Food Aggressive Dog

Nebo is food aggressive...not with people, just with dogs. I made sure he wasn't that way with food with me....I have hand fed him, picked his bowl up, etc. I can dig anything out of his mouth and he doesn't growl/bite. He is very posessive of food with other dogs though. He does NOT like Smokey or Reggie going near his food or any of his toys. Normally he'll just quickly walk over there and kind of shove them out of the way. Smokey even managed to get his nose in Nebo's food bowl, with Nebo having his nose in it too once. He didn't do anything that time, but of course I grabbed Smokey as fast as I could. Smokey isn't the brightest bulb in the box when it comes to this, lol.

Well, last night we were watching a movie, and I had Nebo on a leash so he'd stay there. I gave him a kong with a milkbone in it, and he was working on getting that out. He wasn't working on it for a minute, and Smokey was just walking by...and he happened to walk right over that kong. Nebo just lunged and grabbed him! He bit onto his ear/head and I had to rip him off of Smokey! I was SO mad. :mad: I yelled at him and put him in his crate upstairs for the rest of the night. (I know the crate isn't supposed to be a punishment, but he needed a time out. He likes his crate, and has for a while...he sleeps in it every night with no problem...) Ahhh!

I checked Smokey, and he is fine...I rubbed all over his head and ears and he was enjoying that, lol, so he wasn't hurt. Nebo isn't normally mean with them. He just tries to play, which they don't enjoy at all. He gets a bit rough, as he doesn't realize how much bigger he is.

Does anyone else have a dog/food aggressive dog? Is there anything I can do about it? I've known he was like this for a long time, although he has never done anything as mean as he did last night. I always give him his food dish outside, or somewhere not around Reggie/Smokey. I didn't think about it when I gave him the kong, he was probably even worse with that...as it was a treat. UUUuuggggh...

My situation is reversed... Pork Chop is totally treat/toy aggressive but not food (meal) agressive. He and Smokey will eat out of the same bowl if they had to but if when it's treat time I have to seperate them. Even if they have the exact same thing.
Just last week Smokey just walked into the room & looked at Pork Chop when P.C. had a new bone and P.C. didn't like that at all and went across the room to attack him. Thank god my exboyfriend was there to help me seperate them.


Anyway, It's a pain either way, I'm sure.

I know I was no help at all.
But Good Luck.

Wolf_Q,
I have a similair problem with my 2 Akita's.
Some dogs will share everything and anything, but
some dogs are just more primitive in their behavior even
if it's un-wanted behavior in our point of view.

I have a feeling Nebo is, or trying to be pack leader among your dogs. If this is correct he is warning your other dog to
stay away from what is his. But you are Pack Leader over
Nebo, and that's why he allows you to take away his
posessions.

This is what I go through with my dogs.
All dogs are fine with kibble bone treats and toys
together, but when it comes to their food bowls or a special treat like a juicy bone from the butcher, I could have
WW3 on my hands if I am not carefull.

I take the easy way out, they do NOT get any butcher bones and I usually feed them seperately unless I am with them.
It's funny if I am their watching them,
they do not dare act up with-eachother, but as soon as I am
not watching, Bam! a fight could develope over special stuff.
Not sure how to stop this behavior, but if you
are watching them, you can forsee something that might
happen and be ready to re-act to Nebo before
he does. (put him in his place since you are his boss.)

As I say I take the easy way out and prefer to be safe than sorry.
So if I happen to be outside and Sheba starts getting
close to Rocky while he might still be eating,
I quickly re-direct her away from his space or
do not let her outside till he is finish, or I remove his food bowl.
If one starts to growl at the other, I move fast and get that
dogs attention on me, insead of the other dogs
before the other dog re-acts etc.
When I feed them pig ears, I watch all 3 dogs to make
sure they each stay away from each-others space
till everbody is done.
So for me, I just try to prevent a situation so I do not
have to correct.
I bet Carrie or Dixie D. will have some good behavior
training tips.

I feel for you, I know what you are going through
trying to keep your dogs living in harmony.
I never had this problem until I got Akita's. :rolleyes:

Quote:

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Originally posted by KYS
Wolf_Q,


This is what I go through with my dogs.
All dogs are fine with kibble bone treats and toys
together, but when it comes to their food bowls or a special treat like a juicy bone from the butcher, I could have
WW3 on my hands if I am not carefull.

---

I know exactly what you are talking about.I have also had world war three between Hercules and Zeus over butcher bones. Herc even had to get Stiches in his leg. It is very scary b/c it takes two people to break them up. I don't know what would happen if it was just me or if they were alone.

I have learned that Hercules just isn't going to allow Zeus anywhere near him when he is chewing on bones/eating. And if he is doing those activities then Zeus is in other other room. The funny thing is though, Herc lets Felice( my other dog) do what ever she wants to him. I think it's b/c she a girl.

I really don't have any advice other then just keep them seperated when Nebo is eating/or has special treat.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I will just have to be more careful about Reggie and Smokey getting near his food/toys. Smokey is very annoying with it though. If there is food involved, he REFUSES to leave.......like I'll be training Nebo with treats and Smokey will *not* leave, even though it's obviously irritating Nebo.

Quote:

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I have a feeling Nebo is, or trying to be pack leader among your dogs.

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Yeah, I think this too. It's obvious that he thinks he's the boss over poor little Smokey. I think Reggie *wants* to be the boss...but he's afraid, and doesn't want to admit that lol. He always growls/bites at Nebo if he gets near him. He will chase Nebo around barking, but if Nebo comes chasing him he runs away. Of course, Nebo is a lot bigger then both of them, so I guess they have a reason to be intimidated, lol.

Some people say to treat the alpha dog, as the alpha dog...I feel like I *should* be treating Reggie as this. He was here first, and he's the alpha dog with Smokey. But I really don't think he *is* the alpha dog anymore.....

Quote:

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I feel for you, I know what you are going through
trying to keep your dogs living in harmony.
I never had this problem until I got Akita's.

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Lol get a schnauzer too, and you'll have *lots* of fun. ;) Reggie is such a butt with other dogs, especially dogs named Nebo lol. We had an akita puppy at work a few days ago.......he was soo adorable.....I love their curled tails. :D He was the same age as Nebo, but about twice as big, lol. He wasn't bad to bath (except for trying to eat the shampoo), but when we tried to clip his nails, he started growling and biting at us viciously. He did bite the other girl, but not badly. He did the same thing when we put a leash on him too. That pup gave me a scare, but I still think they are gorgeous dogs. I can't judge the breed because of one dog. :)

Wolf_Q:
Lol get a schnauzer too, and you'll have *lots* of fun. Reggie is such a butt with other dogs, especially dogs named Nebo lol.>>>

No Thank you!!!
I have my own butt head and his name is Rocky. hehehe