Sudden food possession agression.

Hello All,
This is my very first post so let's see how it goes!. The story is this; My husband and I have a 2.5 year old bitch and 1.5 year old male. We have had them both since puppies and are both desexed, Dixie (the bitch) has always been the boss, every toy is HERS, bones are HERS etc. Even though she has been possessive it has never been agressive or involved their daily meal, until about 1 week ago. They both have very good manners when I feed them, they sit patiently making eye contact with me until the bowls hit the floor. In true staff form they seem to inhale the food and it's done. I started feeding them dry food more often and thought this had something to do with it as Murphy eats it a little slower so I thought Dixie may see that as an invitation to help herself. After noticing them fighting nearly every night I decided to supervise the next night. Even with me there Dixie still dominated Murphy and because he is a little fearful of her he left his food before his sister "made" him give it up!
My response was to correct her with my voice, remove her food (which she hadn't even finished when she went to take his!!) and let Murphy finish his meal while I kept her out of the way. When he was done I let her finish.
I guess I am really worried about this for a couple of reasons, I know that Dixie could do some damage if she gets to that point of no return. I am worried because we will be going overseas soon and leaving them in a boarding kennel, also Murphy is such a gentle soul and I know that he is petrified at the moment. Dixie has always been an anxious dog, my question is if this is just a natural progression for an anxious dog who has not been managed properly? What ideas can anyone give me for the short term and then a plan for the long term. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hiya and welcome! I have never had 2 dogs together, so I can't really help at all. You will find lots of advice here though, someone will be along soon. I hope you enjoy the forums

Hello & welcome to the forum!

I think Dixie is seeing another opportunity to asserts herself. Food always seems to be a trigger for dominance between two dogs in the same household, and should be stamped out as soon as possible. Always supervise meal times when you are feeding two dogs in the same room.

Firstly, I would try feeding them seperately so that Murphy feels more comfortable. After a few days you can try feeding together again and see what happens. I wouldn't take Dixie's food away, as that may make her even more keen to get Murphy's! If she tries to force him away, or if he seems to leave his food rather than be forced away, you should step in. Tell her "No! Leave it" and stand between her and Murphy's food, leaving the path to her own food clear. If she tries to go around you, repeat the action & place yourself between her and Murphy's food.

If that doesn't work, you may have to either put her on a lead for a while during meal times, or consider feeding them seperately. Food aggression, if left, can become very dangerous!

Good luck!

P.S. It'd be lovely to see some pics of your two!

May i ask why this was not sorted alot earlier like when you first realise you had a problem?
Dixie (the bitch) has always been the boss, every toy is HERS, bones are HERS etc.
Thats not at all fair on your male or her.
Its a shame they'v had to live that long in such a hostil environment.
Go back to basic training with the female, you lead through every door way and on every walk, plently of mental and physical exercise.
she starts being possessive over things, make her back up off them and remove them from her never take it from her mouth, teach the "leave it" would also be really good and helpful.
feed seperatly so neither dog feel threatened

Claire, I agree with you 100%. But the immediate worry is the food aggression, & I feel this is what should be tackled right away.

Caryll wrote:Claire, I agree with you 100%. But the immediate worry is the food aggression, & I feel this is what should be tackled right away.

There is no point in tackling 4 and 5 when 1,2,and 3 need addressing first because those are the minor things that built upto to food aggression because they were never addressed, you'd just be going around in circles.

Not allowing her to obsessive over the minor things may even stop the food aggression just like allowing her to be obsessive over the minor things made her food aggressive.

I agree, and obviously the dominance must be addressed, but the food aggression is by far the most dangerous aspect of the behaviour & must be addressed now.

The rest can follow as a matter of everyday training.

Caryll wrote:I agree, and obviously the dominance must be addressed, but the food aggression is by far the most dangerous aspect of the behaviour & must be addressed now.

The rest can follow as a matter of everyday training.

By far it is the most dangerous, thing is "it is the most dangerous" she is going to be so unstable and not her self, so getting through is going to be alot harder for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, so attacking the minor things would be more appropriate and safe.

tackling the food agresion first is the most important and when doing so will give the bitch a better understanding of her ranking in the household and the smaller matters should be a lot easier to correct.
yes it may be harder for a untrained person but at the end of the day you cant be afraid of your dog so no problem

bigwazza wrote:tackling the food agresion first is the most important and when doing so will give the bitch a better understanding of her ranking in the household and the smaller matters should be a lot easier to correct.
yes it may be harder for a untrained person but at the end of the day you cant be afraid of your dog so no problem

yes it may be harder for a untrained person

It could go horribly wrong if not done correctly, that is my fear which is why i feel addressing 1,2 and 3 first which is where it all started would be appropriate and safe for all involved.

MissRogue wrote:It could go horribly wrong if not done correctly, that is my fear which is why i feel addressing 1,2 and 3 first which is where it all started would be appropriate and safe for all involved.

Although I can see where you're coming from here, I would still address the food aggression first, as it can, and most probably will, escalate far quicker than the other dominance issues, as there is more at stake, ie: food. I think the last thing that the OP needs now is a dog that becomes food aggressive with humans - because that will be the next step.

Caryll wrote:

MissRogue wrote:It could go horribly wrong if not done correctly, that is my fear which is why i feel addressing 1,2 and 3 first which is where it all started would be appropriate and safe for all involved.

Although I can see where you're coming from here, I would still address the food aggression first, as it can, and most probably will, escalate far quicker than the other dominance issues, as there is more at stake, ie: food. I think the last thing that the OP needs now is a dog that becomes food aggressive with humans - because that will be the next step.

I do believe the food aggression should be dealt with first but with someone who knows what they are doing, other wise the aggressive you speak of, if the food issue is not addressed first will also be an issue if it is addressed first in the wrong hands.
Calming the dog down around other issues would be easier and less dangerous, someone who is not trained should not just dive in there and hope for the best!
That is how accidents happen, people end up in hospital or dogs end up in kennels and pts because untrained people see it and think oh i can do that....turns out they can not.

Ok......now I feel like a terrible mother!! It seems I have not painted the best picture of Dixie!! I know that I need to take responsibility for not acting on her possession issues before, I guess I was blinded by the fact it never got aggressive on Dixie's part except for the odd growl. The picture I have loaded is the typical Dixie and Murphy relationship. By the way....how do I upload more??
I have already made changes as of last night. I fed them seperatley which seemed to suit them both fine. They even did their usual ritual of licking each other's bowls when they were done! This is another reason why I could not figure out why all of a sudden she was trying to take over his food. Normally they would both eat their own and then swap bowls at the end to make sure the other didn't miss any! I have also made sure they are inside at night time a little more than they were as I think this has alot to do with Dixie's anxiety. They are both loving intelligent dogs but have not had the training they deserved. I am definitely the "alpha" when we are all together so it makes sense that the more time I spend with them the more Dixie's perception of who is the boss will be challenged! I agree that the food aggression is the first thing I need to tackle but also agree that addressing her other possession issues needs to be done asap as well. I will keep you all posted with our progress. Thanks for the advice!!

You're not a terrible mother at all! It's so easy to slip into a certain way of life & not see something creeping up on you! Some careful & consistent training will do the trick!

If you open a photobucket.com account (free & very easy!) and upload your pics on there, you be able to copy & paste the IMG code here.

Look forward to seeing some pics now you know!

Caryll wrote:You're not a terrible mother at all! It's so easy to slip into a certain way of life & not see something creeping up on you! Some careful & consistent training will do the trick!

If you open a photobucket.com account (free & very easy!) and upload your pics on there, you be able to copy & paste the IMG code here.

Look forward to seeing some pics now you know!

I tried that! It kept telling me the url was incomplete! Very frustrating....

Try using the 'bulk uploader' even if you're only uploading one. I often have to do that. Once it's uploaded, you can either copy the IMG code from the right hand side, or go in to your library pics, hover the mouse over the pic you want & copy the IMG code from the bottom of the drop down menu.

You are not a bad mother at all. Wether we like it or not having 2 dogs 1 will be more dominant than the other thats the way animals know there position. They dont look at the situations like we do that they have to share its the top dog gets the best toy ,food ect ect. If you tried to get your boy to dominate he wouldnt be happy and would be so confused he is happy to backdown to her.
Back to your original problem if they are happy to feed seperate then prob solved they dont need to have a meal together it is as you said your girl will want all of it and he will give it to her.
If she is being aggressive with you then try giving her a bit at a time tell her to sit and wait inbetween food make her give you respect the food comes on your terms. Good luck

gem wrote:You are not a bad mother at all. Wether we like it or not having 2 dogs 1 will be more dominant than the other thats the way animals know there position. They dont look at the situations like we do that they have to share its the top dog gets the best toy ,food ect ect. If you tried to get your boy to dominate he wouldnt be happy and would be so confused he is happy to backdown to her.
Back to your original problem if they are happy to feed seperate then prob solved they dont need to have a meal together it is as you said your girl will want all of it and he will give it to her.
If she is being aggressive with you then try giving her a bit at a time tell her to sit and wait inbetween food make her give you respect the food comes on your terms. Good luck

Thanks so much! Everyone has been a great help but you have just summed it up in one paragraph! Dixie has NEVER been aggressive towards me, a little possessive maybe but more of a sook than anything. Even last night I fed them at the same time and didn't seperate them just increased the distance apart to what I usually do, I then positioned myself between the 2 and it went off without a hitch! You are so right, there has to be a dominant one between the 2 of them, afterall they are together during the day while we are at work. As long as Dixie knows who is boss when we are home, life will be sweet! Thanks again!