What's new
Mastiff Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • Welcome back!

    We decided to spruce things up and fix some things under the hood. If you notice any issues, feel free to contact us as we're sure there are a few things here or there that we might have missed in our upgrade.

Food Aggression in EM puppy

I brought home my gorgeous EM baby Samson almost two years ago!!! He is the most amazing dog. So, naturally, I wanted another dog...presumably with the same temperament as my Samson. So I contacted my breeder, told her I was interested in another male...and when someone dropped out of her last litter, I had my Floki. Floki was sweet and gentle. I trained him exactly the way I trained Samson. In the past couple of weeks, Floki has been demonstrating some very scary food aggression...not with his kibble, but with bones. At first he would growl at samson while he was chewing his bone and I would tell him to knock it off, we don't growl at family members. And then I decided to grab his bone and he growled at me. I grabbed it anyway. This happened a few times... and then yesterday Floki had his own bone and then he walked over and stole Samson's bone. I went up to him and said, NO we don't steal bones from our brother and I went to reach for it and all the hair stood up on his back, he hunched down and growled a growl I never heard from him. I immediately backed off. I called my breeder. She advised me to have him neutered (he's only 7 1/2 months) but my vet said EM's need 12-18 months before a neuter because they need the testosterone to grow properly. She had no other advice for me. I told her I was now afraid of my once sweet puppy and she advised I discuss my concerns with my vet.Which brings me to all of you...There are several issues here. I am afraid of my puppy. He's HUGE. Much larger than Samson was at his age. And this wasn't an issue when I wasn't afraid of him (Samson is over 200 pounds and my sweet cuddle bug) but now, his size is problematic because I believe he could seriously hurt me if he chose to. I have a 5 year old Autistic son. While we have taught and reinforce the proper way to handle animals in our household, I am now afraid to have Floki around my son. If he doesn't respect my position in the pack, he most certainly will not respect my son's. I don't know what to do. My husband is freaked out and said I have 3 days to find a home for Floki. He said we can't risk having an aggressive dog around our son. I am, naturally, searching for other answers. I love my sweet boy, despite this aggression.I could really use some advice here... Thanks in advance,Beth
 

tmricciuto

Well-Known Member
I agree with TWW...you kind of need to do a reset with him and let him know that all good things come through you.
 
When it comes to meal times. Put all dogs outside except for the food aggressive one. Put his kibble in your pocket or a treat pouch or stand and hold the bowl behind your back. The important part is he doesn't see where the food is coming from. He only gets to eat by your hand. Try to work on focus work and you can periodically ask for sit, stand stay down w/e he knows. At first though keep it simple. Re quest eye contact either by baiting or by command if he knows/has one then break, then 5 pieces of kibble by hand. The point of the exercise is this. Food only comes from you. He only gets food when he is doing what you ask of him. He never gets to eat ANYTHING or have ANYTHING unless it came from your hand to his mouth. You can do this with all your dogs or just Mr. Growly pants. /\ /\ /\ /\ I want to note that the time he growled and you backed off you reinforced this nasty behavior. That right there is going to make the situation worse and possibly even escalate it. If you are afraid of the dog you need to work with confidence building exercises with him which will also build your own confidence. Higher a trainer to help you if you aren't confident you can do this. If your are scared and no amount of training or outside help will change that, rehome this dog. You cannot be a leader to that which you are scared of.
 

Hector

Well-Known Member
Don't post multiple threads on the same topic. You'll get more replies and make it less confusing for others if you just stick with one thread.