# puppy growling when chewing on a bone



## jp11us (Jun 24, 2009)

Ok so my pup normally growls a bit when she chews a bone and I get close. I don't take them from her but occasionally pet her a bit when she chews on it to show her that I'm not going to take it. Well today I gave her one and petted her and she growled so I let her be. I tried again about 10 minutes later she growled and bit my hand, not hard but put her mouth over my hand. What should I do? or what am I doing wrong?


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## jp11us (Jun 24, 2009)

oh and she normally wags her tail when I pet her even when chewing a bone.


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

You can leave her alone with the bone, or you can teach her to LIKE your hand near the bone. Toss her treats when you walk by, something super special. Always toss the treat before she starts the growling, so you'll need to judge the safe distance. 
Then walk away. Repeat several times, over several days. Soon she will be expecting you to come to her with treats, and looking forward to it. Then you can drop treats right by her. Whe she is eagerly expecting that, you can bend over and give her her treat. She is learning that her bone is safe, and that your presence is not a threat!

When she is comfortable with that, you can start playing trading games. Trade her bone for some super-duper yummy treat, and give it right back to her.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

I got a rescue dog I had to rehome because he had such an awful food agression and bit my daughter when she was just playing around him and he had his bone







I tried to re-train him for a long time but just couldn't. 

I don't think it's a problem at this stage but what I have always done with Lulu, who is 6 months old, is have both me and my daughter go to her and take away her bone while she is eating it, chicken quarter, etc. and pet her and tell her it's okay, etc. She hasn't shown any sign of food aggression as of yet but I know it can be a large problem if not dealt with properly. 

I am not sure of the exact proper way to deal with it, but I have done this with Lou since she was 3 months old and now my cats can go put their head under hers to sniff her breakfast (she's fed all raw) and she'll just put her head aside and wait for them to be done. 

Also, I watch a lot of dog shows and they always say that wagging tail is not nec. a sign of being happy or "it's okay", dogs wag their tails even when they attack


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

Oh, after reading Lucia's post, I realized I forgot to add that we always give the bone, chicken quarter, etc. right back to her after a few moments. I think for them to know they will get it right back is key!


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

I would hold off on the bones for a while. She's a baby so she'll forget all about it in a few weeks and you can start again right. There is no reason or excuse for your dog to growl and bite at YOU while chewing on something YOU gave her. You are her pack leader and the subordinates do NOT growl and question the leaders authority.

When Otto was tiny and had his first marrow bone, I walked by him while he was chewing it and he grumbled at me. I said, I don't think so, mister, it's mine now. I'm not heartless, he got it back the next day but NEVER did that again. I have 3 little kids, he had to learn that anyone can take anything from him for any reason.

A few days ago, he and Morgan got some sort of basted leg thing from a friend. I was watching them carefully chewing them and when it got to a point I was getting nervous, I told him 'Otto, I need to take that now'. He just looked at me and shopped chewing it.


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## jp11us (Jun 24, 2009)

cool, I'll try some of that out. I took it from her after the bite and kenneled her told her to calm down. 5 minutes later took her out, she hasn't growled since.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: SunCzarina
> When Otto was tiny and had his first marrow bone, I walked by him while he was chewing it and he grumbled at me. I said, I don't think so, mister, it's mine now. I'm not heartless, he got it back the next day but NEVER did that again. I have 3 little kids, he had to learn that anyone can take anything from him for any reason.


When I was trying to train Max, my rescue dog, that is what I did, I would take the bone or whatever away and not give it back until the next day every time he reacted, but it didn't really work with him which is why with Lou, even though she doesn't have any food aggression, I take it away just to show her that happens sometimes and give it right back, but I think in situations where they already have a food aggression, then to take it away for awhile may be the way to go.


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## Annikas Mom (Jun 10, 2004)

I do not tolerate food aggression in my house, any growling results in food or bone being taken away for a few hours and then offered again. If they growl for any reason the 2nd time, I verbally correct and again remove the food. Doesn't usually take more than once to get my point across.


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: CastlemaidYou can leave her alone with the bone, or you can teach her to LIKE your hand near the bone. Toss her treats when you walk by, something super special. Always toss the treat before she starts the growling, so you'll need to judge the safe distance.
> Then walk away. Repeat several times, over several days. Soon she will be expecting you to come to her with treats, and looking forward to it. Then you can drop treats right by her. Whe she is eagerly expecting that, you can bend over and give her her treat. She is learning that her bone is safe, and that your presence is not a threat!
> 
> When she is comfortable with that, you can start playing trading games. Trade her bone for some super-duper yummy treat, and give it right back to her.


Above is the ONLY way to deal with food aggression that I agree with, and it's the only way mentioned that actually changes the way the dog feels and therefore treats the CAUSE of the aggression. Everything else just creates more stress for the dog whether they submit or not. 

The dog cannot speak our language obviously. I'm pretty sure that all of us agree that the reason food aggression annoys us is that the dog has no reason to worry. We do not want his food, do we? Taking his food when he shows food aggression only shows him that HE'S RIGHT!!! The method above communicates the truth effectively to the dog.


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## ebrannan (Aug 14, 2006)

I think pups and adults probably need different training methods. I have one boy here that at about three-months-old, growled when I went to pick up his sheepskin stuffy. 
I picked it up anyway, then proceeded to go around and pick up all the sheepskin stuffies and put them in the cabinet. I took them out a few months later and we never had the issue again. 
He was testing the waters and lost the boat. He didn't get the chance to do it again until he had matured a bit and was better able to realize that I am top dog, not him. It worked.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

It's hard when you are trying to train a dog to not be food aggressive with a 5 year old child around as well, because it's hard to train the child to train the dog... which is why we had to rehome our Max


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

OK. So what happens when that pup matures and decides he is bigger, so if he fights harder he may win and keep the food? Food = survival. 

One method actually teaches the dog that there is nothing to worry about and the other makes us feel better about how tough we are. I know how tough I am. I need my dog to trust me in all situations.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

In my case, the bone was traded for something else of high value. I have 3 small kids so it has nothing to do with toughness, it has to do with teaching the pup to open that mouth and give whatever it is to me now! 

He's 75lbs now and in full blown teenage mutant ninja dipshit mode - never have any problems with taking food or anything else from him. I tell him he needs to give it to me, he does. Although he might run around with it for a minute if it's a shoe or a wooden whistle.

The Crazy Bitch has food aggression with Otto (becuase Luther used to steal her dinner) but never with us. If Crazy Bitch goes near his food, he gets this look like Hey, she's near my dinner, she'd bite me if I did that to her but he never does anything.


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## StarryNite (Jun 2, 2009)

I have been lucky with Lou with the food aggression so far, none whatsoever. I let one of the neighborhood kids in the house with their pup a few weeks ago and the pup beelined to Lou's bowl which hat the TOTW kibble in it, the poor pup growled the whole time she ate the entire bowl LOL and Lou just sort of looked at her like "what? I'm getting a chicken quarter in a few minutes, you can have it!" LOL


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: SunCzarinaIn my case, the bone was traded for something else of high value. I have 3 small kids so it has nothing to do with toughness, it has to do with teaching the pup to open that mouth and give whatever it is to me now!


Trading is exactly what I'm talking about. That establishes the fact the when you come near or take food good things happen. 

I used to feel very differently about many things involving aggression or dominance. Then I got Diesel. Trying to force things just escalates the situation with him and makes things 5X harder. The more I focus on the cause of behavior and work to communicate what I want in a positive way the easier things get. We have both come a very long way over the last year and a half.


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## nbkvig2 (Aug 5, 2009)

These type of behavior are usually generated because the dog gets the idea that he gets to own certain things, which is not true. Human must control 3 things in the dog's life, food, toys, and affection/socialization. I would recommend not leaving any toys, food, around where the puppy could get to it freely. Toys, playtime, food are given at your schedule, and when each session is finished, put away all toys and food. A lot of these behavior started when we don't notice it while they were young and didn't take too much to heart. 

For example, ever since you got your puppy, you put down their food bowl and walk away, your puppy might develop food aggression later on. It gives them the idea that they are the alpha, and they get to eat alone. This is a mistake that MANY dog owners, including myself have made. However, not ALL dogs develop food aggression because of that, just more likely. My point being is that you wanna control their food, toys, and socialization. And that during each session, you wanna make it a positive experience every time and make sure they get used to you being there, whether it be chewing on a bone, or eating from their bowl. Good luck and I wish you all the best.


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## Technostorm (May 24, 2009)

My take on the situation is similar to Doby's. My human family and I controlls the food, toys, and play sessions. We also claim things such as furnitures, cords, houseplants and etc. This doesn't mean we're mean to our new family member. Nor is this some dog whispering thingy we've learned on TV. This is actually how one would want a small child to behave and learn with lots of patience and relating it to a dog who doesn't understand our language requires creativities.

This is done from day 1 the puppy arrives. This also has nothing to do with dominance or alpha since dogs DO know once the "boundries" are established. We do however redirect or exchange sometimes but always under "OUR" terms. My boy does not climb onto sofas, beds and does not growl because NILIF is part of our daily routine and interaction. 

He did tried to get snappy with me once when I was a little slow on placing the food bowl down. We both understood that one well since I grabbed the bowl and placed it on the counter and walked away for 10min. Since then, an auto-platz/focus was always expected before the bowl is placed down. He will not even touch the bowl until the person who placed the bowl down releases him. Funny how the whole human family would rotate daily with the feeding and the others woulds release him to test him. Amazingly, dogs are so darn smart that he would wait until the food placer releases him. We all giggles and we all praise him alot and pets him. Not once has he growled and we build up trust by lovingly setting up the correct boundries to begin with and yet reinforce it daily as a fun routine. 

Seriously, dogs are Smart! GSD are smartest!. don't underestimate their comprehension in our tone or body language. They can be taught and loved all while still implementing some firm rules and boundries. 

I've also found while there are times when teaching or relating a new behavior, it can be frustrating at first and sometimes I get heated up and blew my cool, but just crating him, walking away to get a sip of water, take a couple of deep breath and come back and repeat. It'll help..


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## Caledon (Nov 10, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: CastlemaidYou can leave her alone with the bone, or you can teach her to LIKE your hand near the bone. Toss her treats when you walk by, something super special. Always toss the treat before she starts the growling, so you'll need to judge the safe distance.
> Then walk away. Repeat several times, over several days. Soon she will be expecting you to come to her with treats, and looking forward to it. Then you can drop treats right by her. Whe she is eagerly expecting that, you can bend over and give her her treat. She is learning that her bone is safe, and that your presence is not a threat!
> 
> When she is comfortable with that, you can start playing trading games. Trade her bone for some super-duper yummy treat, and give it right back to her.


This method sounds good.

I never had a problem with my dog, but like others from day 1, I would give her food from my hand, touch her while she is eating, walk by and toss yummy food in her dish while she is eating. I would always take a chew toy away from her, give her a high value treat, then give the chew toy back.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

> Originally Posted By: ZeusGSD
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: SunCzarinaIn my case, the bone was traded for something else of high value. I have 3 small kids so it has nothing to do with toughness, it has to do with teaching the pup to open that mouth and give whatever it is to me now!
> ...


Amen to this. 

Our best training tool is our brain-so that we can develop the relationship with our dog that allows them to understand us and work with us. 

Forcing, controlling, etc. can escalate issues quickly. Working smarter, not harder with a dog is really the way to go for sure.









Mine by Jean Donaldson: http://www.amazon.com/Mine-Practical-Guide-Resource-Guarding/dp/0970562942


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

You are basically talking about NILIF, which is a great way to establish a following mindset with a dog. This will almost certainly avoid any food aggression to begin with. I am specifically talking about what to do once the aggression starts.


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## Annikas Mom (Jun 10, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: Annikas MomI do not tolerate food aggression in my house, any growling results in food or bone being taken away for a few hours and then offered again. If they growl for any reason the 2nd time, I verbally correct and again remove the food. Doesn't usually take more than once to get my point across.


I would like to clarify my post...

This is how I had to deal with one of my pups from my last litter. She was always the one standing in the center of the puppy food bowl eating as fast as she could. At 6 weeks old I start to separate my pups for feeding and with her she would growl while I stood there. I would pick up her bowl, do some chores and come back and set her food bowl back down for her to eat. I stood there as I always do and she looked at me, looked at her food and started eating without growling. I then praised her verbally and physically and that was that, never a problem again. 

With an adult dog new to my home, I feed them from my hand for weeks before feeding them from a bowl. This, for me, is part of the bonding process with a new dog... 

I routinely will stand with my pups/dogs while they eat, I pet them, praise them and sometimes hold their bowl for them between my feet. I have 4 at the moment and while they are all separated while eating, I rotate who I hang with while they are eating.

The same applies towards bones in our home...

I do not believe this is challanging my pups/dogs or showing them who is tougher, I believe this is clearly showing them who is the pack leader in our home...


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

While the 'taking away the resource' method may work with some dogs it can seriously backfire with others.

Let's say Sparky (fake dog) guards his food. Anytime the owner walks near him while he's eating Sparky growls.

Owner decides to take away Sparky's bowl. Owner repeats this a couple times and Sparky realizes - growling over food bowl means food is removed.

So Sparky decides not to growl - he's going to go right to biting. In his mind the growling, which was a warning, didn't get the desired result. So he has to up the ante (so to speak).

Now if the owner had followed the 'toss a treat' method Sparky would only associate the owner near the bowl with GOOD things - treats.

Sparky would see no NEED to guard the bowl - in fact, he probably would welcome the owners approach since it means GOOD things.

The thing is, the only way you will know if your dog is a Sparky is when it DOES bite you.

Why *not* use the 100% non-confrontational (ie: don't cause the dog to want to bite me) method?


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## GSDTrain (Apr 21, 2008)

I agree. 
Make the dog comfortable having you around the bone and associate your presence with good things by using treats and trading, for something of higher value.


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## Annikas Mom (Jun 10, 2004)

I am assuming Sparky is an adult dog... As I said in my post above, I do not use the same methods on an adult dog as I do on a pup. I totally understand your point but I refuse to be a "Pez Dispenser" with my pups or dogs. Before I am slammed for that statement, let me say that all of my pups are trained with food/toy/verbal and physical praise. I have only had one pup in 20+ years that showed aggression with food/bone and it was resolved in a couple of hours by the method I used...


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

> Quote:but I refuse to be a "Pez Dispenser" with my pups or dogs


Sorry, maybe I didn't make myself clear.

You aren't giving treats forever. Just until the animal enjoys your approach to their bowl. Then you have succeeded in the traing and can fade out the treats and just use verbal praise.

I guess it all comes down to which type of approach you prefer to use - positive or negative.


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## Annikas Mom (Jun 10, 2004)

I think we will just have to agree to disagree. I do not see what I did with this pup as negative and others do, it is what it is and I apologize for giving my input.


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

Darlene,

I'm not focused on positive or negative when it comes to this topic. I think those are labels that are not always accurate. You did not compulse the heck out of the dog for growling. He didn't get alpha rolled. I choose to focus on the word "stress". I think we can all agree that food aggression is caused by the dog worrying we will take his food from him. The dog is feeling STRESS because we are near, because again he is afraid he will lose his food to us. If I do the very thing that he is stressed about and take his food, I confirm all of the worries he has. He then only has two choices next time. Feel that stress (because we have taught him that his worries are very valid) and submit to my dominance and strength or go beyond a simple warning. This fight could possibly be worth it depending on if it were something we NEEDED to take from them, but we DON'T! WE DO NOT WANT TO EAT THEIR FOOD. So why not just show them that???!!! 

It's the same principle behind why we condition puppies to a crate with treats. Initially when they are put in a crate they feel stress about being there and confined. We counter condition that by dropping a few treats in the crate either before or right after they go in. After a few days they eagerly go into the crate to get their treats. Once we wean off the treats they eagerly go into the crate because "good things happen when they go in". They are no longer sure what the "good thing" is, it's just a feeling. We could just push their puppy butts into the crate. SAME EXACT RESULT HERE - except the stakes are so much higher because this is a form of aggression. Remove the stress or force them to submit to you over the stress. Those are our choices. I used to not even worry about those choices because I had dogs that would submit without question. Now I handle a dog that won't. He'll do anything I ASK him to do - but if I try to force him and be unfair he will NOT just submit. Before I never understood that this was not the end of the world because THERE ARE EASIER WAYS!!!


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## Colorado (Nov 25, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: ZeusGSDThe dog cannot speak our language obviously. I'm pretty sure that all of us agree that the reason food aggression annoys us is that the dog has no reason to worry. We do not want his food, do we? Taking his food when he shows food aggression only shows him that HE'S RIGHT!!! The method above communicates the truth effectively to the dog.


I have a question about this. I've read the methods described above--when you walk by, throw a few treats, show them there is nothing to worry about--many times. Thankfully I've never had to work with a truly food aggressive dog, but the method makes a lot of sense. It certainly seems like it would be a good component in a complete training/conditioning strategy. My questions is: does it go far enough?

You say above "We don't want to take his food, do we?" Actually, in some cases I think the answer is "Yes we do." What if I see a bone has been worn down and is too small and may be dangerously swallowed? I want to take that bone away. What if it's time to go to sleep and I don't want to leave a bone out for unsupervised chewing? I want to put that bone away until the next time I deem it should come out. What if I am at a friend's house with my dog and have given her a bone while the humans enjoy a BBQ and now it is time to leave? I want that bone now. What if a friend is visiting with a toddler and the toddler does what little kids do and grabs at the bone? I want my dog to give it up with no snapping or growling.

As I said my dog has no food aggression issues. But I still proof her against the above scenarios. I will sit on the floor and watch TV while she chews on a bone. Periodically, I'll just reach out and touch the other end of the bone. She can continue chewing or not, but my hand isn't leaving. Occasionally I'll pick up the bone and hold it close. If she nudges at the bone, she doesn't get it. If she sits and politely waits, she will get the bone back and maybe a bonus hotdog. Once and a while I will pick up the bone, ask her to sit, go into another room and hide the bone. Then we play "find your bone!" and when she finds it she gets to continue chewing on it.

I'm not alpha rolling or taking her resources just for the fun of it. I just don't think "We don't want to take their food" is correct. Sometimes there are reasons humans want to take back food--especially long lasting food like a bone. Sometimes other humans don't know as much about dog behavior and will take food back just because. These humans need to learn better, of course, but I will teach them that--not my dog through growling or biting.


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## big_dog7777 (Apr 6, 2004)

Yes, in the end there are reasons we may have to take their food... but that is exactly what we are conditioning the dog for. If not, the answer would just be "feed the dog in a locked crate or room". By handling the food aggression the way we mentioned here, we are in fact changing the way the dog FEELS about us being near him while he has food and then eventually what happens when we take his food. He is taught that only GOOD things happen when we are around and he has food. He is taught that even if we take the food away we will replace it with something better. Even if we do not, it does not change the feeling the dog has (unless we just decide to come take his food over and over for no good reason). 

As for proofing against toddlers taking a bone, well that is an entirely different matter altogether. Chances are that if you are dealing with a dog that has these issues you are NOT going to allow that situation to happen anyway. There are dogs that can be put in those situations, and there are those that CANNOT. I have one that can and one that is getting much closer.


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