My Dog Guards His Food Bowl

By Ed Frawley  |  Last modified: January 9, 2023

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My 2-year-old GSD growls when I try to take his food bowl away. He is already done eating but continues licking his food bowl. I have tried many things to stop this behavior. I have fed him by hand, I have dropped an egg in the bowl many times while he is eating thinking he would get used to me being near the bowl, but he still growls.

A: This is a common problem with family dogs. Many well-intentioned dog owners actually create this problem by incorrectly trying to fix this problem.

From day one, we only feed our dogs in their crates. When they are done eating, we call the dog out of the crate and give it a high-value food reward. Once the dog is not in the space we remove the dog bowl.

It's an "old red neck wive's tail" to think you should be able to take a dog's food bowl away while they eat. Think about how you would feel if someone came to your dinner table and took your plate away when you were in the middle of dinner. Would you be pissed?

There is no reason to bother a dog while they are eating, leave them alone. Once your dog knows that when they are done eating and they will then get a food reward, the bowl loses it's value.

Over time my dogs learn to trust me not to bug them and in the event I would need to take the bowl we have a great history of fairness (in the dog's view) and it's a non-event.

Keep this in mind, if the dog is still licking his bowl, he's not done eating. My dogs and I need to trust one another. I show them that once I give them their food bowl, I'm not going to hover or test them.

I know some people will disagree with what I am saying, but I've lived with and raised a lot of very tough and possessive dogs over the past 50 years and have never have had a problem with resource guarding.

When my dogs understand that something good will always be given from my hand for coming to me when I ask, all of them willingly leave their bowl.

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About Author

Ed Frawley

Ed Frawley is the founder and owner of Leerburg.com and has been producing professional dog training videos since 1982. Over the years, he has collaborated with some of the most respected dog trainers in the country. His body of work includes 194 full-length training DVDs and 95 comprehensive online courses. In addition to these, he has produced and published over 4,000 short training videos available free of charge on Leerburg.com and across the company's social media platforms.

Ed and his wife, Cindy—also a professional dog trainer—bred working-line German Shepherds and Belgian Malinois for more than 35 years. Although they retired from breeding in 2009, they had produced over 300 litters by that time.

Ed also served as a K9 handler for the local sheriff's department for 10 years, working in partnership with the West Central Drug Task Force. During his time in law enforcement, he handled multiple narcotics and patrol dogs and conducted more than 1,000 K9 searches. If you want to learn more about Ed, read about his history here.

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