Best/Worst liked Dog Breeds

[Sgt PSN]

It could lead to aggression over other things...chew toys, their bed, etc, etc.  Right now, he thinks he's in charge of his food. He needs to be taught differently.

[ice grillin you]

id just let him eat in peace...when/if he starts being an ass about others things id put him down

[Diomedes]

By harder I don't necessarily mean harsher, or meaner.  I mean a heavier dose of it.  At every single meal.  When taking walks.  Taking walks in order to administer training.  Whatever the method, I mean to say there needs to be an elevated dedication of time and effort to getting this dog square with you and it's new reality.  Dominating the dog at food time isn't the only way to address the issue.  The dog needs reassurance of it's place (and thereby its security) so all kinds of training could be very helpful in a larger sense.

if its only having to do with food...

Dogs eat every day.  You can't stop the world so the dog can eat and no one will get in the way.

[ice grillin you]

if its only having to do with food...

Dogs eat every day.  You can't stop the world so the dog can eat and no one will get in the way.
[/quote]

you dont have stop the world....just put food in its bowl and walk away...why do you have to pet or mess with the dog when its eating

[Diomedes]

I can't tell if you're trolling or not.

Let me give you the benefit of the doubt.  God knows why.

First, you can't let a dog that bites people during feeding live in your home.  It's not safe.  This should be obvious.  You walk by the dog whiles it's eating, it bites you.  Not cool.  You have nieces and nephews who visit.  They might approach the dog during feeding.  Etc.  You simply can't control the environment well enough to prevent bites. 

Moreover even if you could segregate the dog during feeding time so that no one ever got bit, doing so is eseentially submitting to the dog, and they know it.  A food aggressive dog that isn't broken of it will progress to further stages of neurosis, like displaying aggression towards to everyone but its owner, or it will start threatening anyone that approaches it's bed area, etc.

In order for a dog to be mentally healthy, it needs to know it's position in the pack (as it were).  And in a master/pet relationship, the dog can never be Alpha.  They don't have to be beaten or bullied to be trained, but they do have to be dominated and controlled, much like would happen to them in a wild environment.

[ice grillin you]

well like i said if it becomes aggressive in all areas of its life then put the pos down

if its just a food thing its not a big deal...again put food in the bowl and walk away...if you have guests...dont feed it around them or tell them to stay away when hes eating...if the dumb ass kids dont listen then they deserve to get bit...if a kid touches a hot stove after being told not to go near it they get burnt and dont do it again...this scenario is no different

[Sgt PSN]

You should probably just say "I'm not much of a dog person." and leave it at that.

[Sgt PSN]

By harder I don't necessarily mean harsher, or meaner.  I mean a heavier dose of it.  At every single meal. 

Yeah, this is what I've been doing for the last 2 weeks. Progress was being made until Squaw stuck her hand in his bowl.  But taking a step back and looking big picture, I think I need to "establish dominance" more consistently throughout the day rather than just at meal time.

When we lived in Cali, daily walks were the thing since we lived in a residential neighborhood. That obviously was a good opportunity to show him who the boss was. Now that I live in the country with no neighbors in shouting distance, we don't go on walks.  I just let them out and sit on the deck and make sure they don't run off into the woods.  So I need to start walking him again, even if it's just to the edge of the property and back.

If he were older when we left Cali, we probably wouldn't have these issues since our living arrangements basically forced us to be more assertive with him and those lessons would have been further engrained in him. But he was only like 9 mo old when we got here so I'm probably at fault for letting up on him too much.  He's still a kid for all intents and purposes. I wouldn't teach my kids to say please when they're 3 and expect them to say it everytime without reinforcing it for the next few years so I can't really expect anything different from the dog.

[Tomahawk]

Clicker training is a positive reinforcement behavior shaping method to teach your dog what's up.

http://www.clickertraining.com/

[ice grillin you]

i like the cliff clavin shock idea

[Sgt PSN]

He really doesn't need much "training". He responds to commands, doesn't jump on furniture, stays out of the trash and only chews his toys. He's great other than the fact that he has food aggression.

I started back at square 1 with him after he bit squaw. I hand feed him half of his meal and then put the other half in his bowl and pet his back while he eats. The last 3 meals I've given him, I've been able to pet him while he's eating without having to remove him from his food for showing any sign of aggression.  And I'm already over any "anxiety" i had about hand feeding him.  I know he's not going to bite my hand while hes taking kibble from it.  So that's good.  Just gotta stick with it this time and not abandon the training so quickly. It'll probably be at least a 3 mo process of doing this twice a day with him at feeding time...maybe longer. Who knows?

[Diomedes]

She's feeding him like this too?

How's her hand?

More to the point, how's her handjob? 

[Sgt PSN]

No, and she hasn't really been involved with feeding him very much over the last 4 or 5 months when she started with her current job.  She's out the door in the morning before the dogs are fed and in the evening, I usually feed them after dinner while she's getting her lunch ready for the next day.  So that might have been another factor in why he bit.  He's not used to her being around him while eating at all.  So last night when I brought him in the house to hand feed him, I made her sit in the room with me.  Figured she needs to see him eat from my hand and not bite me and he needs to have her near by while he's eating.  No idea if this will actually help or not, but I don't think it can hurt either. 

Her hand is getting better.  It's really just her index finger that caught the bulk of it.  Her cuticle was partially ripped up and sitting on top of the skin instead of under it and there's 3 or 4 punctures on her finger.  Little farger got her pretty good.  Swilling is starting to go down and she's able to bend it and straighten it a little more each day.  Pain seems to be almost completely gone unless she accidentally bangs it into something. 

Handjobs are practically non-existant.  But not because of the bite.  She's a hummer kind of girl.  And they're great. 

[Tomahawk]

He really doesn't need much "training".

Focus less on the training in clicker training and focus more on what it is...behavior shaping. But I'm going to quit trying to help because I hope he bites your face off.

My bitch is so dumb...she jumps on the bed, starts cleaning herself, and then I heard a thud because she fell off. She hates her tail so much she'll turn around and bite it, then just spin around...sometimes her leg gets in the way so she'll bite that instead and hop around in a circle.

[Sgt PSN]

And I hope your bitch bites off someone else's face.  #lawsuit

I also hope she's able to get the taste of your wang out of her vajayjay.