Well, I have to say that your dog is not resenting you for scolding your sister. Dogs DO NOT harbor resentment. It just simply is not in their nature.

Dogs DO live in the moment! They may remember that moment for quite some time if it was eventful enough to make them fearful. Sounds to me, like some others have mentioned, that your dog is starting to come into himself and test his limits. Food aggression is nothing to take lightly. How you handle food aggression can also make it much worse. If he is leary of even taking a treat from you then that tells me that something you did caused him to be fearful of you. Now that doesn't mean that you have to take him on a weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe to make up for it. But you need to make that certain scenario a more pleasurable experience. Gaining back trust is really easy if you are consistent in your training from here on out. Like someone else said, Leave the anger somewhere else when you're dealing with your dog. I will be interested to see what you try and how it works out for you. Keep us posted and good luck.

Hi Chris,

Perhaps you have never owned an Akita, Basenji, or Chow-Chow, because those 3 breeds (and no doubt some others as well) are quite notorious for holding a grudge & plotting revenge for treatment they deem unfair...

If they love you, they never forget you -- but if they happen hate you, they never forget that you are "Public Enemy # 1" in their personal opinion !

Thanks that helps.

I will surely keep you folks up to date.

Rashmi

Rashmi,
Matrix is maturing - and if he were my dog, I wouldn't require that he tolerate being handled directly while eating.
Let him eat in peace ( I like crating a dog while they eat, I've done it with all my dogs for the past decade and it's worked great ) - it's best for him, and best for you.

Will,

Thank you. You are correct. I have been crating him for his meal but you are 100% correct to leave him in piece when he is eating.

Will keep you posted.

Rashmi

Was your sister walking the dog the whole time?