Part 1: How to Prevent and Stop Food Aggression in Dogs!

 Bad hair, don't care Hey it's Annika here with Sniff dog. Are you worried about your puppy, developing resource guarding issues, Or do you have a teenage puppy, that's already showing some signs and symptoms, I'm here today to make sure that we can prevent resource guarding from happening in the first place? And also give you some tips on how to fix it At Sniff dog, we're here to teach you how to speak dog. If you can have a better understanding of your dog, you can have a relationship built off trust and fun. 

We wan na come on this wonderful journey of pet ownership with you to help empower the love and connection between you and your pup Before we get started with today's video, I wan na give a quick and loving shout out to Sam_meew Thank you so much for the continued support. 

We see you sharing and commenting on all of our Sniff dog content If you wan na be a featured pet in our YouTube videos. Make sure that you tell us what you want to learn more about Leave comments like and share our videos with all your friends. Let'S get started on today's video But wait, I always forget this, Don't forget to download the training tip sheet. Today we have a lot of content for you. 

This is going to be broken into two videos. So there's a lot to learn and a lot to remember Also don't forget to stay to the end, because we have bloopers Now, because this video is a two-part series. We have four training tips for you. What are you gon na need for today's video and next video are going to be a slow feeder or a bowl? A bully? Stick: a Kong, a favorite toy of your dogs, a whole bunch of high value, really special, treats And I think that's about it. 

Okay, let's talk about resource guarding first Now resource guarding basically implies your dog is guarding something that they do not wan na relinquish to you or other dogs. Those are two totally different types of resource guarding Resource guarding between two dogs, which is called inter dog or dog to dog resource guarding is completely normal. 

We have this expectation that dogs will not guard anything against anybody or any other animal and it's simply an unrealistic expectation. Dogs are dogs, they're animals, They have their own motivators at the end of the day And so expecting them to be friends with everybody. All the time isn't quite fair, Now dog to dog resource guarding, because it's so normal, we don't usually treat it like a training issue. 

Usually, we treat it as a management issue. So what that means is if your dog is currently a resourc guarder against other dogs, meaning they growl snap lunge, snarl, bite bark at or sort of bully other dogs when they're trying to hold on to a resource like a ball, it basically means you shouldn't be Playing that game or facilitating two dogs in a one resource like a ball They're communicating but they're, not comfortable sharing And the more you put them into the circumstance to practice resource guarding the more they're going to So we will not be talking about dog to dog Resource guarding today, because it's a pretty normal instinctive behaviour And frankly it's one that requires your management and not modification. 

Now the other type of resource, guarding human to dog, resource guarding, which is much more common and pronounced and much more of a problem, is when they're guarding you they're guarding against you. 

They don't want you the human to come near them when they are on the couch chewing a bully. Stick on your bed eating their meal, holding a ball in their mouth. They found a jackpot treat like a chicken bone out on a walk and they're guarding it from you Or they're doing all kinds of erratic avoidant, aggressive or sub-threshold aggressive behaviour towards you all in the name of keeping that item for themselves. Now again, this is also an instinctive, hardwired, normal dog behaviour. 

It doesn't mean there's something wrong with your dog. It does mean that you might need to get the help of a fear-free force free dog trainer. If your dog exhibits aggression in a way that has caused you a bite, a real bite that caused blood bruising And it's a reoccurring issue for you: Don't use this video to replace a real in-person trainer for you. Okay, This is more to prevent the issue from happening in the first place, So for puppy parents, teenage dogs, a lot of teenage dogs is when we start to see the bubbling of resource guarding and a little bit of testing of what does it take to keep the Bully stick `` that you, my friend, have been coming to take from me'' for the last six months. 

So we're gon na go through some preventative measures. If you have a young puppy and even what we suggest with puppies to do, you'll see it with me with Cedar. Today, you can do any of that with a dog that does currently exhibit resource guarding tendencies. 

It just means that you might need the help of a trainer if it's a little bit more pronounced The point of today's video. Is it's a lot of explanation, so you understand why it's happening and how to prevent it. Sorry, a lot of talking today we're also trying to convince your dog that, when you go up to them when they have something that they want to keep like a Kong or a bully, stick or their food good things happen for them when they let us approach Or even take items You can imagine over time and their experience we're constantly taking from them. Give me the ball. 

Give me the bone. Give me the chicken that you weren't supposed to take Gim me gim me gim me: I want it from you And over time they develop. What'S called a negative association of you coming towards them when they have something that they want. In today's exercises we're trying to switch their head space from `` - oh shit, here it comes'' to ``. Oh my God. I love it when it. He comes towards me''. When I have something because he doesn't just take, he gives me things .'', Let's get started with number one. 

Understand your dog's warning signals Now. The concept that dogs bite without giving warning is usually sort of a very untrue statement, because dogs don't inherently like conflict, They actually are professional conflict. 

voiders Problem is, we continuously put them in these situations where they are in conflict They're. In conflict with their own instincts to try to guard something And they're in conflict with us because they know it's probably not in their best interest to exhibit conflict. Creating behaviour like snapping at you or growling at you, So it's a double conflict for them And it's a lot of stress for them to really hunker down and decide. They are going to create conflict over this item. This can be a chronic issue with some dogs, and it is a sign that there's residual stress going on in the home or in their lives. It'S not something to take lightly. 

It'S a lot of information If your dog is resource guarding. Quite often Now the warning signs to look for we're gon na give you some examples. Primarily dogs will give multiple body language warning signs before they progress to the point of actually biting One of the very first signs that your dog is in fact `` resource guarding'' or experiencing possession. Aggression is when they steal an item and they go and hide away from you. 

So oftentimes they'll pick something up and they'll go bring it into their crate or under a table where Cedar is right now, If they do that and then they turn and face you with the item they're in the process of slight resource guarding, which is just to Say `` don't come near me. I wan na keep this item and I have put myself in a position to guard it. If you choose to come forward .

'' So stealing and hiding is sort of the number one sign that there's a problem that might occur. If you push them, he second is what we call a freeze. A freeze is very subtle. It'S very powerful Freezes are what dogs do sort of right before they commit to conflict in snapping or biting, So they might have the item under their feet. They may be under a table most often hiding like this And they're. Looking at you. They might freeze their entire body. 

And then they go for it, So you want to make sure that you're noticing a freeze. If you see a freeze, you need a back off because your dog is giving you their last defense ``, I'm gon na bite. You ,'', if you come to take this item, Another warning sign to see is what we call the whale eye. 

The whale eye is sort of what I just did where they have that item or they're holding the item, and they do this to you. They show you the whites of their eye with a closed tight mouth Often it looks more like this You're welcome for the super weird demos. The whale eye is powerful. They'Re really asking you to back off. 

And so, if you see that you need to listen and back off, because if you push you're likely to get a little snap or a growl, Obviously snapping and growling is our warning. Signs. Growling is something that I always recommend you pay attention to and you never punish If you punish a growl or any of these warning signals. You'Re teaching your dog that it's not safe, to tell you when they're reaching a point of discomfort and they learn just to simply give less warnings and bite in the future when they're in conflict with you, So we never punish any of these things. 

We say thank you very much for the information that we are in conflict. I will find a better way to go about taking that item from you, Although it's in your you know, you're allowed to try to take things from your dog and long-term. We will want to have that sort of relationship where it doesn't have to be a birder, But in the short-term, if you're seeing the warning signs, you need some work to happen around the resource guarding that they're doing to prevent it from getting worse in the future. So I'll just go over a few little extra ones. 

Oftentimes they'll have it under themselves and there'll, be whale eyeing and freezing and hunkering and erratically grabbing and flipping their heads back and forth with a tight jaw, They'll be looking at you and staring or be totally frozen in a different position, hiding the object away from You ( upbeat music ) Pay attention to these things. 

It'S your job to notice them So a friendly reminder. We do not correct them for these behaviours.e notice them We acknowledge them, We check ourselves, We go about taking the item in a differet way and we move on you knowing better in the future All right. This is fun stuff. Let'S get to tip number two You are going to play the approach treat retreat game when your dog is eating a meal. Now this is best done out of a slow feeder or interactive feeding toy If you're doing it out of just a plain silver bowl. It'S gon na go too fast and your opportunity to practice this exercise is going to be limited. The whole point of this exercise is to make your dog think that when they're eating out of their food bowl or a food dispensing toy, when you come up to them, good things happen not bad things. 

It'S gon na change their emotional reaction to your approach from ``. Oh, I might loose this to I love when he comes towards me. `` And so you're gon na use, high-value, treats that are hidden. 

Your dog does not know you have them. When they're eating their meal, you are going to start 10 feet away from them and approach them When they notice you or when you're, about a foot away from them, say yes and then toss the high-value treat that was hidden into or close to the food toy. That they are eating out of or the bowl that they're eating out of Retreat 10 feet again linger for five to 15 seconds. 

And then repeat that Approach your dog treat them for you coming near them when they're eating retreat. At no point in this game, are you touching them touching the bowl touching the food they're eating or taking what they have away from them? I want them to think. 

It'S cool when you approach them After doing this, for maybe five times in a row, five days in a row, Your dog's gon na love, when you come up to them when they're trying to eat their meal. That'S when you can start to push to maybe petting them a bit when they are eating. So you would approach treat pet one two and then retreat. You might progress over a few days after that, towards touching the ball touching the food in the bowl or placing the food in the bowl and keeping your fingers in there for a little while Now remember if, at any point, your dog is giving you those warning signals, you got ta back off, we can't let them get to the point of practicing the resource guarding, because then we have to respond to it. 

Oh, I shouldn't have put my hand in there.  Your body was really stiff. You froze, And I didn't listen, So you don't want to move through these steps too quickly. And truly this feedback and support is really most beneficial for puppies or teenage dogs that do not currently exhibit any resource guarding issues. If your dog does exhibit resource guarding issues - and you want to practice this particular exercise, I would recommend staying on that step, one where you approach toss the food retreat for many many many sessions before ever touching them. 

In fact, most of us don't have to touch them when they're eating It's sort of a rude thing to do when they're trying to consume their food. But it's a normal thing that people try to achieve long-term, especially if you have a home with kids in it, because kids will touch your dog when they're eating, if you're not supervising. 

So we do want to normalize it for young puppies if it's possible. Okay, if you're playing this game with them and they're like `` screw the food you've got the good stuff ,'' and they leave the bowl and they come to hang out with you. Instead of eating the food, that's super normal and super common. I would just not give them any of that high-value food until they start going back to their bowl again. 

The whole point is to make them like when we approach when they're eating their food, So don't distract them by giving treats for free when they're no longer near the food bowl. nother thing that might happen is you almost want to see their tail start to wag when they notice you approaching when they're eating their food? That'S a conditioned positive emotional reaction to you coming because they know good things happen when you come towards them when they're eating their food. 

All right we're gon na stop there And we're gon na move to tip number three and number four in next week's video, So make sure you watch we're gon na make it harder for your dog And we're gon na figure out a way to make sure that Resource guarding is not practiced as your puppy ages or, as your teenager turns into an adult As always, thank you so much for watching If you have any questions or comments or things that you'd like to learn more about, please make sure that you follow us on Instagram. 

Follow us on YouTube, subscribe to our channel and press the notify button. So you find out when we put out videos which is every single Thursday, As always share with your friends on Facebook. Let us know what you want videos about. I am here for you. Thank you so much for watching and I hope you enjoy the bloopers Don'T forget Stay tuned for next week's video, where I give you more tips and download the training tip sheet from today. It'S going to help you Sniffdog, If you want to be a featured And move on we're gon na get with .., I don't know why I can't talk today: ... Bad hair, don't care..