# Food aggression



## sfapsey (Jan 9, 2015)

Hi,

I have posted here a couple of times. Our Penny will soon be 9 months old. A few weeks ago we took on 2 foster vizsla's who owner was having tough times and had to give up his dogs. Both are neutered males, 9 and 7 years old. The older one had some recourse guarding issues and our Penny seems to be learning from this when it concers food. She has always been food motivated and is a healthy 51 lbs. She never seems to get enough food. Recently she has even had a go at the older more dominant foster V when they are close to where their food is kept or around dinner time. We have been feeding everyone separately and try to make sure they aren't in a situation where Penny feels she is missing out on a meal but her behavior is raising a bit of concern. She has even snapped at my son when he has tried to remove her from the situation. Any advice on how to deal with the situation would be appreciated. Other than the protecting her food issue they all get along really well.

By the way the two V's are available on the socal vizsla Facebook page. They are great dogs with all the V personality. It has been great fun letting these dogs get out off leash running like they were meant to be after some tough times. They act like puppies when all running on the beach.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

How wonderful that you opened your home to these two... I think I know which boys you're talking about!

Do you have a crate for Penny? If so I would feed her in there and feed her first. If not, feed her and either leash the other two up, or send them outside so she can eat without having the stress of other dogs watching over her. I frequently watch friends' dogs and I always control feeding time that way. 

Some other members who have multiple dogs/foster may be able to give more input.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I would feed all three in different crates at the same time. Making sure the other two have finished all food, and bowls picked up before letting Penny out.
You can even put her in the crate before you start making their food.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

I have a Penny too and when I first got her she was great with my other dog and had no issues with food - they would even eat out of the same bowl at the same time. The first month that I had her my brother brought his dog over and the dogs got along fine until my brother's dog went near Penny's food. Penny went after her and knocked her down. After that when any new dog comes over, I make sure to pick up the dog bowls and everyone is fed separately. In fact, my brother's dog is at my house right now for the weekend and as I type this she's in my bedroom with me eating her food and my two dogs are out in the kitchen eating their food. As soon as everyone is done eating I'll pick up all the food bowls and then let everyone together again. I've had no issues with a Penny since that first time but keeping new dogs away from her food has made the issue go away. I really feel like that first incident was because Penny was still pretty new to my house and she was a little threatened that a new dog was coming into her space and getting too close to her stuff. It could be the same for you - two new dogs have come into Penny's house and while she likes them, she's trying to control the thing she loves to most - food.


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## sfapsey (Jan 9, 2015)

We can and have controlled the situation with Penny during feeding time but she seems to be getting a bit snappier when we moving her by grabbing her collar or even in when in the kitchen with one of the other dogs. Last night I gave her a time out in her crate. We will see how that works.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

Don't move/grab her by her collar. Put her in her crate by sending her there - she should have a command for that. When she's in, put her food in and close the crate. You may also want to make her wait until you say it's ok to eat. I do this with my boy to reinforce impulse control. 

Do you have separate crates for the boys? What is your exact method of "controlling" feeding time?


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## sfapsey (Jan 9, 2015)

The boys have their own crates but only use it for sleeping. At meal time the boys eat in the back yard and Penny eats on the side. Penny is on a raw diet so not really practical for her to eat in the crate without taking all the bedding out. 

Mealtimes have been ok the last few days. We just make sure they are not all together when getting their meals ready.

I think grabbing her by the collar was also a trigger for her snapping at my son. We are training everyone to use verbal commands.


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## CrazyCash (Jul 12, 2012)

You could also have her drag around a leash during feeding time and then if you want to move her you can use a verbal command and correct with the leash instead of grabbing her collar.


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