I have owned a male Welsh Border Collie for about 3 years and he's a well mannered calm dog and great around kinds. However, I adopted a male patterdale terrier yesterday and although they appeared to get on great on neutral ground but since arriving home the terrier is showing extreme aggression over food so serious is it that I'm very worried about the kids.

The terrier even seeks out the collies food and attacks him if he refuses to budge. Obviously this is not acceptable and I'm trying my best to resolve this problem but I think it's going to be very difficult. I'm trying to feed them both from my hand and teaching the terrier to share which is working to a degree but I'm worried that is may progress from food to toys then to places in the house. As you can imagine I don't want my collie to be scared to wondered around his domain and I don't want my kids to be attacked over a slice of toast or for picking up the dogs ball.

I'm very used to dogs and used to be involved in training British Police Dogs so I'm very used to aggressive dogs. But this is the worst I've seen and I'm a little stumped on how best to tackle it. I'm currently the only person in the house who can remove food without being bitten.

Can anyone give me advice. It is my sisters dog so I have the option of returning him but at this sage I'm reluctant to do so.

Any kind of aggression issue should really be dealt with by a trained person who can observe the dogs in the flesh - especially where there are children in the house who could get hurt - I hope you manage to sort out the problem - where did the Patt come from? - you say adopted so is he a rescue - if so what did the rescue centre advcie you to do about his issues - have they been working on them whilst he was in their care??

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Jo, Nelly, Bhu and Molly
Some people talk alot.................and say nowt

He came from my sisters who had trouble with the housing association and rules with respect to keeping dogs. With the exception of food he is a lovely dog but I've seen this before and it often spreads to other objects in the house. I knew a German Shep once who had exactly the same problem, the poor thing ended up guarding everything in the house and the result was a very unhappy dog.

I've started by feeding them in different rooms and I keep adding bits of tuna to the terriers dish while he's eating just to get him used to people coming near his food. Other than this I'm stuck.

It's very sad but the terrier will have to be rehomed if the issue continues or gets worse. At the end of the day I have to consider the welfare of both of my dogs and if both become unhappy then no one wins.

Hi. I know situations like this can be very upseting. I have a rottweiler that guards certain items (bones and rawhide treats) but thankfully that is all he will guard. As I have no kids its not a big issue for me. The best thing you can do is get a behaviourist in to analyse the situation. Find one that uses modern, reward based training as anything else may only esculate the situation. Aggression over food is a natuarl behaviour, its the most iomportant resource to any animal, which is why it is so common. Im glad you have stared feeding them seperate as this means your collie will not have to worry about his food.

Where is it that you live? i may know of a behaviourist in your area or if its near birmingham ill come and have a look for you myself

Cassie

I'm in Nottingham / Derby - Long Eaton to be more precise. I discovered the aggression by accident. The Patterdale came in the room while my very slow picky collie was still eating. The patterdale had been fed and I didn't expect the attack at all.

The last thing I want is for my collie to develop a fear of his eating area. The collie was also a rescue and had been badly beaten and starved before I adopted him three years ago.

This creates a huge problem as it means I can't leave his treat ball out while I'm at work and it also means things like chews have to be carefully planned.

Iv sent you a personal message with some good behaviourists in the nottingham area. hope they are close enough. Will look out for some nearer to derby.

Let me know how you get on.

Found some in near derby, Iv mailed them to you too. Best thing to do is phone them all up and ask about the methods they use. Choose one who only uses positive reward based methods. Other methods, tho they may appear effective, can cause other problems or escalate the situation. Until then keep up the good work and just carry on with what you were doing and feed him away from your other dogs and the kids. Best of luck and keep us posted on progress.

Cassie

Unfortunately I have made the decision to re home little Burtie because he has now started guarding the exit to the garden and several of my other dogs toys. I really don't have a lot of choice and I'm concerned about the welfare of both dogs.

I'm looking for a local person to adopt him, no kids, no cats or other dogs and somewhere I can at least check on once in a while.

Heart breaking.

aww. im sorry. im sure his new owners will allow you to visit. good luck with finding a home.