Food Aggression

Background

Most behavior problems are caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Genetic factors may cause a dog to have a tendency to respond to a given circumstance in a certain way (i.e., with aggression, fear, friendliness). Environmental factors may have either a positive or negative impact on a dog’s tendencies. Dogs likely behave aggressively around food-related items because they really enjoy a particular item and don’t want others to have it, because there is a history of conflict (i.e., being punished) related to the item, or because they come from a background where food was a scarce resource and aggression enabled them to get enough food.

Summaries of studies which refer to food and/or possessive aggression can be found in our research library.

Identifying the Problem

Shelter dogs with food aggression are usually identified through an intake questionnaire, observations of behavior while in the shelter, or a behavior evaluation. There is very little peer-reviewed published research regarding the accuracy of identification of food aggression in shelter dogs. When we identify a dog with this problem, it is important to recognize that we are identifying TENDENCIES toward this problem. Stress influences behavior, and may result in the dog’s behavior in the shelter or on the behavioral evaluation not being a true representation of the dog’s behavior in a home. The person surrendering the dog might not be completely truthful on their behavioral intake questionnaire or have accurate information about the dog’s behavior. Identification (or absence of identification) of food aggression, based upon intake information or a behavioral evaluation may not always predict the presence or absence of food aggression in the home.

ID from Intake: People surrendering their dog should complete a behavioral intake questionnaire. This will help staff care for the dog while in the shelter and match the dog to the most appropriate new home.  See the CSD Dog Intake Form [PDF] for an example.

ID from Behavior Evaluation: Food aggression tendencies can be identified during the food bowl and pig’s ear subtests of the Match-Up II Behavior Evaluation. ID from Behavior Observed in the Shelter: Food aggression is less commonly identified during day to day animal care in the shelter. Occasionally, kennel staff might observe a dog behaving aggressively when staff or visitors walk by the kennel while the dog is eating a meal or chewing on a valuable edible chew toy.

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Further Evaluation

Food Aggression - Making Outcome Decisions

Making outcome decisions for dogs with food aggression is a controversial issue for animal shelters. Some shelters euthanize dogs that have been identified with tendencies toward food aggression because of concerns of potential bite risk to adopters. Alternatively, many pet owners do not consider food aggression to be a serious problem; they manage it effectively by avoidance so that it does not cause problems in their home.

Several factors should be taken into consideration before embarking on a training and management program for dogs with behavioral tendencies towards food or possessive aggression. These include:

• Severity of reaction - i.e., dog biting or attempting to bite versus showing teeth or growling
• Potential to cause injury - i.e., a small dog with no teeth is much less likely to cause serious injury than a large dog with teeth
• Ability to manage the problem -it is easier to manage this problem by practicing avoidance for a dog with only food bowl aggression than for a dog who behaves aggressively over any object or toy or place where the dog rests
• Methods of identification – there is more certainty that an actual problem exists with a dog whose aggression is identified on the basis of multiple methods (ie, intake history, behavior evaluation, and through behavior observed in the shelter), than with a dog whose aggression is identified solely on one method.

Goals of Management and Training:

1. Ensure the safety of people in the shelter and after adoption.
2. Teach the dog to respect and defer to people at all times
3. Utilize training techniques that reduce the dog’s possessiveness while maximizing the dog’s behavioral health and welfare.

Management Plan for Food Aggression

This training and management plan begins during the dog’s first week in the shelter and continues for as long as the dog is in the shelter, as long as the problem behavior does not worsen.

Please make a selection to continue:

Click Here if Your Dog has Mild Food Aggression
Click Here if Your Dog has Moderate/ Severe Food Aggression

Management Plan for Mild Food Aggression

Week 1:

1. Note the existence of this specific problem on the dog's cage - Mild Food Aggression Cage Card [PDF]
2. Practice avoidance every time anyone interacts with the dog: Do not pet dog, enter cage/run or remove food bowl while dog is eating or chewing on a toy or treat. Chew toys should be low value (not delicious like a pig’s ear or bone) or very short lasting.
3. Say Please Program [PDF]- Implement the Say Please program every time anyone interacts with the dog
4. Feed the dog meals or give the dog delicious edible chew toys in the presence of people whenever possible. These exercises should be performed away from the dog’s kennel, and in a location where the person working with the dog can be far enough away from the dog so that the dog does not consider the person to be a threat. This distance must be far enough that the dog is able to eat its food or chew on the toy with relaxed body posture and no stress or anxiety. The person with the dog should ignore the dog during these exercises, and as the first week of training progresses, the person should move about the room so that the dog becomes accustomed to a person walking while they are eating or chewing, 1-2 times daily, 5-7 days per week
5. Retrieve Game [PDF]- Implement Retrieve Training 1-2 times daily, 5-7 days per week
6. Additional enrichment activities should be conducted as needed to reduce stress and maintain behavioral health of the dog.

Management Plan for Moderate/Severe Aggression

The plan for food aggression should be thought of as teaching the dog to SHARE. Dogs are taught to share items, starting with things that the dog has NO interest in guarding, and gradually working up to items that previously were associated with aggressive behavior.

Day 1 only:
On the first day of training, conduct the Toy Preference Assessment [PDF]

Click here to watch demonstration videos below

Week 1:

1. Note the existence of this specific problem on the dog's cage - Moderate/Severe Food Aggression Cage Card Wk1 [PDF]
2. Practice avoidance every time anyone interacts with the dog: Do not pet dog, enter cage/run or remove food bowl while dog is eating or chewing on a toy or treat. Chew toys should be low value (not delicious like a pig’s ear or bone) or very short lasting.
3. Say Please Program [PDF]- Implement the Say Please program every time anyone interacts with the dog
4. The Name Game [PDF] – Play the Name Game once every other day
5. Feed dog meals or give dog delicious edible chew toys in the presence of people whenever possible. These exercises should be performed away from the dog’s kennel, and in a location where the person working with the dog can be far enough away from the dog so that the dog does not consider the person to be a threat. This distance must be far enough that the dog is able to eat its food or chew on the toy with relaxed body posture and no stress or anxiety. The person with the dog should ignore the dog during these exercises, and as the first week of training progresses, the person should move about the room so that the dog becomes accustomed to a person walking while they are eating or chewing, 1-2 times daily, 5-7 days per week
6. Retrieve Game [PDF]- Implement Retrieve Training 1-2 times daily, 5-7 days per week
7. Additional enrichment activities should be conducted as needed to reduce stress and maintain behavioral health of the dog.

Week 2:
This training plan begins during the dog’s second week of the plan, and continues for as long as the dog is in the shelter.

1. Note the existence of this specific problem on the dog's cage - Moderate/Severe Food Aggression Cage Card Wk2 [PDF]
2. Practice avoidance - every time anyone interacts with the dog: Do not pet dog, enter cage/run or remove food bowl while dog is eating or chewing on a toy or treat. Chew toys should be low value (not delicious like a pig’s ear or bone) or very short lasting.
3. Say Please Program [PDF] - Continue to implement the Say Please Program every time anyone interacts with the dog
4. Food Bowl Training [PDF] - Implement Food Bowl Training for dogs with food bowl aggression
5. OR Delicious Chew Toy Training [PDF] - Implement Delicious Chew Toy Training for those with rawhide/bone/pig’s ear aggression
   If a dog has both food bowl and delicious chew toy aggression, start with Food Bowl Training during week two and Delicious Chew Toy Training in week three, 1 time daily, 5-7 days per week
6. Retrieve Training [PDF] - Continue with Retrieve Training 1 -2 times daily, 5-7 days per week
7. Additional enrichment activities should be conducted as needed to reduce stress and maintain behavioral health of the dog
8. Use the following form to track the daily progress of the dog throughout the program - Daily Food Aggression Training Log

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Reassessment

A dog with food aggression must be re-evaluated on a daily basis, by observing its behavior in the shelter and during training sessions, to ensure that its behavioral health is always maintained or improved. It is not necessary to repeat the possessive aggression subtests of the Match-Up II Behavior Evaluation; however, if you choose to repeat the evaluation, it should be done at the end of the first week of the dog’s training and management plan in order to help you to decide whether the dog should be made available for adoption.

Positive Signs: The following factors are indicators that it may be possible for the dog to be successfully managed in a home:

• No aggression (stiff body, show teeth, growl, snap, bite) observed during sessions with food and delicious chew toys, or during shelter observations
• If the food bowl and delicious chew toy portions of the behavior evaluation are repeated, the dog’s behavior is improved (less aggression) or the same compared to the previous behavior evaluation.
• Dog willingly retrieves and gives up toy
• Dog has learned to sit for the things it wants in life: i.e., at door openings, to have training collar put on, to ‘earn’ the ball being thrown during retrieve game, etc.

Negative Signs: The following factors should be cause for concern.

• Aggression is observed during training sessions (stiff body, show teeth, growl, snap, bite)
• If the food bowl and delicious chew toy subtests of the behavior evaluation are repeated, the dog’s behavior is worse compared to the previous evaluation.
• Any other aggression has occurred: i.e., aggression toward strangers, aggression during handling. A dog with multiple problem behaviors is more challenging to place in a home than a dog with a single problem.

Adoption

The plan and outcome decision for a dog identified with food aggression tendencies will depend upon the resources available within your shelter and community. Because of the potential for food aggression in the new home, if your organization does not have the ability to provide behavior counseling for this problem at the time of adoption as well as post-adoption follow-up, transfer to a group that is qualified and has the capacity to manage the problem should be considered.

All dogs with food aggression should be placed for adoption as part of a Special Adoption Program. While, in general, potential adopters of a dog with this problem should not have children living in their house and should have dog training experience, adopters for dogs with this problem must be chosen on an individual basis. Through the Special Adoption Program, the adopter learns (Special Adoption Possessive Aggression Handout [PDF]):

• Not to approach or pet while the dog is eating
• Not to give the dog delicious chew toys (rawhides, bones, etc) unless the dog is in a crate where it cannot harm anyone, and the chew toys are lower value (ie, Nylabones).
• To keep other pets separated from the dog at mealtimes and when valuable resources are present (toys, bones, etc.)
• To trade (for a valuable treat such as chicken breast or roast beef) any time the dog possesses something that they wish to get away from her. If the dog is unwilling to trade, they should NOT attempt to command her to drop it or take it away from her. Commanding or forcing the dog to relinquish the item may likely result in a bite and should be avoided.

Post Adoption Follow-up

Post adoption follow-up for a minimum of three months is important to answer any questions the adopter may have and to ensure that the dog is being successfully managed in the home. This may involve telephone consultations and/or consultations in the shelter.

THUMBELINA

“Thumbelina, who now goes by Sylvie, is doing great! We've been training her to be the best dog she can be. Sylvie had issues with food aggression before she was adopted, so CSD taught me how to show Sylvie "leave it" and I only give her delicious treats when no one is around to disturb her to avoid any problems. Sylvie is very protective of me, but she "goes to her place" if she feels threatened or uncomfortable. Clicker training, lots of praise and most importantly, consistency, has given Sylvie the opportunity to thrive! Thank you!"

BROWNIE

"Brownie is doing fantastic in his new home! House training and obedience training were tough at first, but he learned quickly, and once he learned, it stuck with him. He now comes when his new mom, Zackera, calls his name! At times, he would growl when he was in his Zackera's arms, but following the advice from Kim Melanson, Behavior Counselor at the Center for Shelter Dogs, and putting him on the ground when he started to get protective helped a lot! Brownie also showed signs of food aggression in his previous home and in his Match-Up II Behavior Evaluation, but Zackera has managed this behavior by giving him delicious chews only when he can be alone to enjoy them. By practicing avoidance, there is no risk to people or dogs! Brownie may have had a rough beginning (he had never even seen a dog bed before!) but he is very loved now. He gets to snuggle on a heated car seat, run around in a big yard and play with other little dogs in the park. What a great life he has now! Congratulations to Brownie and kudos to Zackera!"