# 11 week old growling at feeding



## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Kona is now starting to growl when she's eating whenever the kids get near her. I have always tried to make sure to pet her and touch her to help avoid this, I also have the kids join in sometimes. I have always made sure she understands that her food is not in danger of being taken away, there is no competition for her food, none. She has also started to gobble her food way too quickly like she is about to lose the bowl. 
We are feeding her German Shepherd Puppy food from Royal Canin and feeding her 3 times a day 

I haven't had this problem with any of my other dogs (dobermans) but this is our first GS

Any advice?


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## lhczth (Apr 5, 2000)

My advice: Put her in her crate and leave her alone to eat. I do not bother my dogs when they are eating. How would you like someone petting you, bothering you, touching your food when you eat? She is feeling stressed thus the growling and her eating faster.

You could also start having her work for her food. Use the food for obedience. If you don't have time to make her work for her meals then crate her and leave her be.


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## scarfish (Apr 9, 2013)

i would definitely try as many things as i could to stop resource guarding now because it can get worse. i've never had to deal with this so not sure how to correct it. lots of pages of info if you google resource guarding.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Tim n Kona said:


> Kona is now starting to growl when she's eating whenever the kids get near her. * I have always tried to make sure to pet her and touch her to help avoid this, I also have the kids join in sometimes. * I have always made sure she understands that her food is not in danger of being taken away, there is no competition for her food, none. She has also started to gobble her food way too quickly like she is about to lose the bowl.
> We are feeding her German Shepherd Puppy food from Royal Canin and feeding her 3 times a day
> 
> I haven't had this problem with any of my other dogs (dobermans) but this is our first GS
> ...


You have inadvertently created this problem. Some dogs will never be resource guarders, no matter what. It sounds like your previous dogs were in that category. Breed has nothing to do with it. For other dogs, the 'touching the dog' technique will increase the risk of it becoming a resource guarder. What you have been doing is an old school technique. I know. I'm old and I used to do it too. lol!

Your pup is gobbling her food, because she thinks you are going to take it. Absolutely, leave her alone to eat. My hound mix was a terrible resource guarder, when I got him at 12 weeks. I hand fed him every meal and did obedience along with it. Your pup will see that you always give, never take his food. It will improve your bond and he will learn to trust you. Your pup needs to be desensitized, so she will not feel the need to guard her food. Do not enlist the help of your children to do this. 

I completely agree with feeding her in her crate - especially because you have children. Put the food in the crate. Let your pup in the crate. Walk away.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

lhczth said:


> My advice: Put her in her crate and leave her alone to eat. I do not bother my dogs when they are eating. How would you like someone petting you, bothering you, touching your food when you eat? She is feeling stressed thus the growling and her eating faster.
> 
> You could also start having her work for her food. Use the food for obedience. If you don't have time to make her work for her meals then crate her and leave her be.


Thank you for the advice, this may be what I need to do. 

I'm not disagreeing with you but in my prior experience with my dobies I used this technique with great success, my dogs would allow other people approach them without any aggression. This is important to me since I have two boys 6&9 in the house and want to not only ensure the safety and well being of my puppy but my boys as well. I can definitely see differences between the breeds and want to educate myself with these finer points of temperament and training. I'll be spending a lot of time on this site reading up on what you guys have to say.

Thank you


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Thank you, this is very informative.

So let me see if I have this...

Work her just before meal time then give her the food? And when I say work, I mean the simple commands we are using right now which we consider age appropriate (sit, down, stay, come, get, bring, etc) 

or should I do the training then place her meal in the crate for her to eat?

I understand that either way, feed then leave


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Tim n Kona said:


> Thank you, this is very informative.
> 
> So let me see if I have this...
> 
> ...


What I did was - Sit on a kitchen stool with his kibble. His meal was measured out in a bowl. (Not his bowl.) I would hold a few pieces of kibble in my hand. Give a command 'Sit' feed kibble. 'Down' feed kibble. It was very important that he learn to focus on me, so I would hold my handful of kibble near my nose, just below my eye. 'Watch' As soon as he made eye contact, he got kibble. My dog was very food motivated, so he also learned lots of tricks.

After a while, as in months later, I introduced his food bowl. The bowl sat on the floor by my feet. We would start with the commands and hand feeding. Then, after a command, I would drop the food into his bowl. Today, at 4 years old, I fill 'Natty Boh's' bowl, have him perform one command or trick. (Beg is his favorite, so that will work.) Then I sit his bowl down and he eats.

I have never fed Natty Boh in his crate, because I didn't have young kids. I do have a second dog now. She has no resource guarding issues whatsoever. But - I have a baby gate across my kitchen entryway. Natty Boh eats on one side and Shelby eats on the other. I no longer have a problem with Natty Boh growling over his food bowl, but I would still not bother him. I'm pretty sure he would revert right back to square one.

A rescue friend sent me at link that was very helpful, when I was working with the resource guarding issues. I will go find it for you.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Here is the link to Mind Games. It worked wonders for us. You don't have to do all of the steps. I definitely recommend the hand feeding and the 30 minute down stay.

Mind Games (version 1.0) by M. Shirley Chong

Just wanted to add, Step 1 says if your dog dives into his food, pick up the bowl. That would be a 'NO!' for a resource guarder. Just skip to the hand feeding. No bowl to worry about.


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## Deb (Nov 20, 2010)

Your puppy needs to be able to eat in peace. You can use some of his kibble as rewards for obedience, but let him eat in his crate otherwise and no one bothers him there. Think of the crate as his room. If he goes into his crate no one bothers him. Do not allow the kids to bother him if he goes in his crate. That needs to be his safe zone. If you give him a bone, let him eat it in his crate, don't let the kids bother him when he has it. You can create a big problem if the children are always touching him, stressing him, when he has something that's his. How many times do you hear your kids yelling that his/her brother/sister is bothering him and make them go away? Do they ever push at the sibling to make them go away? Your puppy needs the same respect with being left alone with his things.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> What I did was - Sit on a kitchen stool with his kibble. His meal was measured out in a bowl. (Not his bowl.) I would hold a few pieces of kibble in my hand. Give a command 'Sit' feed kibble. 'Down' feed kibble. It was very important that he learn to focus on me, so I would hold my handful of kibble near my nose, just below my eye. 'Watch' As soon as he made eye contact, he got kibble. My dog was very food motivated, so he also learned lots of tricks.


Thank you, will absolutely try this. I actually love the idea



Stevenzachsmom said:


> Here is the link to Mind Games. It worked wonders for us. You don't have to do all of the steps. I definitely recommend the hand feeding and the 30 minute down stay.


Love the link, great resource. Thank you



Deb said:


> Your puppy needs to be able to eat in peace. You can use some of his kibble as rewards for obedience, but let him eat in his crate otherwise and no one bothers him there. Think of the crate as his room. If he goes into his crate no one bothers him. Do not allow the kids to bother him if he goes in his crate.


Thanks, I have always crate trained my dogs and keeping it their safe space is a big must. I want them to think of their crate as their space, always safe and without distraction.


I'm loving the new ideas and leaving her be while eating is the approach I'm going to take. I'll also incorporate training, let her earn her meal. She already knows that what she earns she keeps.
Mind Game #2: No Free Lunches!


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## Misha111 (Oct 31, 2016)

This is what I did when my late girl started guarding her food when she was 5 months old.
I had two identical bowls, put the food in one as normal but put the empty one down. The moment she made eye contact as if I had forgotten something, I would throw some of the food from the full bowl into the empty one and repeat when she made eye contact. Everyday i would get nearer to the empty bowl to put in the food until i had my hand full of food resting in the bowl so she was effectively eating out of my hand. She had nothing to guard as I had all the food. When she was happy with that I had anyone in the kitchen toss in a high value treat her way when she was eating. I had a four year old son at the time so i needed her to be comfortable with us all being in the same room whilst she was eating.
Basically you are teaching that you give food, you don't take it away. But agree with the others, when you can't supervise,feed in the crate.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

I avoid resource guarding by feeding my dogs in separate rooms. I started feeding my puppy in his crate. Now I just hold the bowl and point to the crate and he will run in and eat. I've only had one dog that resource guarded and he growled at anyone who came near him while eating, including my children. It was not that big a deal, I fed him outside and told my kids to steer clear when his head was in the food bowl. He never became aggressive to them and it was over before it became a problem. Once he has stopped doing so much growling and calms down, I would suggest YOU add some good things to his food while he is eating. Don't touch him or his bowl but come near with something that smells wonderful like cooked meat that he can smell from a distance, smoothly drop it in and leave. If he starts to growl when you come near, let him see the food but don't give it to him, and walk away. If he wants it and comes out to you and sits, then drop it into his mouth, don't touch him. But only if his behavior is good. If he is growling, don't reward, only if he is sitting quietly and politely. Or wait until he leaves the bowl, make him sit, drop the food into his bowl and leave him to eat it. The goal is that he starts to associate your hand near his bowl means leaving something delicious.


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

One thing I will add. Since I notice a lot of people that I know just put the food in the dogs bowl then call the dog in to eat. I always made sure my dogs were in the room watching me put the food in their bowl. They then associate you with feeding them and the food not just magically appearing.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

She has never growled when I am near only when the boys are right next to her. It's very mild at this point with a little growl never a bark or snap. But this needs to be remedied now before she learns to guard her food. The advice has been great and I plan on starting tonight with her next feeding.
It's very important to keep her happy and healthy. I want her to be part of the family as all my dogs were but the health and well being of my children come first and foremost, that's why it's very important that I get this right now.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

cdwoodcox said:


> One thing I will add. Since I notice a lot of people that I know just put the food in the dogs bowl then call the dog in to eat. I always made sure my dogs were in the room watching me put the food in their bowl. They then associate you with feeding them and the food not just magically appearing.


Oh she knows it's meal time all right. She sits there patiently watching every move I make while I prepare her food... and if I am even a little bit late at feeding time she will pick up her bowl and bring it to me. I have never had a dog as smart as she is. It's amazing to watch


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Tim n Kona said:


> She has never growled when I am near only when the boys are right next to her. It's very mild at this point with a little growl never a bark or snap. But this needs to be remedied now before she learns to guard her food. The advice has been great and I plan on starting tonight with her next feeding.
> It's very important to keep her happy and healthy. I want her to be part of the family as all my dogs were but the health and well being of my children come first and foremost, that's why it's very important that I get this right now.


It's possible your children are overwhelming her and she is anxious when they are close. It may have less to do with the food than that she is feeling threatened when she can't watch them or keep them in her sight. I would have them out of the room when she eats. Also, make sure they aren't rough with her or scaring her in any way. I don't remember if you said how old they are, but she is only 11 weeks old. If she is already growling, it means somehow she feels a threat even if you don't see one.


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## Bramble (Oct 23, 2011)

I try to make feeding time as stress free as possible. With a puppy I will use part of a meal for training, but also allow them to eat at least part of their meal with out having to earn it. I don't want every meal or the entire thing to be a training sessions since that can put a lot of stress on a hungry puppy, like making a kid answer questions for each bite of food they get. That probably would not make meal times very enjoyable. I also like to just hand feed on occasion, especially with a new puppy so they learn that good things come from me.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

LuvShepherds said:


> It's possible your children are overwhelming her and she is anxious when they are close. It may have less to do with the food than that she is feeling threatened when she can't watch them or keep them in her sight. I would have them out of the room when she eats. Also, make sure they aren't rough with her or scaring her in any way. I don't remember if you said how old they are, but she is only 11 weeks old. If she is already growling, it means somehow she feels a threat even if you don't see one.


I don't think that is it at all. Either myself or my wife are with the boys when they are playing with the puppy, always supervised. We are having a hard time with her needle sharp teeth and her mouthing the boys. If anything she is much tougher on our boys 6 & 9 then they are with her. We don't hit or scare the puppy and neither do the boys. She absolutely loves playing with the boys but is so quick to mouth that we need to supervise until she understands it's not ok. She understands No Bite from me or my wife, but not from the kids yet.

and it doesn't help that my youngest will run from her which the puppy loves. It's getting better but she will need a lot of work on this


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## cdwoodcox (Jul 4, 2015)

Tim n Kona said:


> Oh she knows it's meal time all right. She sits there patiently watching every move I make while I prepare her food... and if I am even a little bit late at feeding time she will pick up her bowl and bring it to me. I have never had a dog as smart as she is. It's amazing to watch


Awesome.! Sounds like you have a great tool for training her. Marker training with treats and food. Throw in some play with training also. The more you train the more she'll trust / bond with you. Makes life so much better for everyone involved. How old are your kids. Have them assist in training. Stuff as simple as sit and come will help her associate them with fun and receiving good stuff. A fun game to play is everyone grab a couple treats and head to different corners of a room. Say her name followed by come or here when she gets there she has to sit in front then treat her. Then a different person repeats. Won't be long she'll be flying to get her treats. As she gets more consistent move to different rooms or locations outside. The kids will love the game also.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Bramble said:


> I don't want every meal or the entire thing to be a training sessions since that can put a lot of stress on a hungry puppy


I agree 100%. I only plan on training with her like the others have said. I will be careful not to stress her out. I can tell when training is over with her, she's pretty clear on that point.


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## Misha111 (Oct 31, 2016)

Tim n Kona said:


> I don't think that is it at all. Either myself or my wife are with the boys when they are playing with the puppy, always supervised. We are having a hard time with her needle sharp teeth and her mouthing the boys. If anything she is much tougher on our boys 6 & 9 then they are with her. We don't hit or scare the puppy and neither do the boys. She absolutely loves playing with the boys but is so quick to mouth that we need to supervise until she understands it's not ok. She understands No Bite from me or my wife, but not from the kids yet.
> 
> and it doesn't help that my youngest will run from her which the puppy loves. It's getting better but she will need a lot of work on this


I went through a stage where my puppy and my youngest child had to go outside on a rota. Because it took a while for my son to understand that running away and squealing was exciting the puppy. And it took a while for the puppy to learn not to play bite. They grew up to be the best of friends.


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Misha111 said:


> I went through a stage where my puppy and my youngest child had to go outside on a rota. Because it took a while for my son to understand that running away and squealing was exciting the puppy. And it took a while for the puppy to learn not to play bite. They grew up to be the best of friends.


I know, right? It really sucks that it's so cold out and the boys aren't playing as much outside. So it's going to take a little longer for her to break this habit. I swear she listens better than my boys sometimes. Vincent just doesn't learn that the faster the target, the more excited the puppy gets.


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## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

Tim n Kona said:


> I don't think that is it at all. Either myself or my wife are with the boys when they are playing with the puppy, always supervised. We are having a hard time with her needle sharp teeth and her mouthing the boys. If anything she is much tougher on our boys 6 & 9 then they are with her. We don't hit or scare the puppy and neither do the boys. She absolutely loves playing with the boys but is so quick to mouth that we need to supervise until she understands it's not ok. She understands No Bite from me or my wife, but not from the kids yet.
> 
> and it doesn't help that my youngest will run from her which the puppy loves. It's getting better but she will need a lot of work on this


I didn't say hit or scare, I said overwhelming. Children can be noisy, they move fast. It's the general commotion that could be too much for a young puppy. She needs time alone where she can feel safe.


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## Stevenzachsmom (Mar 3, 2008)

Bramble said:


> I try to make feeding time as stress free as possible. With a puppy I will use part of a meal for training, but also allow them to eat at least part of their meal with out having to earn it. I don't want every meal or the entire thing to be a training sessions since that can put a lot of stress on a hungry puppy, like making a kid answer questions for each bite of food they get. That probably would not make meal times very enjoyable. I also like to just hand feed on occasion, especially with a new puppy so they learn that good things come from me.


I understand your point. In this case, however, since the puppy is already resource guarding, it is very important to get that under control. It doesn't sound like the OPs pup is as bad as mine was. 

My pup was dumped at a shelter at 8 weeks, with the rest of his litter. He was adopted and returned to the same shelter. He was on the euth. list, when he was 12 weeks old. I adopted him and had him transported from SC to MD. He was over-the-top out of control with resource guarding. Hand feeding him every meal for several months was what worked for me.

Please don't think I made him work for each individual piece of kibble. He got a handful. As I thought he had done enough, the handfuls got bigger. lol! He never showed any signs of stress. I didn't make him do anything he didn't already know how to do.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

Tim n Kona said:


> Thank you, this is very informative.
> 
> So let me see if I have this...
> 
> ...


I have always tried to make sure to pet her and touch her to help avoid this, I also have the kids join in sometimes.

well don't --- just let her eat in peace and quiet .

if you feed first thing in the morning , there is going to be hunger tension from the dog , and you may want that coffee , or need to get the kids to school , or get yourself to work.

training should be done in the right mindset . The dog and yours . Good traiing isn't rushed or cold or grumpy . Don't train so that you can give the dog some food.

give the food . calm and private space . don't create problems.


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## Timberdog (Dec 26, 2016)

I think food/resources guarding needed to be addressed/corrected. I believe it is not an independent issue, it reflects the trust and respect of the puppy has toward handlers and other family members and how the puppy sees himself among this family. I believe that besides addressing food guarding, obedience training in general would also help him to learn the rules when interacting with human, and also have the kids to train him, feed him under supervision.

Here is what I did for mine, for food guarding, I put half the food in the bowl. When he is done, I put in the second half plus some special treats right in front of him, to show him that not only I won't take his food but I will provide more. I watched a youtube about food guarding but couldn't find it now. Basically, the video suggests that while the dog is eating family members/kids just walk by, without talking or touching the puppy, just drop a few kibbles or treats beside him, the purpose is to create a positive association of people walking by while he is eating, and gradually close the distance.

Also, I think teaching him food manner would help, youtube has many videos about how to train. eg. not to touch the food in your hand until you offer, even they sniff or any touch, you take the food away. Also, watch videos about impulse control training for puppies.

Take advantage of this time to train when he is still a puppy. Good luck!!


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## Tim n Kona (Jan 15, 2017)

Stevenzachsmom said:


> I understand your point. In this case, however, since the puppy is already resource guarding, it is very important to get that under control. It doesn't sound like the OPs pup is as bad as mine was.


You are correct, she has shown it 3 or 4 times, tops. That means the time is NOW to act before it becomes habit.



carmspack said:


> I have always tried to make sure to pet her and touch her to help avoid this, I also have the kids join in sometimes.
> 
> well don't --- just let her eat in peace and quiet .
> 
> ...


Trust me, we are a busy household in the mornings so I will just feed her in peace and quiet during those times. She is very good at letting me know when she's willing to train, I'm getting pretty good at reading her. After many years of having dogs one thing I learned early is training at the right times and for short periods. You get the most out of the sessions if you can figure that out.
Thanks for the advice


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