Food Aggression--More Serious Than I Thought...

Okay, first of all...

Jasper got these bones for Christmas from the pet store, he doesn't get them often so he was protective over them and would grab them if people walked by.

I worked with him and made him drop the bones when he did this and took it away for a while, and also made people walk towards him/his bone to get him used to it, and to let him know that people were not trying to take it.

I *thought* he got alot better.

Today while we were gone, Jasper must have got some pizza crust off the table...

When we came home, I went over to see what he had(because he had layed it on the floor)...

When I walked over he grabbed it and tried to stuff it all into this mouth.

I was there for atLEAST 10-15 minutes trying to PRY his mouth open, I was using TWO hands, one on each side of his mouth, and at one point I was pushing his lip into his tooth...

I *thought* that having a tooth digging into his lip would make him let go, but it didnt.

I finally just got it out of his mouth by pulling it out, all in little pieces :mad:

I am so angry, getting a piece of BREAD out of his mouth took all my strength just because he knew he wasn't allowed to have it!!

I really need help with this, I thought it was getting better, but obviously it's worse :(

Was he growling at you or anything? Or just keeping his mouth clamped shut?

Emily and Clipse will try and clamp their mouths shut if they get something they should have and I usually have to manually open their mouths to get it out. (Easier to do on a dog with a long nose...LOL) I don't think that it's a sign of aggression just because he was resisting opening his mouth.

Perhaps he isnt worse,, just stubborn..... I too would like to know if he was growling etc??

with Lucy,, thankfully I have few problems,,, I have taught her to give me whats in her mouth by plcing my hand under her mouth and saying SPITTY. Sh always gives whatever it is no matter what as she knows she will be praised and given a treat.... even if it a cookie she has already.......

No, there wasn't any growling/snarling..etc, he's never growled at anyone.

It's the way he grabs things if people walk by, maybe it's not actually "aggression", but it's definatly something I want him to stop.

What if it was something dangerous that he had? I wouldn't have been able to get it, luckily it was just Pizza crust.

Instead of pushing his lip against his mouth you need to slide your thumbs inside his lips back to his molars. You can usually get enough leverage to open a dogs mouth like that.

I would just keep playing the trade game with him where you ask him to release what he has and then you give him something better. It will take time, but if you keep at it it should be okay.

Charlie knows "drop it"- good thing too because a few days ago we were outside and charlie found a chocolate cookie. Someone must have thrown it into our yard. Anyway, he clenched it in his mouth, but as soon as I said "drop it" he put it down and I was able to grab it.

Maybe you could try teaching Jasper "drop it".

Drop it is good, fortunately my dogs just seemed to already know that one without being taught. And you can teach him "leave it". This is how I was taught how to teach my dogs leave it. Have him on a leash and have some treats in hand. Drop some kind of food pieces on the floor in front of him and tell him leave it. Walk him past the food and if he tries to grab it, get between him and the food stomping the floor and telling him "leave it!". (This will work best on a hard surfaced floor.) When he stops and looks up at you, give him a treat. Eye contact is always important. When you can walk him past food successfully without him grabbing it, you can have him sit and stay, drop some food in front of him and step back. Tell him come and leave it and he should walk past the food and straight to you for a treat. If he tries to grab any off the floor, do the same stomping and leave it.

Echo has that problem too, it's getting better though. Teaching "drop it" doesn't always work like you are all saying it does. All of my dogs know what "drop it" means and listen to it well, except for Echo. Whjat I did was when she had something that I wanted her to let go of or drop I would go and get something that she'd like even better than what she was holding onto. I would only give it to her when she dropped it and then give her lots of praise. I know that's not much help but that's all I can think of to tell you...

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Originally posted by Orangutango
Echo has that problem too, it's getting better though. Teaching "drop it" doesn't always work like you are all saying it does. All of my dogs know what "drop it" means and listen to it well, except for Echo. Whjat I did was when she had something that I wanted her to let go of or drop I would go and get something that she'd like even better than what she was holding onto. I would only give it to her when she dropped it and then give her lots of praise. I know that's not much help but that's all I can think of to tell you...

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That's how you should teach drop it though. The dog should get a reward for letting go of a prized item and the reward should be something that has more value than what they already have.

That's what I meant by playing the trade game in my other post. Let the dog know you're always willing to trade them for something better.... :)

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Originally posted by Shelteez2
That's what I meant by playing the trade game in my other post. Let the dog know you're always willing to trade them for something better.... :)

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It's kind of the same but not really, I couldn't explain it well:o I guess it is the same as what you said lol

This doesn't sound like food aggression to me...I have a food aggressive dog and she'd take your hand off long before you got near her mouth if she had food in it! This sounds like a possessiveness issue. The trade game is a great idea. I've used that lots. You might also want to check out a book by Jean Donaldson called "MINE". It's got some great tips for working with possessive dogs.

Lexi does this too! But Thankfully she has learned the "trick" leave it and she drops whatever she has in her mouth and doesn't touch it! If you like I can tell you how to try this if you pm me! It also helps them not to touch things if they've already noticed it but haven't touched it!

Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice everyone :)

I'm really glad to hear that it's not food aggression! I'm going to be working with him TONS, with the "trade" game.

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Originally posted by Glacier
You might also want to check out a book by Jean Donaldson called "MINE". It's got some great tips for working with possessive dogs.

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I'll definatly look for that book :) Thanks

yeah, it sounds like Jasper is resource guarding. That can be a sign of dominance, some obedience classes would probably help it a lot. Even if you guys have been thru obedience, good refresher classes are really helpful!! You should also start him on *strict* NILIF to end this, and try to get your whole family involved. I know you tried that with Piddles already, and it helped right? Jasper needs to know that everything he gets comes from YOU, and you can take it away whenever you want.

:( sorry Robyn, this stuff sucks, but Jasper is a good boy and a little bit of training and what you've been doing now will help him.

I agree with the others... I would not say it's aggression.

Sierra knows "drop it", but Buddy... thinks when I say "drop it" that's his cue to run around the house and me chase him!! LOL!
But I don't chase him, I make him come to me, then all he wants is lovin' , so he just drops what ever is in his mouth!

Kia does this sometimes except she'll growl and sometimes show teeth. If she doesn't spit it out when I say firmly, "Drop It!". Then I go fishing for what I can get. She'll usually then try to swallow it whole so she doesn't have to open her mouth to chew.

Once I get anything out or if she succeeds in eating it, I tell she's been a bad dog and I give her the silent treament for the rest of the day.

She was way worse when I first got her but she's gotten better over time with dropping it. Once in awhile she'll be stubborn if it's something really "juicy".

Good luck!

I don't think its aggression. Heidi will sometimes try to swollow things whole if she knows shes not supposed to have....like if she steals some food. I tell her to drop things, and that works, but sometimes its harder when it involves food. I really want to look up that book that everyone is mentioning. It sounds really good. I know what you mean. I've dug stuff out of Heidi's mouth many a time. I've stuck my WHOLE hand into her mouth when she takes something shes not supposed to. Fortunately for me I can open her mouth easily. I wish the best of luck with Jasper. I think that daily training sessions might help too - to reinforce that YOU, and you alone, are the boss. :) Good luck!

fortunatly Star is pretty good about dropping things if she knows I mean business with my tone of voice. she will hang her head and look at me sideways until I come over. I have taught her "Ucky, drop it!" and usually saying "ucky" will do it. but we started teaching her this as a little puppy, so it's been a command for a long time. Definitely a good one to have them obey. I'm working on "give" wit Sherman, he's much more posessive of food (& prey).

Thanks again all :)

I have been working with him a bit, and plan to keep doing so every day!