growling while eating

Hey there staffy lovers
My staffy girl is now 8 months old. I'm happy with her behavior mostly all time, but we have a problem with growling while eating. I know that dogs tend to protect their food, but...
When I put the food for my dog, she starts eating little by little and if i try to touch her, after some time she starts to growl a bit. I stop her from eating by saying "bad dog" and do not let her touch the food. If I put the food back to her, she does not eat unless I go away and she does not see me! I even tried a method by giving her food from my own hands, but it did not stop the growling, 'cause if I put food and let her eat alone - same story with growling continues. And she is very protective of her food if the other dog is around.
Maybe you guys have any advice on how to stop the growling? I'm afraid she will get more angry while getting older.. I have never had such an experience with dog growling while eating. Help please

Rather than taking it away from her why not try not putting all of her food out but add to it while she's eating, it may help   

I leave Lula alone while eating but can touch her or add something to her bowl. When given a treat she walks of with it and wants to be left in peace. I`ve noticed she does not leave me in peace with my food   I leave her alone more because i would be annoyed if someone kept touching me while i was trying to eat.

You have to be careful not to make an issue by keep touching her while she is trying to eat. Think about it from her point of view. They give me my food, they keep touching me when im eating, I ask them to stop (growl) then they tell me off and take my food, next time I will show them more strongly to leave me and my food alone! She wont eat until you are gone as she is making sure you wont take it away again. I believe you give dogs their food and leave them in peace, they usually have no reason to be protective over it.

It is a habit you need to snap her out of - food possesion is not a good trait. Rather than touching her when she has food leave her - try treat training - sit/wait/leave until she gets it - this will train her with food. Not saying you should do this with dinner straight away but before you give it use the commands that she has learnt, sit/wait and then feed.

When it comes to dogs the usual fights break out over food so you need to have some sort of control.

janey wrote:It is a habit you need to snap her out of - food possesion is not a good trait. Rather than touching her when she has food leave her - try treat training - sit/wait/leave until she gets it - this will train her with food. Not saying you should do this with dinner straight away but before you give it use the commands that she has learnt, sit/wait and then feed.

When it comes to dogs the usual fights break out over food so you need to have some sort of control.

I agree. Just take it slow and be consistant and she will catch on.

Sazzle wrote:Rather than taking it away from her why not try not putting all of her food out but add to it while she's eating, it may help   

I thought about this method before, I'll try it on my girl

Simi wrote:I leave Lula alone while eating but can touch her or add something to her bowl. When given a treat she walks of with it and wants to be left in peace. I`ve noticed she does not leave me in peace with my food   I leave her alone more because i would be annoyed if someone kept touching me while i was trying to eat.

I have another dog and I can do whatever I want to her while she is eating, she even likes to be touched when eating her food, that's why my staffy's growling is a "new" thing" for me

flowerbud wrote:You have to be careful not to make an issue by keep touching her while she is trying to eat. Think about it from her point of view. They give me my food, they keep touching me when im eating, I ask them to stop (growl) then they tell me off and take my food, next time I will show them more strongly to leave me and my food alone! She wont eat until you are gone as she is making sure you wont take it away again. I believe you give dogs their food and leave them in peace, they usually have no reason to be protective over it.

It used to be like this before, 'cause I used to give her food and let her eat it and there was no sign of growling when she was younger and for no reason she started to protect it..

janey wrote:It is a habit you need to snap her out of - food possesion is not a good trait. Rather than touching her when she has food leave her - try treat training - sit/wait/leave until she gets it - this will train her with food. Not saying you should do this with dinner straight away but before you give it use the commands that she has learnt, sit/wait and then feed.

When it comes to dogs the usual fights break out over food so you need to have some sort of control.

Thanks, we will try to work of this possession, 'cause there is no need for her to protect food from me

I leave Lula alone while eating but can touch her or add something to her bowl. When given a treat she walks of with it and wants to be left in peace. I`ve noticed she does not leave me in peace with my food I leave her alone more because i would be annoyed if someone kept touching me while i was trying to eat.

Completely agree with Simi's advice. I don't believe you should pester dogs whilst they are eating