shower in peace for crying out loud? I would get it if he wasn't there but really? Why, what could have been so urgent that only Mom could answer right this second? 
Beyond that neutering won't help, I think you already knew of the potential because you feed the dog separately in the kitchen and "when you see" your child putting hands in the dogs mouth indicates a lack of appropriate supervision. I would address that first.


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## 4K9Mom (Jun 19, 2019)

Sabis mom said:


> But am I the only one who has a giant issue with your husband? First he puts a pan in the bathroom for the dog, that's disturbing on it's own, but then he fails to supervise your 4 year old???!!! Are you not entitle to shower in peace for crying out loud? I would get it if he wasn't there but really?.


She did say her husband totally blames himself.

He messed up. He misjudged the dog and the situation. This isn’t the first time someone —particularly a spouse — has done that.


He needs to be part of the training —and management— plan going forward. That’s all.


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## Sabis mom (Mar 20, 2014)

4K9Mom said:


> She did say her husband totally blames himself.
> 
> He messed up. He misjudged the dog and the situation. This isn’t the first time someone —particularly a spouse — has done that.
> 
> ...


As I said, I could get by the whole feeding the dog out of a pot in the bathroom, it was allowing the 4 year old to pester mom while in the shower that I kind of had an issue with. Knowing that he had the dog in there with food takes sort of a backseat to not letting the woman shower in peace. That and the fact that the OP herself admitted to a lack of supervision with the child and dog. To my mind those are the huge issues that need to be addressed before anything else if this family is going to be successful


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

She has admitted it and they are working on it. It’s over now. A friend with an older therapy dog asked her husband to throw some extra food in their bowls one night. Her older dog saw movement from the side, thought the younger one was going after his bowl and did a snap bite. It missed the dog but caught her husband right on the hand. It was a bad bite and needed medical attention, but it was more accidental than intentional. At first, they thought it was aggression but in looking back they realized the older one was teaching the younger to back off. The husband got caught in the middle. This could have been a similar situation if the dog thought the child was attempting to take the food. It can’t happen again but mistakes happen and we learn from them. I’m glad she asked rather than dumping the dog at a shelter, which we know someone else could have done.


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## ksotto333 (Aug 3, 2011)

I don't care if my kids had their Dad, Grandpa, or Grandma in the room it wouldn't surprise me if my kids came into the bathroom looking for me. Locks are good on bathroom doors for a reason. To the OP, hope everything works out ok.


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## Jenelle (Sep 18, 2017)

Sabis mom said:


> 4K9Mom said:
> 
> 
> > She did say her husband totally blames himself.
> ...



We have always supervised our son with the dog. (Even before the incident) They are never left alone. We supervise them playing and anytime they are in the same room together. If my son tried to put his hand inside the dogs mouth to get a ball, he gets corrected and told not to do that. My son is a normal 4 year old. Him coming into the bathroom to tell me something he was proud of or excited about, isn’t surprising. 

We do feed our dog in the kitchen. And yes, we had implemented that rule when we got him, that our son (who was almost 2 years old when we got the dog) to never try and take his food bowl and to leave him alone(as in: don’t pet/bother while eating) he has walked by him while eating several times with me and husband present and the dog shows no issues with anyone walking by him. We can all still be in the kitchen while the dog is eating without issues. It’s not like he gets the entire kitchen to himself while he’s eating. We just make sure our son doesn’t bother him. Our dog has never shown any type of food aggression before. My husband and I are able to pick up his bowl while he’s eating without a problem. ( the dog now eats outside with the door shut)

As for the pan of residual Mac n cheese sauce? I don’t know why he gave him that pan. He doesn’t usually get “treats” like that. Probably because the dog looked like he wanted a treat and my husband was cleaning the kitchen at the time and put it in the bathroom so he could clean the floors. (To get the dog out of the way) I happened to shower in the hall bathroom which is near the kitchen area. There is a pocket door. If I forget to lock it, the dog will use his nose to slide it open sometimes. So when the door opened and the dog came in I wasnt surprised. I just didn’t know he put the pan in there. 
Like I said before, we have always supervised them together. Now i am more hyper aware when they are in the same room together and will continue to be. We are doing everything we can to make sure this never happens again.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

First, I haven't been able to use the bathroom alone since 1991 when I had my first kid. Then the second kid. Then dogs. It's a way of life for Moms. 

The problem seems to be a high value treat in a tight space when a little one that can be dominated tried to squeeze by a dog that at 2 years old is hitting maturity. So, just don't do that ever again. It's not really surprising to me that this happened just given the nature of dogs. 

The other issue I see is that the OP is sticking their hands in the dog's food and taking it away randomly? Did I understand that correctly? If so, please stop doing this. You will create food aggression this way. If you gave it to him, it's his. Don't create a situation where he starts thinking you'll take his food away from him and then he needs to guard it.

You can teach him to trade food by trading up. You can teach him that anyone approaching his bowl is not a bad thing by dropping high value food in as you walk by.

Personally, I feed my dogs in their crates. Even when we only had one dog, he still ate in his crate. That's where he wants to be. All good things happen in a crate. When they hear Crate!, they are running for them. Treats happen there, food happens there. It's their space. 

Do you have a spot to set one up? If he's fed in a crate, you could even have your child give him his bowl of food. That changes the hierarchy relationship.

It sounds like you have a very nice overall dog. He just needs to better understand the relationship of the pack. While you are being hyper aware, remember to stay calm and relaxed. If you get tense when they are near each other, the dog will pick up on that.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

It’s so easy to accidentally create a problem. Like Jax does, I feed mine separately now. I never had to before, but my current dogs are both competitive, so one is fed in a crate and one is fed somewhere else. I like to feed them at the same time. They are on two separate diets, one of which needs prep time. I was rushed and only one was ready, so I put it in the crate with the door closed while I got the other bowl. The younger dog decided to try and get to the food through the crate, and my older, very gentle, milder SL started growling at him. He growled back and in a second they were in a full blown argument. They didn’t actually make contact but they were very loud with a lot of snarling and I had to get after them bigger and louder to break it up. I think a water squirt bottle was involved. Fortunately that was the end of it and I won’t do it again. My point is that food can very easy be a trigger and it’s a flashpoint. I never mess with food except to add to the bowl and I won’t ever put food into a crate with no dog in it again. If I had just given her access, he would have left looking for his own dish. He never tries to get in when she eating because he knows his is somewhere else, but an unclaimed bowl looked interesting.

About the bathroom, that is the OP’s decision. I can’t even remember how old mine were when they stopped looking for me all the time, but it was older than age 4. I can’t ever leave a door open or mine crowd in too. I haven’t yet figured out the attraction of getting into tiny spaces, but my dogs have both crowded into the same crate before, too. I have one roomy crate they can both stand up in, but it’s a tight fit if they want to lie down.


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## Jenelle (Sep 18, 2017)

Jax08 said:


> First, I haven't been able to use the bathroom alone since 1991 when I had my first kid. Then the second kid. Then dogs. It's a way of life for Moms.
> 
> The problem seems to be a high value treat in a tight space when a little one that can be dominated tried to squeeze by a dog that at 2 years old is hitting maturity. So, just don't do that ever again. It's not really surprising to me that this happened just given the nature of dogs.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your advice/opinion. Appreciate it. 
Just to clarify, we don’t randomly stick our hands in his food or his mouth. I’ve put treats in his bowl while he’s eating and I’ve picked it up to add treats to it. (Then mixed with my hand) He has shown no aggression or any type of agitation when doing this. 

He’s pretty good with his commands for drop it/leave it and hand signals. There have been a couple of times on a walk where he picked up a chicken bone or a rib bone off the sidewalk. He wasn’t listening to the commands to drop it and I was afraid of him swallowing a chicken bone, so I reached in there and took it out. ( we had no treats with us on our walk to trade) He showed no type of growl or aggression. This has happened only a couple times that we had to open his mouth like that. We are working on that if it happens again. (Offering a trade) I was just making an example in my original post that we are able to open his mouth with food without him biting or Showing aggression. We don’t just try to take things from him randomly. There is usually a reason.


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

Jenelle said:


> Thanks for your advice/opinion. Appreciate it.
> Just to clarify, we don’t randomly stick our hands in his food or his mouth. I’ve put treats in his bowl while he’s eating and I’ve picked it up to add treats to it. (Then mixed with my hand) He has shown no aggression or any type of agitation when doing this.
> 
> He’s pretty good with his commands for drop it/leave it and hand signals. There have been a couple of times on a walk where he picked up a chicken bone or a rib bone off the sidewalk. He wasn’t listening to the commands to drop it and I was afraid of him swallowing a chicken bone, so I reached in there and took it out. ( we had no treats with us on our walk to trade) He showed no type of growl or aggression. This has happened only a couple times that we had to open his mouth like that. We are working on that if it happens again. (Offering a trade) I was just making an example in my original post that we are able to open his mouth with food without him biting or Showing aggression. We don’t just try to take things from him randomly. There is usually a reason.



Super!! Sounds like you are doing everything I would do and the fact that you could get that bone out without a reaction says that you have a good dog and you've counter conditioned him correctly.

So I just go back to high value in small space with a human he views more as a littermate in the pack and he was saying "get away, it's mine". I think this is something that could have serious consequences but given what else you've said, I also think it's fixable since this was a one time event. 

I would set up a crate where he can eat and get treats. Teach him a down and wait command. With supervision from you, help your 4 yr old give him his bowl of food while maintaining the Wait and then let him release him to the food.

Rules. Black and white. Always.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

I already posted on page one. I have read all the posts. I am still struggling with this thread. The OP didn't see what happened. We know the dog bit the child. We can guess as to why that was - small space, food, etc. There is no way of knowing what signs the dog showed before the bite, if any. Thankfully, the dog has good bite inhibition. But, for whatever reason, the dog put his teeth on a 4 year old child, hard enough to bruise. This is a child that has always been in the dogs' life. Whatever the reason, in my book, the bite was unjustified.

I brought home a 2 year old shelter GSD, to my three young children. They did not meet the dog until she walked through the door. (Sure, I'm a little crazy and greatly blessed.) From day one, that dog adored the children. They were HER children. While the kids never intentionally hurt the dog, I'm sure she had her share of getting stepped on by little feet. She was not a resource guarder, which meant food, toys, bones were not an issue. In the 12.5 years we had her, she never put her teeth on her kids. It never even entered my mind that she would. 

OP, the old mother in me has concerns. Please be extra vigilant. Like I said previously, "Kids first." Always!

Take Care


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