My little 8 week old Mal has suicidal food agression. Im working on him at dinner time and he will now let me touch him and stroke him. However if i touch the bowl he goes beserk. I can deal with this problem ill keep going how i did with Anya touching treating and hand feeding.
Anya my 18 month old mal x had food agression is now perfect and will drop anything on command and will happily let me take her bowl without warning. she can also eat next to another dog as long as the dog doesnt try to stick its head in her bowl.
My main problem is his food agression with Anya. He had found a bone in the sitting room, Anya went up to have a look at what he had got and he launched into a manic growling yapping attack. Now this would of been very funny sight to see, had it not been for the fact that he is tiny and clearly fancied his chances against a full blown dog. Anya was brilliant she tried her hardest to pin and calm him but he was having none of it. He continued to flip growl and snap until my husband scruffed him scooped him up and put him in time out.
What on earth do i do with that? I need to sort him out but im not sure how to do it? He clearly is either far to big for his boot or suicidal? I was amazed how well Anya did not to attack him back because he was going nuts

what's happened in his short life to make him so aggressive about food? he's only 8 weeks old, he certainly shouldn't be that aggressive to adult dogs, or anyone/dog for that matter. I would be very worried if my 8-week old puppy had such aggression.

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I OWN A CHOCOLATE ROAN COCKER SPANIEL
RIP David xx Run free at the bridge. Love you always xx 19th February 2011
RIP Jack and Mickey xx Run free at the bridge. Love you forever xx 20th June 2011

Firstly tell your husband not to scruff him!

Have a read of the following article. It should help explain a bit more about resource guarding:

Resource Guarding- origins, explanations, prevention and solutions

The key thing is that you need to teach him that people and dogs being around his food and resources is a GOOD thing!

I would suggest you contact a certified behaviourist from the APDT or APBC.

See here:
Welcome to APDT - Association of Pet Dog Trainers UK
The APBC | Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors

You pup certainly sounds like a very worried boy

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I dont know what has cause it i was and still happy with the breeder so far she has been helpful o the phone nad is in constant contact to see how he is getting on, Katohs back round- they were hand reared from 3 weeks due to the bitch getting very very ill with mastitis/infection, having to be in the vets for 2 weeks and nearly died. The breeder did say that they wer fed out of one massive bowl, but there were only a hand ful of gowls and certianly nothing major at feeding times. He has been put on ID kibble mix to settle his stomach as he had a bout of collitis 2 days after we picked him up. He i definatly more funny about his food with the ID in it. other than that he is fine listens well is picking up basic commands with ease is toilet training well.

Just a note on my husband scruffing him it was to only way to avoid the teeth he was not picked up or dragged he was mearly grabbed and scooped up out of the way. We are not advocates of brutal discipline but at the same time this puppy has the sharpest teeth i have ever come across i dont blame my husband for going for the bit of him thats out of teeth reach.

Resource guarding isn't just a learned behaviour although there are strong learning components - its a normal, natural and necessary dog behaviour.

Take lemmsy's advice and get some help plus Jean Donaldson's book MINE asap before this escalates and human behaviour (!) makes it worse.

Just a note, APDT does not certify behaviourists - they are a professional dog trainers organisation and the remit of dog trainers and certified clinical behaviourists is very different.
Escalated resource guarding requries a qualified behaviourist so check out APBC but you will need veterinary referral or the COAPE registry of behaviourists.

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"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts." - John Steinbeck

"If you don't want your dog to bite you, don't be an a**hole to him." ~ Dr. Ian Dunbar

Dillon was the same as a puppy, he even went for the other puppies at puppy club when they were given a stuffed kong each he would try and steal their's and guard his own. They told me it could be something to do with competing with his brothers and sisters for food. So when feeding him I started to get him to sit and wait a few seconds when I feed him building the time up slowly. I've never seen food disappear so fast in my life. I use to give him a treat then offer another asking him to swap and he slowly learnt to do that. Now he is a gentleman with his food, he eats slowly and I can take it off him no problem at all.
So give him time he's only a baby and he has to learn the house rules.

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Sorry about any wrong spelling, but I'm feed up of looking things up in the dictionary

A lot of the problems are from being hand reared from 3 weeks, although admitted in this case if the mum was sick and away from them in the vets for 2 weeks it couldnt be helped. 3/7 weeks is canine socilisation period. The pups bite chase,play games and mount one another. Some breeders do separate the mum from pups at 4 weeks, but with breeds like the Malamute it is not advisible. At this stage the pups need the discipline and the training from the mum. If the pups are deprived of it behaviour problems can occur.
Usually the mum will teach things like bite inhibition and sort out any pushy dominant ones. The breeder should not have fed them from one big feeding pan either. Missing out on the earlier discipline from mum, and then being allowed to feed in a free for all is going to encorage the stronger tougher ones to muscle in and bully and the weaker ones to fight for their food and become defensive and guarding. If you watch a Mal or sibe mum with a litter and one pup bites another too hard in play our gets too pushy, the weaker one or the one that has been bitten too hard will yelp. If the offending pups been taught properly then he will let go. If he doesnt the mum will grab him and dump him on the ground and hold him there. If he struggles she will remain holding him until he has learnt he has gone too far. A lot of breeders of Malamutes also dont rehome until 10 sometimes even 12 weeks, allowing them longer with litter mates and mum and starting the socialisation and
habituation themselves before they leave to go to their new homes.

I think you will find that this is the reason for his behaviour.




So I think this is probably

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