The kids never go near the dogs when they eat. But like everything else in life, nothing is fool proof. Adults make mistakes, kids even more so. We are all prone to accidents. I just don't want my dog to bite someone's hand off because of a mistake.

Fear does not run in this house.

My chow (Bruno)is 3 years + now. We knew nothing about dogs when we got him and he turned out to be very dominant but I think we made him aggressive by our lack of knowledge.

Bruno still growls around his bowl to this day. Here's how we deal with it.

For startes we place his bowl out of the normal flow of house traffic but close enough that we are around him as we do our in house things.

If we're getting ready to feed him the bowl does not go down if he's growling. If after a few seconds he won't quit, he goes outside and the bowl is saved for tomorrow.

If he growls once it's down it belongs to him and we don't even speak to him but...we'll sit in a chair right next to him and do whatever but not to him.

If he's eating and we walk by and he growls at us, we ignore him as if he never uttered a sound.

After he's had access to his bowl for around 20 minutes or so, whether he ate or not, we call for him from another location and his bowl is removed when he's not there.

Now here's the big one. Had to teach the kids that these steps were GOSPEL and should never be deviated from. Mine are adults now so it wasn't so difficult but with younger kids there might be issues. Might have to feed him in an area the kids cannot get to.

The end result is he growls much much less than he used to, especially with me. There are times when he gets nasty and we send him away. If he stands his ground we remain persistent, do not yell, do not hit, and eventually he goes away complaining but goes away none the less. Some times we'll use and e-collar for correction with the confrontation before feeding but once the bowl is down, don't mess with the bowl or the dog.

I remember, quite a long time ago, being taught that when a working puppy was being fed, it was important to pet him, have him accept your hands (and children's) in his bowl, as to acclimate him to being handled in this way. Years later, it seemed that consensus thinking changed. Of course, you can also see the Dog Whisperer putting his hands in the food, but then leaving it down and letting them eat.

One of the reasons given, back then, to acclimating the pup in this way was not only to accept you as pack leader, but (in my case and more importantly) in the event that a child happens upon the dog eating. (well,just feed him in the crate!). Having kids, and knowing that a piece of food can fall from the table or from little hands, etc.

Anyone else remember being taught the way I described above? It is probably going back to the 80's, and it was about feeding a working puppy, in particular.

Enrique, I just posted about this same issue in the last couple of weeks. My male shepherd growled at me while eating in his crate. I have just been letting him eat in peace and plan on working on establishing pack structure with him. But, as far as his food, everyone has been instructed to just stay away for the 10 minutes or so it takes him to eat. I don't want to make any mistakes here...so I'm just working on the other for now.

I have also talked to a trainer and he suggested I go out with two bowls, one with a small amount of his food and the other with the rest...he suggested I sit there and put more food in as he finishes what is in the bowl...so he learns I am there to give him more and not take away. He also suggested that some of it I hand feed and some I put in the bowl. I will start this after I work on the pack structure issues...and after we brush up on his obedience.

 Quote: Peter Hyatt

I remember, quite a long time ago, being taught that when a working puppy was being fed, it was important to pet him, have him accept your hands (and children's) in his bowl, as to acclimate him to being handled in this way...
Anyone else remember being taught the way I described above?

i do - and it wasn't in the 1980s - cause i was only 9 when they ended! granted i don't raise GSDs - but there's not a dog here whose food bowl i can't stick my hand in while they're eating. even now, as i'm weaning pups onto raw chicken, they're used to me coming into their mouths and taking it away. i don't take their food away every meal, but i do at least touch them once each meal so that they know i can.

i know stafs can be a whole different animal from the furry dogs - but any of my dogs would catch a glimpse of jesus if they came at me like that while they were eating!

I remember being told many, many times that you should take the dogs' food while they were eating to make sure they would not bite anyone who messes with their food. I also remember doing this exercise to a few of my past dogs.
If I could go back and apologize to them now, I would.
I have learned that just because you CAN do something doesn't necessarily mean that you SHOULD. IMHO the fact that a dog allows you to take their food away isn't a matter of respect, it's a matter of trust. You have to earn trust, there are no shortcuts there. If your dog is afraid it will lose it's food and you keep proving them right, why should they stop growling? If there is a concern about aggression related to food, why not just start doing a surefire win win for all involved? Handfeeding will help with building a bond, but what recourse is there if the dog responds aggressively to you? Feed the dog in it's crate and leave it be until it's finished. Over time the trust can be build back up, but until then just prevent the situation in the first place by feeding in the crate.

 Quote: Cindy Easton Rhodes

 Quote: Mike J Schoonbrood

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but as far as your kids, No. The dogs are off limits while they are eating.

Kids need training and pack structure too

Ain't THAT the truth! I'm struggling with that right now, I have a 14 year old son. Dogs are so much easier!

14 year old huh. Have you tried a remote collar and crate training?