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It's a fine technique to use with puppies that have not developed serious food aggression yet. I wouldn't try it with a seriously food aggressive dog.



One of the techniques I've used in training is "sit for everything." My dogs don't get anything without sitting for me first - food, treats, attention, whatever. This starts from the moment they come home as pups - and sets the rule that they don't get fed without listening to me first.



There is a technique called "Nothing in life is free." It's a good approach to use, including with dogs where problems have already started to emerge.

That's exactly what they need as puppies. That's part of how you train them appropriately. Unfortunately, its not that easy on dogs that already have food aggressions. Like the ones that were rescued from a sad situation. Once they have that aggression, its very hard to correct.

cool great that u did that but with my Golden Retriever i just make him sit then he starts eating then i wait 30 mins-1 hour then i go back out and play with him for an hour or so

I used to think it was a matter of training a pup to be relaxed around its food and then the food aggression would never develop, but it depends on the dog.



I've done exactly the same as you with my puppies. My first dog never showed any signs of food-aggression. She was out of a litter of 5 pups.



The puppy I have now, has never shown food aggression around her regular food, toys or treats, but give her something extra yummy and she resembles something out of The Exorcist. She was only 8-9 weeks old the first time she flipped. This puppy was out of a litter of 12 pups. The breeder told me not to train it, but handle it as food-aggression training (never take food away from the dog, exchange whatever she has with something better, add something better or more to what she has etc.) when her food-aggression is triggered. She's much better now, but we still haven't gotten completely rid of it.

I think you are fine you start very early so you don't have the problem but if you have a dog that is already food aggressive you may loose a finger. You have to take a slower approach if you have had a dog even for a month and realize one day it is food aggressive.



My puppy was not food aggressive before I switched her to the raw diet a little piggy but not aggressive because I did what you do then when she started getting raw meaty bones they must have been much higher in value combined with the fact she won't eat them in a bowl I was not creative enough to figure out what to do and I also assumed that because she was not aggressive with kibble she wouldn't be with rmb's. I was wrong and instead of getting bitten I worked slowly with her we have a door in the kitchen so now I can touch her food and her she only growled at me once thought if you let this behavior go on for a long time it won't be that easy.



I am not sure who all the people are who say just leave a dog be while eating but they have not been sue yet I am sure. I don't want a friends kid to get bitten because they got too close to my dog while eating.

That system has worked with all my pups but one. It was my beagle. Eventually he was diagnosed with rage syndrome! No wonder it didn't work. We had to limit physical contact with him--he couldn't stand to be petted for more than thirty seconds at a time. We had to feed him in a small area so he knew it wouldn't be taken from him, otherwise he'd eat so fast he barfed. It took three of us, a muzzle, and a towel draped over his head to trim his nails and empty his glands for the first four years of his life; but later I was able to do it all myself just with the towel draped over him. It took a lot of patience and understanding to get along with him. We had him for sixteen years and had only one serious bite--fortunately it was me he bit. He was looking up at me wagging his tail, and I leaned over talking baby talk and telling how I loved him, and BAM! I got five stitches in my lip.

It is the best way to teach your dog who is boss. Taking their food away from them tells them it is you that is in charge, then deciding to give it back to them tells them they rely on you to take care of them. I do it with my dog every now and then - not a lot as he isn't remotely aggressive. I just take a toy or a treat away from him and when he has accepted it as gone and goes off to do something else I give it back to him.

You have probably without even realised it done the best thing you can do to make sure you never have any of the "who's the boss" problems that a lot of people have. Well done you!