Food aggressive w/our Jack Russell...

[Kenosmom]

Keno is 21 wks old...we also have a 1 yr old female Jack Russell who has been like a mother to Keno since the day we brought him home...from day one they have eaten from the same food bowl with basically no probs except at times Keno would stand back & bark at Daisy when she was eating as if to say "hey back off of my food"...Daisy would ignore him and keep eating & then Keno would just go on his way...until recently...now when I put something yummy in their bowl with their kibble (yogurt,rice,etc) he will sometimes growl at her.. today he nearly bit her when she was trying to eat... Daisy is the alpha, so I don't know if this is Keno's way of showing her that he's the boss or what..I mean, Daisy is so "male like" that she mounts HIM, if you can believe that !! :rolleyes: ...
He has other issues with growling too--like when he's in dh's recliner and we tell him to get down and he looks at us like "uh, this is MY chair"...when he doesn't listen to us we go to move him and he growls..but if we just move him he eventually jumps down on his own...he only does this every once in awhile, but it does have me very concerned, none the less...
We're signing him up this month for puppy obedience classes at Petsmart because we know that it will be a positive thing for him...
But my question is, is it normal for him to be behaving this way towards Daisy being that they eat from the same bowl? I have tried feeding them out of two seperate bowls but they always end up eating from the same..plus we free feed , but I guess when I give them something special mixed with kibble I can feed them seperatly...does anyone else have this prob?

 

[Poetic_thing]

Sounds like someone is trying to become alpha / dominant dog, but that is just my opinion. As for the mounting, that too is dominance - I think they are both trying to figure that out. Someone else here may have more experience with this issue and hopefully will be able to give you some great direction / advice. Good luck.

 

[Jan]

It sounds like you have a dominate boxer in the making. It needs to be nipped in the bud.

I would not allow him on the furniture. Being on the furniture is a priveledge that he hasn't earned yet. You can invite him up if you like, but he should only be up there when he has been invited. If you want him off, I would toss a treat to get him off.

You must feed your dogs out of separate bowls. You are just asking for trouble. Give them both their own bowls and insist that they eat out of them. I would hand feed part of Keno's meal every day. He must see you as the provider of his food.

Mounting is not a sexual behavior is purely dominance. Daisy is just saying that she is the boss.

Good luck!

 

[basak]

Seperate the bowls definitely.

basak

 

[Kenosmom]

Thank you all for your good advice ! Jan, I definatly think you hit the nail on the head when you said it sounds like we have a dominate boxer in the making :o ...and we definatly want to nip it in the bud right now before it gets any worse...getting him off the furniture is going to be a hard one to do since he's been allowed up there from the first day he was home...but I agree, he hasn't earned the privilage, so he shouldn't be up there yet...
I know that Daisy mounting Keno is not a sexual thing but a dominate one instead and it really bothers me to see her be that way with him , but I understand why she's doing it...she puts Keno in his place when she feels the need but she is never aggressive with him when it comes to food--it's as if she already knows who the boss is when it comes to the food so she just backs off usually and then once Keno walks away she goes & eats...it's not always like that, but there are times when it is...this morning I put a little canned food in their kibble and they both shared the same bowl nicely...but from now on I will make them eat out of seperate bowls just so I'm not setting up a bad situation from the start....
If anyone else has any suggestions on other things I can do please let me know !
Thanks again!

 

[courtney323]

Yikes - I couldn't imagine feeding my 2 from the same bowl. They would literally KILL each other fighting (and it is NOT easy breaking up a 75lb and 60lb Boxer).

I want to add something else though: we have to take it a step further and feed them one at a time. Maddie eats first -- she has 10 minutes to eat or her food is put away until the next feeding. It only took her a day to figure out that she needs to eat right away!

Then Maddie goes outside to potty and Lennox gets fed. Same 10 minute rule applies to him. They are in different rooms when the other is eating.

Feeding them from the same bowl is a recipe for disaster. But often times even feeding them at the same time in the same room won't work if your dogs are dominant OR have food aggression issues.

Good luck

 

[Kenosmom]

We free feed Keno & Daisy, but they still have a pretty set schedule of eating so I am thinking that since I probably should start feeding them each at different times then maybe I should just give them 10 mins or so to eat & then pick the bowl up until it's time for their next feeding...it hadn't been a problem really until just recently and it's still only when I add something special to their kibble (I guess its so yummy that Keno doesn't want to share)... :(

 

[basak]

How about putting their bowls in different rooms where they won't be seeing each other while eating?