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Dog vs Dog Food Aggression (God damnit)

2K views 21 replies 12 participants last post by  aber61 
#1 ·
As a lot of you guys saw in the Random Thoughts thread we just picked up our second dog yesterday in the form of Gunner, an eight week old Alaskan Malamute male.

Ran into our first bump in the road and have spent hours already researching how to fix it properly as fast as possible.

Our older dog (three year old Pyrenees/Husky mix) has already displayed food aggression towards the pup. She hasn't done anything but scare the hell out of him (and us) but we all know that can escalate very quickly.

Here's the rundown:

Izzy has always had food available to her. She is not on a feeding schedule and never has been. She has her bowl and just munches at will throughout the day. When the puppy wandered over to explore she became very defensive of it.

Simplest solution: Remove all food bowls, bones, etc from access and start a set feeding schedule where they eat from their own bowls in completely separate rooms from each other?

Seems to be the general consensus from the research I've done so far and now I'm asking here to confirm since a lot of you guys and gals are multi-dog owners and you have the experience.

Anything else I can do here to prevent any more aggression issues?

Is there a different approach I should take here that has worked for you?

Izzy may think she's the badass now at 50 pounds but Gunner's projected weight is 130+ pounds and judging from both of his parents... he's gonna be a monster in the strength department. That fight is not something I ever want to have to deal with.
 
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#7 ·
By feeding them separetly will not fix the problem. If by chance food is around with the both of them together you will still have the dogs fighting over food.
First sign of aggression when dealing with food between the two dogs you need to step in and be the pack leader and stop the fighting. The dogs will display signs or body language that you should be able to read. It is usually in a form of dominance over the other, with you being the pack leader you need to correct it before it starts. Let them know You are the pack leader. It all starts with obedience, come, sit, stay, just driving it into them to let them know you are the boss and they can do nothing without you allowing them to. You are the first one to go out the door when you go for walks and the first one in when you get home, the first one to eat, the first at everything.
Keep them on a lead with a correction collar as to have control of any situation that will come up to separate them.
Good luck with that
 
#8 ·
marking != pissing, and is about the hardest thing ever to train out of them. He sits, speaks, lays down, rolls over, etc... quite well. He's about the best you can expect from a puppy mill dog.
 
#10 ·
I'd combine pieces of what others have said. Establish yourself as the pack leader. When Izzy demonstrates aggression, scruff her by the neck and lay her on her back. Izzy should respond with her tail down between her legs. Use the feeding schedule, feed Izzy first, then Ruger. Have them sit before feeding. Same room is fine, but use the same spot for the dogs each time they are fed so they know their spot. We have four dogs, they have an eating order, eating spot and any food battles are minor. Dogs are Shepherd mix, Weimeraner and a Pomeranian...
 
#13 · (Edited)
My Jack Russell used to bark at my German Shepard when he was trying to eat causing him to walk away or my jack Russell would latch on to his leg with her teeth.

We put down 2 bowls of food on separate sides of our living room(25ish feet) and slowly put them closer together. Then got a larger bowl so they now have no problem eating together from the same bowl. They have a bowl all day to, fill it up in the morning and maybe at night if they eat a lot.
 
#16 ·
There's no doubt in either of their minds that I'm the pack leader and the wife is right there with me. Both of us can sweep the food right out of their mouths and take it away at will without so much as a disappointed sigh out of both of them. I don't know where that discussion came from. The aggression was not related to humans at all.


The food separation seems to be working with Izzy. If it's not available she doesn't care at all. They have also started sharing water bowls. They're also getting and eating treats right next to each other after we come back inside and Izzy doesn't care at all. Gunner is the one that has an issue eating apart. He doesn't like it at all if anyone disappears... especially Izzy. :sonicjay:

She's also warming up to him pretty quickly. They're playing together more and he won't leave her side when we go out. Looks like the little spat they had at first was simply Izzy establishing the pecking order when we brought him home. Hell... she doesn't have a problem sharing the bed with him.

Over the next few weeks we're going to very slowly start having them eat within sight of each other and then start having them eat closer and closer. Our goal is to have them both so completely used to each other at feeding time that by the time he switches to adult food they will be able to eat out of the same bowl without an issue. Don't get me wrong... there will always be two sets of bowls but you get what I'm saying. Zero aggression or protecting of food.


Thanks for the advice guys and gals!



Also also also also also also also also also also also also also
 
#19 ·
Having them eat on each side of the child gate worked pretty damn well. In just a couple of days the issue is almost nonexistent. Izzy even waits for him to finish his food and walk away before she goes in to clean up the crumbs he left. He couldn't care less about her food anymore and she knows it.

Nine weeks old and he's leash trained, sits and shakes on command, sleeps all night without issues and understands what "NO" and "Leave it" means. Not bad for four days worth of training since we brought him home. :sonicjay:

Now if only he would figure out that whole peeing outside thing :(
 
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