The dog in question belongs to my sisters friend, He's 1/4 Doberman 3/4 German Shepherd. We've been helping to look after him for the last 6 months or so by babysitting him every now and again, he's now 10 months old.
We help look after him because of his seperation anxiety which is now improving. My sister picks him up and brings him here, she also feeds him, i play with him and take him for all his walks.

The last few months he's developed Food Aggression so my sister and her friend try to correct it using the punishment method, basically they give him a slap and say naughty, i do not agree with these methods! Today my sister fed him and he growled because she was too close, so my sister shook a bottle full of stones and shouted naughty at him, this shocked him so he barked and snarled at her then hid behind me. For the rest of the day when she went to pet him he would snarl and growl at her then come to me. Once he even lunged for her but didn't attack, i grabbed him by the scruff and made him lay down, i didn't want him hurting anyone. He's perfectly fine for me to touch him and has never barked or snarled at me. My sister went to work later in the day so i thought i'd take the dog for a walk, his mood was a lot more positive after this but this is very concerning. I've told her not to shout at the dog anymore, violence does not help reduce violence. I for one am all for positive re-enforcement.

My worry his he might become aggressive, my sister says he barks at strangers when she brings him hear but he doesn't with me when i take him for walks. She spends more time with him yet he seems to be coming to me more. She isn't generally mean to him but uses methods to correct his behaviour that i don't agree with.

Does anyone know any good training methods to help with his food aggression and maybe to get him to trust my sister more, obviously i'll try and get her to stop punishing the dog.

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The way it is being dealt with will not cure his food aggression, but likely make it worse, and also mean it's very likely someone will get bitten. NEVER EVER grab him by the scruff and pin him down, or make him lay down.

You need to ensure the dog has positive associations with people being around his food. Start by putting his bowl down empty, and then putting the food in a bit at a time by hand. Don't attempt to put any more in until he has finished what was already there. Then, when he is totally OK with that, start adding the food whil ehe is still eating. Then put his bowl down with some food in it, and add some more by hand while he is eating.

Once he is totally OK with all of that, you can try showing him a tasty treat in your hand (it has to be something he REALLY likes) and then picking up his bowl, adding the treat to it, and then putting his bowl back down for him.

If he is uncomfortable with any step, go back a step. Don't tell him of for growling, he is just letting you know he is not happy. If you tell him of, he wil still be unhappy, but unhappy and quiet, and may then simply bite without warning,

Also, remember that as far as a dog is concened, what is in it's mouth belongs to it. You have ot do swap, not take something, at least not until good training is established.

A good book for you to read, about resource guarding is 'Mine' by Jean Donaldson.

Like i said, i do not agree with the methods used by my sister and her friend. When i got him to lay down it was becuse i was afraid he would go for her, i didn't do it aggressively, he was quite happy to lay down, i also don't use physical restraint. They have also been feeding him half of the dog food, then the second half but i'll inform them of what you've said. Thankyou so much for your contribution. I really want him to be a happy dog, not one filled with negative emotion!

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Bossy Bossy dog. He at 10months is only testing his boundaries.....he doesn't seem to have any. By the time he is mature he WILL have bitten someone, probably a family member...small children are particularly easy to boss around...besides they usually don't see it coming. Stop it fifi will not work, positive reinforcement will not work, You have already let it go too far. Harsh I know.
Sorry.

We had a German Shepherd, who unfortunately was pts last year....rip Ralph.xx

We took him on as what we thought was a 8 year old, to find out he was really 13, that was disappointing for us...but anyway he was food agressive...and we learnt to stay away whilst he was eating, as at that age, not much could be done....we later found out, he had to fight for his food, when younger, which is why he ended up the way he did!

Has this one had to fight for food, or has he been teased by anyone whilst eating his food?
I personally believe at his young age, it may have gone to far, but something normally enforces this behaviour...
Perhaps you or your sister can contact an Animal Behaviorist, see what they can do, maybe they can help....Good luck.

Good advice from Jackson, exactly what I would do given the circumstances. Let us know how he progresses.

Ya me too.

so how many owners ,homes ,training methods ,each day does this dog have?

hi cat101. i am not qualified. but i am training to be a dog behaviourist.
you are right ! never hit a dog. think of it this way, if someone hit you or shouted at you what you would be like towards them?
first things first. find out what commands the owner is using. he could be confused . be very careful.. if you sister or yourself have children DO NOT llow this dog to run free in your home. he sounds as if he is testing the boundries alot. and if he is entire it would be a good idea to have him castrated. when you give him food, dont give him it without him working for it first. make him sit or lay down for it. this will allow you time to show him who is boss. also a safe method of plcing his food down. you could try giving him a treat . then with the help of someone else holding his collar. place the treat on the floor. only allow him to get it if he stays calm and when told too. praise him . but the best bit of advice would be walk him with a muzzle. and get advice from a trainer. this dog carrys on likethis someone is going to get hurt. has he been brought up with the owner correcting him? socializing him? please be very careful. and do not allow your sister to hit him. as he will react and it will be her who gets hurt.

hi

I have a 3 year old entire male rottie who food guards. I find the best way of handling this is to give him his food and leave him too it. as long as you dont take the food he has no reason to growl. if there are children around they should understand to leave the dog while its eating or be kept away.

Many dogs have this problem and can be perfectly well behaved any other time. It is completely natural to protect your food. I no I dont like having people take food of me so I wudnt inflict it on an animal either. You need to make sure they stop punishing him for growling. he will think he is punished for the growling and when he realises this does not work he wont bother growling and will just bite.

with our rottie his food guarding is not a problem uinless he gets hold of something he shudnt. when he does we tell him to go and get a treat. he understands this and goes and sits next to the treat cupboard waiting. you could try swaping the dogs food for something even better but it must be the best thing ever as far as the dogs concerned. swaping or training something where the dog leaves the bowl may be the best option. but always use praise and reward. using punishment could bring about even worse behaviours

i must ask tho if this is really a problem. is it necessary to get into the dogs food bowl when hes eating. if not just leave him too it. i think if the siituation can be avioded there is no need to do anything. avoiding the situation will ensure neither you, your family or the dog gets upset.