What is Food Aggression?
Though the definition of food aggression is simple, dealing with the behavior certainly isn’t. Food aggression in dogs is a behavior with which many pet parents must deal with on a daily basis. Some pet parents are successful in quieting or reducing the episodes of the behavior while others are not.
The key to successful discouragement or elimination of the behavior lies not in disciplinary measures but in patient retraining of your canine family member. It is important to remember, that dogs will not attack without first giving a warning and recognizing the behaviors your dog may exhibit may prevent injury to people and other animals.
Food aggression in dogs is simply aggressive behavior, such as growling, snapping or biting, in defense of their food bowls or tasty treats.
Symptoms of Food Aggression in Dogs
The symptoms of food aggression (also called food guarding) are pretty straightforward, ranging from warnings to actions, sometimes with only milliseconds between:
- Stiffening
- Gulping
- Growling
- Snarling and teeth showing
- Freezing
- Lunging
- Snaps or bites when feeding is interrupted
The danger here is that the object of the aggression may be another dog or cat in the family or even a toddler or child who has wandered too close to the food bowl and who doesn’t understand the warnings or why they are important.
Types
Food aggression or guarding could be typed into two categories:
Aggression toward humans - This type of food aggression could be directed toward any human being who comes anywhere near the food bowl, kitchen where food is being prepared, the dinner table where the food is eaten or even near the leftovers. It could also be directed at only some of the human family members, with one or two being trusted to come near the canine when he is eating.
Aggression toward other animals - This type could include other dogs, cats or any other animals who are courageous enough to venture near the food dish when your dog is eating or is otherwise near it.
Causes of Food Aggression in Dogs
The behavior is thought to be a throwback to the time when wild dogs had to hunt for their food and, when food resources were scarce, they had to protect what they had. This is the same type of aggression exhibited when protecting their mates and living areas for reasons of survival. But now they’re tamed and no longer have to hunt for their food, so why does the behavior still persist?
Competition for food with littermates is the major cause. Most pet parents feed litters in a communal bowl and it’s literally a free for all at mealtime. Oftentimes, there may be one or two puppies who dominate the food bowl at mealtimes and utilize aggression to accomplish that. Any puppy who exhibits food guarding behavior before the age of 16 weeks should be seen by a veterinarian as this is an early sign of aggressive behavior development
Once this behavior has been experienced by a young puppy, it can be hard for the pup to ignore the desire or need to guard his food as he makes his new home with his new family. This is especially so if your puppy was one of the “weaker” ones who kept being pushed away and had to battle to get his sustenance.
Diagnosis of Food Aggression in Dogs
To diagnose food aggression in dogs, you will likely need the services of not just your local veterinary professional but also those of an animal behaviorist. Your complete history will be vital to your vet and will need to consist of dietary regimen, complete with the frequency, amounts of food and types of food and treats being fed. Any history of the littermates as well as the history of the canine’s interaction with other animals in the household should be noted, as well as interactions with humans in various activities. The behaviors of your canine family member should be well documented, giving your vet as much information as possible about how your pet reacts to humans and other animals at feeding time and virtually any other time he interacts with humans and animals.
Your veterinary professional will do a physical examination and may order some tests if he suspects a systemic issue at the root of the problem. If he suspects a food aggression or guarding behavior, he may wish to utilize the services of an animal behaviorist to help diagnose and guide the treatment and retraining of your canine family member.
Treatment of Food Aggression in Dogs
Once your veterinary professional and the animal behaviorist have done their evaluations, an appropriate treatment plan will be developed and initiated. Your canine family member may require some specialized home retraining to eliminate or reduce the aggressive behavior. Since food aggression in dogs can range from mild growling to protect special treats or food to reacting to any human who comes close when he’s eating to an all out biting, snapping attack, it is important to understand that not all food aggression needs to be treated.
If the aggressive behavior being exhibited by your pet is such that there is risk of injury to humans (adults, children or toddlers) or to other household animals, a retraining program will be developed which is commensurate with the level of aggressive behavior being displayed. These training programs are generally multi-stage or multi-step processes which will gradually teach your pet that they need not fear the loss of food or other resources which they have traditionally protected.
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Recovery of Food Aggression in Dogs
It is important for you to understand that the older the animal is when this training is developed, the harder it may be to retrain him. It may also require a longer training period to achieve reduction or elimination of the behavior. It is for this reason that we emphasize that aggressive behavior not be ignored or “blown off”. Your canine family member needs help, love and patience to overcome these undesirable habits and behaviors but the result will be a safer and more loving environment for all parties involved.
Of course, in the event that either no training is recommended or that the training is simply not successful, remember that you can always make adjustments at home at feeding time to isolate your pet. If this is the course that is chosen, it is important to remember that no food should be left down for your pet unless it is time for his meal.
Food Aggression Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Redbone Coonhound
Two Years
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My pet has the following symptoms:
Food Aggression BAd
He has always had a small bit of aggression like growling but todaY it was awful he lunged at my son and nephew and then I went to see what was wrong because I though mAybe he was playing and he lunged at me showing his teeth and growling and did the same to my husband
Sept. 27, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Thank you for your question.
I think that you need to hire a trainer to assess him as soon as possible. They will be able to see him, see what triggers might be affecting him, and let you and your family know how to handle this. If you do not know a good trainer, your veterinarian will be able to help you find one.
Oct. 14, 2020
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Toy or Miniature Poodle
Puffy
13 Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Food Aggression
My dog is a 13 year old toy poodle who has recently started showing food aggression. I’ve had him since he was a puppy. I am giving him the vet recommended one can of food split 2 times a day. The aggression started, I believe, when I had a friend stay with me for 4 days. I noticed my dog waited until I left the room to eat. When my friend left is when he began growling at me when I placed food down or moved his plate - he sleeps laying down due to back leg weakness so I turn the plate so he can reach his food. I can feed him snacks by hand and he doesn’t growl nor has he ever bitten me. I have held his food dish back until he stops growling then put it down but he returns to growling at each meal. What can I do?
Aug. 13, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
2 Recommendations
I'm not sure why that behavior happened all of a sudden, but letting him know where his food comes from tends to help with that type of aggression. Feeding him piece by piece, and making him work for each piece by sitting or another command, helps. If the problem continues, it would be best to work with a trainer to help curb this behavior.
Aug. 13, 2018
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St bernard
Nani
11 Weeks
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My pet has the following symptoms:
Growl
Snap
We brought home an 11 week old pup. She is rather aggressive towards our 1 year old Bixer/Pitt mix while there are people food around. Like she is obsessed. She growls and snaps at him. He growls back. We are turning her on her back when she does it. She even tries rip frantically through trash bags. We feed her twice a day. We are just afraid it’ll turn into something worse. Please advise us with direction.
July 2, 2018
0 Recommendations
It is important to curb this bad behaviour early on without it becoming a habit which will be more difficult to break, I’ve added a few training guides below from our site which should give you some guidance and there is also a section on each guide where you may ask a certified dog trainer a follow up question. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
https://wagwalking.com/training/not-bite-over-food
https://wagwalking.com/training/not-eat-human-food
https://wagwalking.com/training/stop-food-aggression
https://wagwalking.com/training/wait-for-food
July 2, 2018
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German Shepherd
Bailey
Six Years
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0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Growls
Bites
Snaps
Lunges
Shows Teeth
We just got a new 9 week old golden doodle puppy and we currently already had a 6 year old german shepherd. It's been going pretty well so far with them getting along. They have chased each other and done a little bit of rough housing. Our older dog even rolled over on her back to play with the puppy. The older dog has a big flaw though. I've never had another dog, but she has been socialized with other dogs. She somehow through the years developed food aggression and also aggression when other dogs come near her when she's playing with a toy. Now that we have another dog, it's becoming apparent that it is an issue and I don't want anyone or any of the dogs to get hurt. Do you have any advice???
April 5, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
it would be a good idea to have a trainer work with both dogs before it becomes a serious problem. A trainer can assess their behavior together, identify the triggers, and give you guidelines to improve the situation. If you are not aware of a trainer, your veterinarian can help you find one that uses positive techniques to help resolve this situation.
April 5, 2018
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Australian Cattle Dog
Kira
10 Months
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My pet has the following symptoms:
Aggression
Nervous
Growling
Snapping
Pupil Dilation
Stiffening Of The Muscles
My red heeler puppy who is 10 months old has recently started developing food aggression. We always feed her in her crate because she feels safe and comfortable in there and doesn't get interrupted or distracted. We got her when she was 3 months and she would growl at us when we tried to pet her during feedings but I worked with her and she got better but now its back and worse, she gets spayed this month. Will that help. So far the behavior consists of tensing muscles, growling, snapping, and pupil dialation. We feed her 16oz of food at breakfast and dinner and try to stay consistent with feeding times. Is it possible she needs a mid day meal as well?
Thank You
Feb. 26, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Thank you for your email. I'm sorry that Kira is displaying that behavior. Spaying most likely won't help resolve it, as it may be that she is developing the behavior as she becomes older and more towards being an adult. Since you are seeing the behavior escalate, it would be a great idea to get the help of a trainer, as she is a young dog and you should be able to curb this problem relatively easily before it becomes ingrained. If you don't know of a good trainer, your veterinarian can recommend one for you. I Hope that all goes well for her.
Feb. 26, 2018
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Husky
Miska
10 Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Biting
Yapping
Miska is a very mild mannered older lady. She’s been raised with kids and is very gentle however she has always been food driven. We have a male German shepherd too who is slightly younger, epileptic and has always been the under dog. Miska has always wanted to reach the food first but they’ve always been fed at the same time. Quite often while preparing the food the dogs will either be outside in the garden or inside with me. Miska upon hearing food being prepared will stand closest to us or closest to the door and will chase Tsar away and it’s never really been an issue however recently this has turned to aggression and some days biting. One resulted in a vets trip where she bit his face and it got infected. I’m at a loss because it’s so out of character, she’s never shown aggression towards people and will happily allow me to touch her bowl etc.
Upon giving her her food she’s always bolted it down ever since she was a puppy but we give her a gobble bowl to stop this.
