Guys, I have a three month old boerboel puppy. He growls at me and other members of my family when eating and when chewing on bone. Few times he even snaped and bit my wife and 11 year old son. What I/we do in this case, grab him by the neck, lift him and give him a shake untill he cries. Than we would let him go. But the problem is still there. We tried and still trying to stand over him while he is eating/ chewing, put our hands in his dish and give him extra pieces of meat, so that he knows only good comes from it. See, I understand that some of you may say we should leave him alone when he eats but I have another three year old doughter and one year old son and although the pup is in his crate for 80% of time (other 20% are for eating, eliminating himself outside and playing outside) things still may happen. I try to keep a 100% of my attention when my kids are even close to the pup. But I don't whant to take any chances. So, again the question - what do I do wrong and what should I be doing when the pup growls at us when eating/chewing? What more sould I do? Thanks in advance for your advices!

I don't think you should be lifting him completely off the ground, let alone shaking him to the point of him actually crying out.

The most common recommendation for dogs that are food aggressive is hand-feeding his meals, and not giving him anything to chew on, etc. unless he's in his crate. My recommendation would be to only give him chew toys when no one will be there to walk by his crate and possibly set him off. Now, he will be teething soon, so the sooner you get started on this the better.

Here are some web sites that may be of some help:

http://www.geocities.com/labsr4ulist/pawfood.htm

http://www.ahimsadogtraining.com/handouts/PFresource-guarding.html

http://www.fiu.edu/~milesk/training.htm (there is a section on food aggression about halfway down the page)

http://www.doglogic.com/possess.htm

Food agression is in fact agression against the food bowl. Si I believe hand feeding wont help.

What I do : Put his food by little bits in the emty food bowl so that the pup can learn that your hand our people around are no threat for his food.
The pup will learn the food comes from your hand and in agression at least decrease

I guess I missed few important points. My pup always sits before the bowl, even when the bowl is on the ground. He will not eat untill the command "Now Eat!" is given. And he will sit there for a long while - I did not test the time, but it's not the point. He will not enter the house first, he sits and waits for the command "Go to your place!" (all in another language - they are not that long). Again he will sit without trying to get in - only by comand. Also important is the fact that he eats raw meat and bones, eggs etc. So I don't really understand how could I hand-feed him (chicken quarts are OK - I can, but eggs???)
Again, I appreciate all suggestion and the only reason for this reply was to provide more (in my opinion needfull) info, which I thought will show the full picture of the situation.
Again, thanks!

Peter. Hand feeding will ge the best way to fix the problem. If you understand dogs you would know that this is a common problem and is solved very simply. Sitting on the floor to start would be the best way. This is a less thretining position to the dog. Hold the food dish in you lap and hand feed the dog. The dog must realise that you have control of the dish and when it gets feed. When the dog is good with you you must introduce new people. The kids and wife. I deal with this every day.

Standing over the dog when eating as said in the original post will only make things worse as the dog feels that you are more if a threat.

I have never seen a dog agressive to a food dish. only protective. I have never seen a dog agressive towards an inanimate objects unless they where beeten with it. or my Quad. lol.

The dog is young and a firm hand may lead to bigger problems down the road when it comes to food. Keep it simple and make yourself look like the good guy in the pups eyes. Be as nonthreatining as posible. Just redirect him and make him realize that you supply the food and the dish donst magicly make the food appear.

Good luck
Dave G

Sounds like everything else is good its not a dominice problem just a fear problem. Fear of loosing his food.

Dave

I cannot complain for anything else. Other things that bother me are that he tries to bite (grab) the pants and hands when playing - but I don't suppose it is a problem. I understand it will go away after a while. He is very responsive and very, very food motivated. I train him with hot dogs and in the matter of one month he learned "hill", "sit", "down", "give me your hand" commands and now we are working on "stand up".

I suggest you contact the breeder and ask for assistance dealing with this breed. This is not an OB issue, it's a temperment issue.

If you have bitten off more than you can chew, return the dog and get one more suited(temperment wise) to a family with small( and medium) children. NO 12 week old pup should be posturing over it's food( or bones) with such young children in the household, IMO.

Good Luck!

About a year ago a good friend got a french bulldog pup. Sweet little thing that didn't have a whole lot of issues except that it was protective of it's food and toys from about 12 weeks old. He was a very experienced dog trainer who was used to dealing with problem and aggressive dogs, and as far as I'm concerned did everything right to try to correct the problem (hand-feeding, adding treats to the bowl while the dog ate...). The dog was 95% by about 8 months old. A few weeks ago the dog bit his 4 year old daughter in the neck and face when she walked too close the dog's ball. She needed about 4 stitches in her neck and they glued a 1/2 inch wound shut on her cheek. Pretty sad story. Now substitute the 25 pound bulldog with a 140 pound boerboel...

From what i know of the breed (granted not a lot, having only seen one in person, and it was a pup) they are one of the riskiest to own, up there with Filas, Neos and Bandogs. You may be willing to risk your own safety, and that's your call, but I question the reasoning behind putting your children in that situation.

This board is a great tool to provide constuctive advice to those in need, and I usually get frustrated when a member offers little help and is simply critical of another's situation. That being said, that is exactly what I am doing (unless you consider finding a new home for the dog constructive advice).

Sorry to be so blunt, I know that's not what you came here looking for. Best of luck, I hope that whatever you choose, it goes well for the dog, and more importantly your family.

Simon