# Snapping at me



## NDrugerGSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Went to take a bone away from my 3 month male GSD and he barked and snapped at my hand. First time owner. Should I be worried about him being aggressive? 


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## Raintheshepherd (Jan 8, 2013)

Make sure when you are feeding him any food that you stay with him whilst he is eating. Take the food off him then give it back to him. Pick up his legs, play with his ears whilst he is eating. And when you have bones same deal, best get ontop of that NOW while he is small enough to deal with. If not you could have some serious issues later on. 


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## NDrugerGSD (Dec 10, 2012)

It's weird cause two minutes before that I was grabbing his ears, pulling and touching everything even lifted up his gums to see his teeth and he was just chewing away on the bone. 


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## MadLab (Jan 7, 2013)

That's him resource guarding. I wouldn't be worried about it but i would plan to learn why they do this and how to stop it in the future.

You can practice a leave it command or a drop it command. It depends on the dog and what stage of training you are at. Some dogs will be perfectly behaved but when they have a bone the wolf in them shows its fangs.

Practice a leave it with a toy or ball. And when the dog responds to this try it with food or a bone.


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

I'm told you can damage the ear cartilage by grabbing the ears when they're that young, and risk their not standing up properly later on.


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## NDrugerGSD (Dec 10, 2012)

Not grabbing and pulling them literally. Rather have floppy ears then an aggressive dog lol 


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## Cascade crawler (Jan 3, 2013)

Trotter said:


> I'm told you can damage the ear cartilage by grabbing the ears when they're that young, and risk their not standing up properly later on.


I think this is a load of crap, I would tend to disagree with this statement. If this were true then anyone who has ever brought two pups home at once would never get their dogs ears to stand as the pups are all over each other. Just my opinion. Cliff


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Don't "play" with your dog while he's eating. Don't take his food.







Instead of taking his food, or trying to, simply get him to look forward to having you approach, by adding some nice things to his kibble. 
We need to be seen as GIVERS, not takers.


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## Trotter (Jan 16, 2013)

Cascade crawler said:


> I think this is a load of crap, I would tend to disagree with this statement. If this were true then anyone who has ever brought two pups home at once would never get their dogs ears to stand as the pups are all over each other. Just my opinion. Cliff


From von Waldberg:
*Q:* Will their ears stand up or is there something you have to do for them to stay up?
*A:* The ears will naturally go up on there own. *It is very important to not play with your puppy's ears as it is growing. There is cartilage forming and playing with the ears can break the cartilage causing the ears to not stand properly.* Our dogs' ears will stand up on their own by 6-9 months of age. If you have concerns about your dog's ears not standing properly, please contact us.

From von SchraderhausK9:
*DON'T massage the pup's ears or the ear cartilage thinking this will help them to stand… This can cause the opposite, breaking down the ear cartilage.* Petting them between the ears, or loving them on their cheeks
is a better way of showing affection to them, until their ears are
fully standing by 6 months.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Regardless of what you're doing to the ears, why do you feel the need to harass him while he's eating 
There is no need to do so and doing so, as you've seen, _will_ make him stressed and make him resource guard.


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## Raintheshepherd (Jan 8, 2013)

Yes but what happens if a child approaches the dog whilst it is eating, in my experience letting a dog be aggressive and protective over food is very dangerous. What happens if the dog grabs hold of something it's not supposed to be eating and when you try and approach the dog snaps at you and bites? Might be okay when they are puppies but I surely wouldn't want any grown dog biting me. 
I have always sat with my pups while they eat taking away their bowl and scratching them etc. 
In my opinion it's safer to have a dog non-aggressive over food and whom is willing to permitt humans to have contact during feed time. 


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## Cascade crawler (Jan 3, 2013)

Still think its a load, but like I said just my opinion. I love when people start getting defensive to ones opinion. To the op, he is getting defensive. You are teaching him to be possessive. I like the idea of them seeing us as givers not takers. Cliff


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Raintheshepherd said:


> Yes but what happens if a child approaches the dog whilst it is eating, in my experience letting a dog be aggressive and protective over food is very dangerous. What happens if the dog grabs hold of something it's not supposed to be eating and when you try and approach the dog snaps at you and bites? Might be okay when they are puppies but I surely wouldn't want any grown dog biting me.
> I have always sat with my pups while they eat taking away their bowl and scratching them etc.
> In my opinion it's safer to have a dog non-aggressive over food and whom is willing to permitt humans to have contact during feed time.
> 
> ...


This is exactly why you don't take their bowls - to do so increases stress and potential for aggression. 

Yes it seems backwards, but at this tender age, you get them to LOOK FORWARD to you coming to the bowl by adding some yummy treats to it as the dog eats.

Then you won't have to worry about a child approaching, the dog already ENJOYS people coming to the bowl, rather than feeling the need to GUARD it.


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## NDrugerGSD (Dec 10, 2012)

What if they have something like a sock that they shouldn't have. How are you suppose to get that out of there mouth without them getting mad? 


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## Raffilr (Jan 1, 2013)

My 8 month old gsd show hes teeth at me when he's eating if i touch him but before that I put the food down and he won't eat it with out my permission but once I say ok and he's eating and I touch him he does it again but when he does that I tell him no and take the food away then he's ok but like I said he only do that when he's eating really good food like meat but he always wait for me before he eats now every time he eats I'm always there next to him sometime is ok and sometimes he does it but when I hold the food he doesn't do it unless I put in in the ground 


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## Cascade crawler (Jan 3, 2013)

NDrugerGSD said:


> What if they have something like a sock that they shouldn't have. How are you suppose to get that out of there mouth without them getting mad?
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


When my pup has something she is not supposed to,I first will never chase her and then act like its a none issue until I get close enough to take what ever from her and tell her no in a soft but firm voice and give he something that is appropriate. Just don't chase your pup or they start thinking its some kind of game. Cliff


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## Capone22 (Sep 16, 2012)

The problem is that, by messing with him while he eats you most likely created this. I put my dogs in crates to eat. Keeps little fingers out of their bowl. But I *can* take anything from my dog and she came to me food aggressive. I would hand feed all of his meals for a while. Stop messing with him when he eats. After a week of feeding him his meals by hand put an empty food dish down and walk by and add food to his bowl every time u walk by. After a while of this put a full bowl down and walk by and add a high value treat to his bowl. Do this until he is excited to see u approach him eating. You should be good then. Every once in a while you can randomly walk by and drop a treat in there again just to reinforce it. Luckily since he's still young and it's only happened once it should be easy to fix. 


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## NDrugerGSD (Dec 10, 2012)

I don't mess with him while he eats. He is fine when he eats. The original question was about me taking a bone away from him that was getting to small for him and I was worried he could choke on it. So I went to take it from him and he snapped at my hand/arm twice when I grabbed it. So there was no issue with food in the first place. 


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## Jo Ellen (Aug 30, 2011)

While I think you should be able to take a bone away from your dog without incident, that's not real life sometimes. Personally I have never pushed this issue with my dogs. If they have a bone, they get their space, I"m probably more of a guarder in that sense than they are LOL

But on the rare occasion I've had to intercept a chewing session, I have chosen to kick the bone away rather than reaching down with my hands. Seems to work better, and I'm more relaxed about it too. When there's some space between the dog and the bone, they seem to be more receptive to interfernce.

Just my personal experience. And regardless of whether your dog is a food guarder or not, I would never, _never_ allow a child to come near while the dog is eating or chewing. Children need to understand that, generally speaking, it's just not a safe thing to do. One of those black and white life rules in my world.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

I agree with letting a dog eat in peace.
If you don't want him to resource guard food, then don't give him reason to think you will take it away from him. Go over there and drop some even better things in his bowl. 
To me, that makes more sense, and it has worked very well for me.

If I want to take something away from him, I always make sure I have something to trade that's of higher value.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Sunflowers said:


> I agree with letting a dog eat in peace.
> If you don't want him to resource guard food, then don't give him reason to think you will take it away from him. Go over there and drop some even better things in his bowl.
> To me, that makes more sense, and it has worked very well for me.
> 
> *If I want to take something away from him, I always make sure I have something to trade that's of higher value.*


Yep. Give something of higher value so he doesn't think he's "losing" what he has, and you can easily take away the bone - or avoid bones altogether (if cooked especially) until this is under control.


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## julie87 (Aug 19, 2012)

wow I had never seen that kind of food aggression with a puppy. I had mine since she was 2 months old and I petted her and touched her face while she ate and she never even growled at me... I heard you are suppose to touch their face while they are still puppies but I could be wrong... Im just glad mine isn't agressive. I can take away her food or even her favorite treat and she won't make a sound, she will give me the sad look though.


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## Jag (Jul 27, 2012)

I agree with trading and with adding good things to their bowl when they're eating. However, the goal (to me, anyway) is to be able to take anything food related (or otherwise) away from them at any time. I do NOT allow any dog or pup to get in my face about taking food. IMO, you never know when things will happen. Dog finds something to eat on the ground that it shouldn't have and for some reason your back is turned for a split second... child or stranger gets 'too close' and dog bites them. It's just not something I'm willing to put up with. I've never yet had a dog that had any issues with me touching it or putting my hands into its food bowl while it's eating. Nor have I had issues with taking something away from a dog food-wise no matter how high value that food is. I've 'tested' every single pup and dog I've had... even abused rescues. I've never had this issue. If I did, I'd be doing the above to stop it. When I put kibble into Grim's bowl, I run my hands through it. I did the same when he ate canned or cooked food. That food is ultimately mine. Now I'm not talking about taking away the bowl every time they eat, either. I'm not out to create issues. However, the very FIRST time I see food aggression will be the last. I am not a dog, they are NOT wolves. They are domesticated animals. I don't stick my hands into my parrots' bowls because they aren't domesticated. Once a week or so I will hand feed a hand full of food to Grim. I will pick up his antler while he's working on it once a month or so. He's never even looked worried. Start practicing trading one thing for another. I don't know what kind of bone you're talking about, but if it's a choking hazard don't give it. You'd be surprised how large of a piece they can actually attempt to swallow, especially when the dog's guarding it. JMO Oh, and my dad (who is of course old school) told me at a very young age to touch a pup now and then (and for the life of the dog) while eating. It's always worked for me, so that's what I've always done.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

from day 1 (one) i handled my pup's food and water
while he eating or drinking. i use to put my hands in
his food bowl and water bowl. sometimes when i was 
handling his food i would add something (meat, fish,
salmon oil, etc.). when he was chewing on a bone
i used that time to teach "leave it" and "drop it".
i also stood over (stradle), pet him everywhere.
when i was teaching him "come" i use to do it
while he was eating.

i think if you handle your pup's food, water, touching
them from the begining they use to it. i did it so much
untill i think my dog thought being touched while eating 
or drinking was part of being fed.


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