Bella and food

I've been trying to get Bella used to people being near her when she is eating. She gets quite aggressive when it comes to her food. go near her and she stops eating, growls, pushes her head towards your hand and has snapped a few times. With my older dog it was really easy, would pet her when she was eating, touch the food, things like that and she realised pretty quickly that the food wasn't going to be taken away so completely ignored hands in her bowl, being touched etc. Just now she is only 9 weeks old so its not too painful when she does it but she wont be so small for long. I don't know if it's just going to take time with me being around her when she eating for her to realise or if there is something else I should be doing.

Do you make her wait for her food until you say she can have it?
Do you correct her when she growls/shows aggression?
Is this something that's just started, or has she been like it from day 1?

I would advise you to teach her to sit & wait when you put her food down, and make her wait a few seconds before you allow her to go to her bowl.

If that doesn't work, try putting her bowl down empty and gradually adding bits of food until it's all gone. While she's eating what you've put in there, keep your hand resting lightly on the side of the bowl so that she gets used to it being there without the food being taken away.

What I've always done with all of my dogs (and I know others don't agree with this) is from day 2 (I give pups a day to settle) I will put food down, and then tell them "leave", gently push them away & pick up the bowl. They then get loads of praise & the food is given straight back. That way, they not only learn the "leave" command early, but they realise that it's ok for you to touch their food because they know they will get it back.

Thank you Caryll, I will try that. She has been like this from day 1. The first few days she was jumping up and knocking the food out of the dish when I was putting it down. Now she will sit quietly until the dish is down and she seems frantic abotu eating. As soon as she smells any food she runs around manic. when she finishes she rund straight to Millies bowl for her food as well. Millie has let her know thats not gonna happen. I use eh eh to correct her, its what i use with the older dog and in other situations its starting to work, just not with food.
Millie was my first dog after years of having cats and I'm beginning to think I was spoiled with her training it was so easy.

You could also try putting a collar & lead on her for a while when you feed, so that if she starts to growl you can pick up the lead & move her away, get her to sit facing away from her bowl & then lead her calmly back. Above all, don't lose your temper or panic! Keep calm all the time & she'll pick up on your calmness.

She's what is often termed as 'resouce guarding' (a term I hate!) and a lot of dog owners say it's natural & shouldn't be interfered with, but I don't agree. My argument is, what if a child is in the park, eating sweets & that child drops the sweets on the floor right by Bella. Child & Bella go for the sweet at the same time.......doesn't bear thinking about!

An ex boyfriend of mine had a labrador that 'resource guarded'. He also had a young daughter from a previous relationship. One day teh dog was eating & the little girl went to look in his bowl. It was horrific; and yet this same dog was usually so gentle & sweet with children! Let's just say that I vowed there & then that I would never allow this sort of behaviour in a dog of mine!

I agree with having her sit and wait for the food as well as trying to add a little bit of food gradually if the first method does not help the behaviour.

It can be difficult to keep calm and not get frustrated over it, but i keep reminding myself that she is still a baby. I was a bit naive thinking her training would come along the same if not better than Millie with having a bit more experience now lol
Its because of kids with food I want to stop it. so many times kids have came up to Millie and been eating sweets or tried to give her sweets. I have young nieces and I know I can tell them not to go near her when she is eating but its really not a risk I would want to take. The consequences for both the kids and Bella aren't something I would like to think about.

Just a wee update. It's been a slow process, but Bella will now sit and wait after bowl is put down until I tell her to take it every time, she still tenses a little when I touch her but there is none of the snapping & growling and she is eating more slowly being touched while she eats, she is actually crunching the food and not just swallowing it. We are still working on it but the improvement has been great so far

Well done! It might not sound like much, but that's a tremendous acheivement. It isn't easy, but with perseverence you'll get there!

Thank you I've been learning not to panic about it and expect overnight results. It's a slow process but its encouraging to see her sit and wait until told to take food

I think you're doing great!