We've encountered our first real problem with Ivan, at least I think it's a problem.
Recently, within the last week, at feeding time he has began to growl and snap at Piper when its time to eat. They use to share the same bowl and then we gave them their own bowls when Ivan out grew his placement with Piper (the got too big to eat together).
Now when feeding them separately, Ivan will continually run to Pipers bowl and growl or snap at Piper until he leaves. When Piper goes to Ivan's bowl, Ivan will run back over to it and do the same thing. It's like Ivan wants ALL the food.
Both dogs are fed plenty so I don't see hunger as an issue and I've got them on a high protein diet. A few days ago I began feeding Ivan outside the fence and Piper inside the fence - totally separate. When I do this, Ivan has no interest in his own food and he continually tries to find ways to get into the fence with Piper to eat his food (and they eat the same food).
This behavior distracts Piper (remember, he's kind of squeemish) and then Piper ends up not eating either. I can't leave them separate forever because the front of our yard is open to the road so I'm not comfortable letting roam around freely - he's still a pup and gets to wondering pretty easily. (the gates on our drive can't be shut right now because we have contractors coming in and out to work on our house).
Each day, I've had to end up putting the two back inside the fence with their own bowls only to watch Ivan act like he has never been fed. I know I must be doing something wrong, but what? Ivan is a rapidly growing dog. He's 5 months old and weighs nearly 40 lbs. His eating habits stink. He always acts like he's starving and looses all sense of reality when food is coming. It's like he turns into a different dog......with us and with Piper.
I'm just really worried about the agressiveness when he eats. The other day my son leaned over to pick up a ball when Ivan was eating and Ivan growled at him. That really bothers me.
Is Ivan's behavior normal or have I made some major mistakes here? Any suggestions on what to do?
I know that when we had problems with Eli doing the same thing when we first got him, we talked to the doberman rescue about it. The suggested feeding them at different times and in totally different areas of the house, like where they could be shut out from each other. They also said not to "free feed" because that way, Ivan has more of a chance at going to Piper's bowl to eat when Piper's not around. I don't know if you do free feed but that's what they suggested we do when we had the problem with Eli. We actually didn't have to change a thing, because by the time we got answers back from them (we were having computer troubles at the time), he stopped doing that. He was guarding Chopper's food from Chopper. Sounds like Ivan's doing the same thing, but Eli was starved and neglected before we got him. So the two situations are kind of different. Just squirt Ivan when he gets naughty like that. I think that's what I'd do. Especially if he's going for your kid too, that would bother me as well. We also had food aggression probs with Mollie a long time ago, just with ppl coming near her and her food when she was eating. We'd just say "no" and pop her on the butt once and she quit after a couple weeks of that. She no longer has problems like that. I hope this helps at least a little, but I'm sorry that the situations are different. It's the best I can do. lol
It sounds like time for Ivan to learn that Nothing In Life Is Free. Resource guarding and social climbing are problems you want to nip in the bud. Ivan needs to learn that he doesn't own anything. You and the other people in your family own the food and the toys and the water and the air, and you are kind enough to allow him to use your resources. McKeever displayed resource guarding and social climbing behavior when I first found her. I started with the Nothing In Life Is Free approach with her on the first day. It is time consuming, especially at first, but it works.
First, you want to separate Piper and Ivan during meal time. If Piper won't come inside to eat, bring Ivan inside, and let Piper eat outside in peace. For now, Ivan no longer gets to eat out of his bowl. You can measure out his food and put it in his bowl, but put the bowl somewhere that is impossible for him to reach. Put a couple of kibbles in your hand, no more than one bite's worth, and tell him to sit. When he sits, tell him he is a good boy, and open the hand with the food. He needs to eat it out of your hand; don't put the food on the floor. Repeat the process until he has finished with dinner. If Ivan won't sit, put the food back in the bowl and take a break. Ivan only gets to eat when he follows your command.
If Ivan doesn't know sit yet, you should put him in a sit as you give him the command. Of course, you can't expect him to guess what sit means.
You'll go through this process for about a week, and everyone in your family should take turns feeding Ivan. Once he's doing well with sitting for every bite from your hand, you'll introduce the bowl. You'll dump all of his food into another container that he can't get to, and place the empty bowl on the floor. Again, you'll put one bite of food in your hand and tell him to sit. When he sits, you'll put your hand with the food in the bowl and open your hand. The food will stay in your hand and your hand in the bowl while he eats that bite. You'll repeat the process until he has finished the meal.
After Ivan's doing well with this step, you'll start to dump the bite in the bowl and keep your hand on the bowl but not in it. As time goes on, you'll add an increasing number of bites to the bowl and take your hand away from the bowl. You'll check on his progress by taking the bowl from him for a second and then giving it back. If he growls, go back a step. Eventually, you'll be able to put his entire dinner in the bowl and to tell him to sit once to receive his entire dinner.
You should also not give Ivan any treats without first making him follow a command. He should for the rest of his life sit (or follow another command) for both meals and treats. If Ivan has to work for food, he will learn that your family owns the food, not him.
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"Thought is an invisible and subtle power that mocks all the efforts of tyranny." Alexis de Tocqueville
Tucker does the same thing to Zoe, not to any of the other dogs, only Zoe. However, the baby and my other daughter mess with his food all of the time while he is eating and he doesn't have an issue with it. Tucker is not aggressive in any way and is very submissive. Tucker is also large. He is almost 11 months and weighs 90 pds. He gets fed plenty! What I do, is I put Tucker in the laundry room to eat. All 5 dogs eat together and poor Tucker has to go in the laundry room. I have to put him in there and close the door because if I don't and if he can see Zoe's food he shows no interest in his food and only wants Zoe's and ends up not eating a thing because of wanting hers. You can imagine that with 5 other dogs the second he walks away from his bowl his food is gone. Tucker and Zoe also eat the same thing. The didn't use to but I ended up switching Tucker's food to try to solve the problem. Is it possible for you to completely separate them while they eat so that they can't see each other? I also do a bit of NILF is free with my dogs. Not to a large extent but mostly at food time. Tucker, however, has a food and water issue. He never thinks he has enough. Its a mental issue from the shelter he was at. When he was there he had to fight for enough food and water and he hasn't yet realized he is going to get enough here, although he is getting much better.
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Saving just one dog won't save the world, but it surely will change the world for that one dog. -Richard C. Call
I started Ivan on the NILF program today and it worked wonders! Given, it's only the first day....but he quickly learned that he had to sit (and be still) in order to get food. It was SO much better than previous feedings. Thats SO much for all of your suggestions! I'll keep you updated on how it goes.
Never feed large dogs together, or where they can run up to each other, before or after eating. It is very normal behavior to guard food. It is not an issue that you should attempt to modify. A more likely result than peaceful bowl sharing, is a full scale dog fight. I feed the dogs in crates and no dogs are allowed to molest another[ie:lock-down continues] until all have finished their food. Fortunately, even the slowest eaters are done w/in 5 minutes. This way they do not bolt down their food thinking somebody else may grab it, or just interrupt them. They all get better digestion this way. I like to relax when I eat, also. I, for that matter, do not take kindly to people attempting to feed themselves out of my individual plate, although the common plate is fair game. My dogs are raised getting equal shares of everything, but food stealing is not permitted by prevention, not by wishful thinking. I have found that the aggressive behavior begins after, but not long after, 8 weeks. In free feeding situations, it is not mentally healthy for a submissive dog, nor physically healthy for a dog that gobbles more than it's share.
"Thought is an invisible and subtle power that mocks all the efforts of tyranny." Alexis de Tocqueville
