long- dominance/slight food aggression???

[sdtrach]

Hi,

I just posed this same question to the rescue we adopted our dog from. Our new addtion, Colors (we already had a 3-year-old, Prince) has now growled at me 3 times- we've had him almost a month. The first time was in the first few days when i tried pulling him away from Prince's food dish, and he kind of also snapped at me. he was new, so I told him "No," but let it go.

The second time he was in the bed and I wanted to take him out (it was early in the morning). I attempted to grab him by the collar (as I do with Prince fairly often, with no problem) and again he growled and caught my wrist in his mouth- I am sure it was meant as a warning, if he had wanted to bite me, he could have. I said to myself, "he was laying down, i shouldn't have bothered him," and let it go again. this was about 1 or 2 weeks ago.

Then this morning, I put food down for both him and Prince and I heard a growl- he was growling at Prince (a first since he's been here). I got closer to investigate and he looked right at me and growled at me. I told him "No" and he curled his lip and growled.

We have come to realize that this really only happens when food is involved, other than these 3 times he has been a perfect angel. I do not know if it is food aggression or a challenge of dominance. I am also concerned that perhaps he feels that he is higher in "rank" than I am, that I am not the alpha (especially because my husband has never been growled at). I do not fear for my safety, and I am not looking to return him, but I do need to find a solution to this problem, especially because I do not want anyone feeding him (if either of our parents babysit, for example) until it is under control. We love him and he is a great dog minus these 3 incidents.

We have been giving him the same treatment as Prince- table scraps, treats, sleeping in the bed, etc...and I am wondering if all of that needs to be put on hold until he better learns his place- i just don't know.

any and all advice you have would be extremely helpful, I assume it will start with me having to exercise more dominant (and less friend-like) behavior.

thanks SO much!

rachel

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

Rachel,

If the problem is food (as most rescues seem to have some food issues and they work out in time), then feed separately from the other dog and DO NOT BOTHER THE DOG WHILE EATING.

I note that each time he growled at you you were attempting to grab his collar and discipline him. Do you see a sign here?

I suggest training. I also suggest several books for you to read:

"The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson
"The Dog Listener" by Jan Fennell
and
"Feeling Outnumbered" by Patricia McConnell, Ph.D.

These will go a long way in helping you acclimate your new rescue to your home and finding the RIGHT way to express your leadership of the pack, without "less friend like behavior."

Good luck.

 

[sdtrach]

thanks!

actually, this morning (the third time he growled and curled his lip), i was nowhere near him- was not pulling his collar- which is why i thought i should seek advice. the other two times i was invading his space, so i understood he might be miffed. but this time i was a good couple of feet from him and was not advancing toward him at all when he curled his lip (i think that raises more concern to me than just growling) and this is what sparked my concern. the hair on his back was also raised.

i will most definitely read those books you recommended- we actually already started reading one of them.

also, we did begin by feeding them separately when we first brought Colors home, but they ended up migrating back and forth between 2 bowls and we figured they didn't mind sharing since that was what they were doing. we'll try that again though. i also think i will start the "eating from their bowls" trick and pull a cracker from the bowl, eat it and then put their food down. we never had to do this with Prince as he never had any issues with food.

i understand Colors has had a harder life than Prince (and that he also has a completely different personality) and we are going to work with him.

thanks again,
rachel

 

[adobeboxers]

If you feel comfortable doing so, you might want to try hand feeding him acouple of times a week. It takes more time on your part but it allows him to see you control the food. I would do it when you are away from Prince and alone with Colors. I do this now with my 15 week old puppy so it is a little different then with a grown dog but it has the same principle I would think.

good luck