New dog, American Eskimo

[Karen]

I'm just posting this to have a new thread for a newcomer's question. She had posted it in Anxiety Wraps, but I thought people might not see it there.

Originally posted by Dartsgirl420
There is probably no such thing as a bad dog........But we just got a new dog......and he acts very insecure......hes two years old!!!!! He is an american eskimo.........He lets no one near his food dish...........or~he *tries* to attack them.......~he scares me to death......do you have any advice...........?Please feel free to e~mail me...........with your response.........? email me @ [email protected]

[Jordan]

The problem is her not the dog.
Dogs need training and education an if they had that behaviour with dish food it seems to me that the owners had never trained the dog.
With 2 years he still is a "juvenile" and the best to do is to look for a professional help with a good dog trainer!

Most people forget the basic of having a dog: teach them who is the boss; and starts to make the dog understand that he can't be possessive with food!
Make a search by "dog behaviour" at the net and I’m sure this people will find valuable information would help them! But they must take an action fast!

Best regards!

[Jordan]

I left the post at the other topic too and added some sites:
PS2: some sites:
http://www.inch.com/~dogs/
http://www.peteducation.com/
http://www.apbc.org.uk/books.htm

BR!

[Ginger's Mom]

I think it is a very good idea to speak with a dog behaviorist. Eskies are very timid dogs, and if not trained properly can give the impression of being very aggressive dogs. The people who originally had the dog may not have been familiar with how deal with a dog of that temperament. It is important that you speak with someone who has training in that area. Another thing you may try is to speak with someone with an Eskie Rescue group in your area. I know that the coordinator in my area is very knowledgeable in training skills and is always willing to assist someone who has acquired a rescued Eskie, so that the dog and the new family can live happily together. I wish that I were more knowledgeable myself, I would love to give you some more concrete advise. But there are many here who do have a good knowledge of dog training, and I am sure that you will get some wonderful advise. I wish you good luck with your new dog.

[wolfie]

Great suggestions everyone.

I'm not sure if you all did, but you might want to actually email her too. She might not come back to check the board.

[carrie]

Being in charge with the food does not involve taking food that has been given to the dog away from it. This is asking for trouble. Be fair to the dog - if the leader has said that the dog can eat...then the dog can eat. It has every right to defend itself and it's food once food has been left for it by the leader.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Sounds to me like this dog is a rescue if it is new to you but is already two years old. That in it's self makes it more difficult because there may be past abuse with food in the dogs life. You have two options.... one, if you give the dog the food then stay away until the dog is finished (as Carrie stated). Don't leave the bowl down so the dog can graze whenever it wants too. Have set feeding times twice a day. Any other time, the bowl is picked up and nowhere where the dog can get too it. Avoid things that may trigger food aggression such as bones and treats that last more than a minute to chew.

Second choice.... Start positive obedience classes with the dog and then make it work for it's food as a reward. I would suggest an established trainer / behaviorist who can make sure you are doing the training properly. Your goal is to teach the dog that everything good in his life is given by you.

Until formal training can be achieved, just stay away when the dog eats. I really don't think you would be real happy if someone tried to take your food away while you were eating it either.

[bckrazy]

Originally posted by carrie
Being in charge with the food does not involve taking food that has been given to the dog away from it. This is asking for trouble. Be fair to the dog - if the leader has said that the dog can eat...then the dog can eat. It has every right to defend itself and it's food once food has been left for it by the leader.

I really, really strongly disagree. What if the OP's 2 year-old niece runs in and tries to pick out of the dogs food? What if someone drops a cooked bone and the dog grabs it and assumes thats his food? Dogs need to be conditioned to give their food up at any time, not only because its safe for people but its safe for the dog. A dog should NEVER "defend itself" against his owner! Although dogs are related to wolves, lets not confuse them with wolves. How would she even control his feedings without being able to pick up his food bowl?

I would recommend hand-feeding if its safe... definitely contact a behaviorist, the pup has obviously had poor socialization with people and probably some bad experiences in the past .. I do agree that until he has been seen by a reputable dog behaviorist and he's been through training, you should crate train him and only feed him in his crate, for your safety and his.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by bckrazy
I really, really strongly disagree. What if the OP's 2 year-old niece runs in and tries to pick out of the dogs food? What if someone drops a cooked bone and the dog grabs it and assumes thats his food? Dogs need to be conditioned to give their food up at any time, not only because its safe for people but its safe for the dog. A dog should NEVER "defend itself" against his owner! Although dogs are related to wolves, lets not confuse them with wolves. How would she even control his feedings without being able to pick up his food bowl?

As a responsible dog owner, if you have a dog that is food possessive, you should make sure your 2 year old niece is no where around when the dogs are fed. If a cooked bone falls and the dog gets it.... oh well, he gets an extra treat. I don't think I would use a bone that the dog had control of for human consumption even if I cleaned it off. While it may not offend me, I know it would offend some in my family.

While I agree that a dog should never defend itself against his owner (in an ideal situation), some dogs have bad leaders and are not taught proper ettiquet from the beginning of their puppyhood. It is a natural instinct to guard what is precious to them and food would be a prime target. They can be taught not to guard their food but it is not an easy process for a lot of dogs.

Even with trained dogs, unless I am using food to train, once I give the dog it's food, I never try to take it away to prove the dog will let me. If someone came around and took my food away while I was eating, I would be upset too!

[ParNone]

I just had an incident this morning with Gull, where he had something in his mouth, that I didn't know what it was. I could tell by his body language and how he was reacting to the other dogs that it was something precious though.

So I went up to him and calmly asked him what he had and then kneeled down and started petting him. Then I gently opened his mouth and was quite surprised to find he had a cooked chicken bone. He let me have it without any issue and I told him what a wonderful boy he was for giving up something so valuable, then went straight to the kitchen and got him a treat.

It's somewhat of a confusing subject, because that was an instance where I felt what he had in his mouth was dangerous for him. It's not often that I take something away from them, but there is a time where I do need to. So if you don't train them that they need to give things upto you from time to time, how do you handle that type of situation? As puppies, I always reward them for giving food and bones upto me and it's worked pretty good so far.

Par...

[Dixieland Dancer]

Originally posted by ParNone
It's not often that I take something away from them, but there is a time where I do need to. So if you don't train them that they need to give things upto you from time to time, how do you handle that type of situation? As puppies, I always reward them for giving food and bones upto me and it's worked pretty good so far.

Par...

You answered your own question.... training is key. You start training as puppies so they learn to respect you as their leader and will give things to you when told. In this instance though, we are talking about a 2 year old rescue who obviously wasn't taught. Training is still necessary but in the mean time, the dog should not be tested to give up his food once it is given to him. Of course if the dog has something that is not good for him and their is no worry about getting bit, then taking it is a necessary thing.