FOOD GAURDING

clairiscrazy · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:11 pm Post subject: FOOD GAURDING

It is completely normal for some puppies to guard food. This has nothing whatever to do with dominance, but is a strategy for survival in a world where dogs once competed with other dogs for resources.

Obviously, nowadays this strategy is somewhat redundant ( because humans provide for their pet’s needs ) , but the food guarding instinct does still persist in some of our pets and is very easily misunderstood and mismanaged.

The simple way to cure the problem is to show the puppy that people are benevolent providers, not competitors for their food.

It is a very common problem and is easy to overcome with the right approach. I understand you want your pup to feel comfortable with your hand in her bowl, but for some puppies this is not a natural state and needs to be trained in a structured way.

This is my take on the subject http://www.thegundogclub.co.uk/Reference/health/behaviour/resourceguarding/foodabout.htm

Pippa

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thank you pippa for this very informative post + link

littlelab · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:25 pm Post subject:

Fantastic article, I am assuming this this cna be applied to dogs of all ages?

Molly99 · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 7:19 pm Post subject: food guarding