Dog food aggression isn’t always a sign of dominance. For many dogs, it can be a sign of fear or anxiety. If your dog is a rescue or shelter dog, or if they haven’t received sufficient food in their lifetime, if another dog in the house has tried to prevent your dog from eating…these are just a few reasons for dog food aggression.
I’ll tell you about my personal experience with this later in this article. But before that, I’d like to refer you to a dog food aggression training method that’s super effective.
Dog Food Aggression Training
Professional Dog Trainer and Behavioral Specialist, Doggy Dan (owner of the dog training website, TheOnlineDogTrainer.com) has a fairly new dog training program called, The Dog Calming Code.
It’s easy to follow and it’s particularly effective for stopping dog food aggression, regardless of the cause.
You can read my full review of The Dog Calming Code here. But the way it works is by teaching you 5 simple steps you can take to make your dog see you as the pack leader.
It builds a strong bond with your dog, makes the dog trust and respect you, and basically results in the dog having no reason to feel they need to be aggressive with food.
It’s interesting…check it out here:
Stop Dog Resource Guarding
Stop Dog Resource GuardingDoggy Dan also has a helpful tutorial called, 5 Ways to Overcome Resource Guarding, which provides effective tips on understanding the cause of dog resource guarding and how you can fix it.
It was written as part of his rescue dog series, but the information pertains to any dog with food aggression.
How to Deal With Dog Food Aggression Safely
Here’s a short video from Doggy Dan showing you how to deal with food aggression safely until you get it solved:
My Little Tazzie
My Little TazzieI have a bit of personal experience with dog food aggression. Several years ago, I adopted a miniature Dachshund named Taz. That’s her in the picture…”awww!”
She was well into adulthood when I adopted her and I had her for six and a half years. She was one of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever owned!
I remember when I arrived at the dog shelter to pick her up, there were well over a dozen dogs running around the shelter. You could see little Taz felt a bit intimidated and outnumbered.
She settled into my home quite quickly and I didn’t have any behavioral issues with her until one of my cats would come anywhere NEAR her food. She was downright aggressive about food. She repeatedly scarfed up all the food from the cats’ dishes.
She’d eat her own food so ridiculously fast that she’d often choke a bit. And once, when I’d purchased one of those enormous bags of dog food, she sat next to the bag in the kitchen GUARDING IT ALL NIGHT!
My heart breaks when I think about this, because I think that perhaps the reason she was aggressive around food was because she’d spent time in that shelter.
It was a “dog eat dog” environment where she may have had to fight other dogs for her share of the food, or perhaps actually missed out on eating completely if she couldn’t hold her own.
Seriously. Can you imagine?
Anyway…I do recommend Doggy Dan’s training techniques to help you not only teach your dog to overcome food aggression, but also teach you how to communicate with your dog to create a loving bond between the two of you. After that, your dog will happily obey you. Always.
Who is Doggy Dan?
Who is Doggy Dan?Doggy Dan is a Professional Dog Trainer and Behavioral Specialist, and the creator of the dog training website, TheOnlineDogTrainer.com.
His dog training website has been my top recommendation for puppy and dog training for going on 10 years now.
I believe in his training methods. They’re kind and super effective. You can read my full review here.
He offers 3 days’ access to his entire website for $1. Check it out!
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If you like this website, please share it with your friends and family who have pets. Thank you! Debra
For alternative approaches to stop dog food aggression, check out this post, How to Prevent Food Aggression in dogs.
Hi Debra, this article speaks to me as my dog who is 15 years old has had food aggression his entire life! I mean even with me I need to make sure that his bowl is completely empty and that he has walked away from it before I can even pick it up! He was a rescue from a pitbull ring and was used as a bait dog. So I can’t entirely blame him for how he is!
I wonder if the Dog Calming Code would still work for him at this age?
Thank you for sharing!
Jenny, I could CRY when I hear these stories about these poor dogs in such horrible conditions. I’m glad your little sweetie was rescued by you! Yes, this would definitely help your dog. Doggy Dan says taking the steps included in this training with your dog is one of the most loving things you’ll ever do for your dog. When you go to The Dog Calming Code and read how he describes it, you’ll probably wish you had this years ago LOL And I’d love to see your dog be relieved of this, for however long you have him. Aggression, in any form, is just as stressful and upsetting for the dog as it is for us to see it. If you try this, please come back and tell me the result! You can comment here on this post or email me at Debra@PeopleLovingAnimals.com. Regardless, give your pittie a hug and a kiss from me!
Hello!
This article on dog food aggression training is so helpful! I’ve been struggling with my dog’s food aggression recently, and I never knew where to start. I appreciate the step-by-step approach you’ve outlined, especially the tips on desensitizing my dog to the presence of people near their food bowl. It’s reassuring to know that with patience and consistency, we can work through this.
I’m also curious—do you have any advice for how to handle food aggression with multiple dogs in the house? We’ve got a few, and sometimes they get a little territorial with each other during mealtime. Thanks again for sharing such practical advice!
Angela M 🙂
I’m glad you found this helpful! The dog training program mentioned in the article will help solve the issue even with multiple dogs. Debra