Good evening all.

I have a 10 week old Cane Corso and he's a great pup. He learns pretty quick and is fun to play with. My fiance and I have only one major problem with his "attitude".

I've done some reading on dogs that growl when you get near their food, and I've done my best to follow those instructions. One of the things I've heard to do is to feed a lot of the dog's meal from your hands and to also let the dog finish the rest of the meal with his/her bowl at your feet. I've done all of this and yet he still growls when I get near him when he eats. I think this is kinda odd b/c he is so young, but I thought I would consult you all. I expect a little bit of growling b/c it just seems normal, but tonight, my fiance was adding some food to his bowl and he actally snapped at her. That is the FIRST time thats happened. I immediately grabbed his bowl from him, gave him a FIRM NO and then proceeded to feed him from my hand again.

Can anyone help me? This seems a bit odd for a dog of this age to be so aggresive when he eats. Or is this normal?

this is NOT normal and cannot be allowed to continue. this site is full of useful information about raising puppies. read up on some of the articles ed has written.

Maybe this a result from him eating with his other littermates and feeling as if he had to compete for food?

You should have no problem fixing this because he's small still. I had a dog with this. This is how I fixed it. I would take a very small amount of dry food (about a spoonful), drop it in his bowl, let him eat it, drop another spoonful in, let him eat it, and so on till he was finished. I did this for about a week. Don't let anyone interfere with his eating or go near him, your setting the steps to making him understand you control the food, it's yours but your fair and you share. The next week I fed him 1/4 of his dry food in his bowl, placed it before him, after he started eating, casually put a piece of meat or any table food in (food showing for him to see, not my hand covering it) then stepped back and let him eat it, when he finished I gave him the next 1/4, stuck my hand in to deposit meat/table food, let him eat, and continued in 1/4 increments with the meat/tablefood. I was associating hands in his bowl with delicious food. I had everyone in the house put the meat/table food in after I determined it was safe. I did this everyday for another week. After that I would feed him normally, and randomly test to see if he would growl, sometimes putting meat or table food in, sometimes not, and if he would growl I'd start from square one, take his food immediately way and start feeding him his dry food in little bits again, no meat, no table food. I also fed him a little bit more generously during this so that he didn't feel the need to guard his food and to help him forget whatever his past hungers were that caused the problem. Now I can sit there and stick my hands in his food the whole time he eats if I wanted to, he doesn't care. Good luck.

Your fiance should have a more active involvement with the dog as well...If he growls or snaps at HER...Then YOU doing the correcting is not going to help at all in how the pup perceives and acts toward HER...

And I agree...I have seen pups also who had to fight for their food and guard it every meal time from other littermates...and this can 'settle out' as the pup becomes more relaxed and trusting in his new home...IF this was the case in his litter (check with your breeder); then you taking/IOW, 'stealing' his food (as he perceives it and is reminded of) might only reinforce his need to guard it...In this case I'd give him a couple more weeks to settle in and feel comfortable and trusting...Either way, it's something you have to deal with...There's also been some good advice given here that I'd suggest considering...But again involve your fiance...But I would begin with one person at a time and work from there...The idea of associating the food with people/hands is a good one.

Good Luck!

If you think about it a little bit, putting the bowl by your feet and standing over a puppy might make him growl a bit. I know I would. to him you are guarding it.

Try feeding your puppy in his crate and leaving him alone. Do this for about ten years. I bet that there are no issues with food aggression, and you were able to get on with more important things, like bonding with your puppy, some things need to be left alone. What does it matter that he eats in his crate, and is left alone??????? Whats the big deal with touching his food?????? Just so you know, you are not alone on this. I deal with a lot of people that think they should touch their dog's food for some reason. None ever give me a good answer for doing so.

I've seen this topic come up a lot on this board and everyone usually shares your opinion. I agree with you on the crate, you can't beat that one.

My very limited experience this was, food aggression untreated graduates to resource guarding (bone, and toy aggression) and the next thing you know the dog is trying to run the house because if he controls the food (in his mind) he must be in charge. I had the food aggression issue with my dog from the pound. I got him when he was 5 months old. I wasn't dancing a jig around his food. He would growl if anyone walked by. I tried to ignore it at first thinking he would settle in, but the growls got louder over time. I could have probably isolated him alone in the kitchen but I had things to do in there. What was he to be the king and me the lowly servant tiptoeing around him, lol? I don't think so. Especially with kids, this behavior couldn't be allowed to continue. I've seen other people on various boards that's dogs started with growling, then gradually changed to trying to nail anyone in the area of their food.

With a CC like the poster has, it's safer just to correct the problem before it escalates into other areas IMO.

I also enjoy watching The Dog Wisperer but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to suggest his methods without fulling understanding what's going on with the dog. One individual problem could have a number of different causes and cures. Cesar sits and evaluates each problem. Every dog/situation is different.

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. . . but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to suggest his methods without fulling understanding what's going on with the dog. One individual problem could have a number of different causes and cures. . .

. . . which is why I quoted the show's opening disclaimer. I would hope no one would expect to cure any problem with a dog in just a few minutes. In that episode, he also said he would not suggest that the owner try what he was doing around the bowl, and later, that the dog should be kept away from their new baby for a year. Obviously, there's much more work to be done with that dog.

If you get past the scripting and editing that goes with a TV show, it's still interesting to see some different perspective on handling dogs' issues. If it were anywhere near as easy as Cesar makes it look, there sure wouldn't be as many postings on this site.

This isn't some nutcase Dalmation the goes off on anything though. Definately more going on with that dog.