I don't touch a pup while eating. Only add food while they are eating. I also recommend against feeding litters from the same bowls when young. You cant change their genetics but you can do a lot with what they are exposed to.

Its sad how many dogs die every year at shelters because they test hungry dogs by shoving rubber hands into their bowls.

There are plenty of different ways to communicate through training if you need to call your dog from something or have them "drop" an item in case of emergency that doesnt have to involve harressing them at the bowl.

I'm glad to see that there seems to be a shift in the thinking of most dog people through the years on this subject.

Too many uneducated pet owners take it personally when their confused dogs growl at them at the bowl and make the matter worse.

I always wondered how easy/difficult this would be to breed out of certain lines of dogs since their are obvious genetic connections which dont necessarily have to do with dominance. For instance you can take the most submissive wolf in a pack and they will do this - even if raised with humans. Its more of a throw back to survival instinct than anything else in my opinion.
I have seen very otherwise submissive dogs with people and other dogs show strong resource guarding. Kind of like prey drive - doesnt have to necessarily relate to other temperment traits.

What would happen if dogs in the AKC show ring had to pass the rubber hand test just like the shelter dogs? I don't know about everyone else, but I sure deal with a lot of cocker spaniels,bassets, and other breeds that are difficult to rationalize why they should have such a tendency for resource guarding.

In all the years I've had dogs I've never bothered a dog once I've fed them. They learn "out" and "leave it", and take treats from my hand during training, all separate from mealtimes. I'm very much in the "feed the dog and leave it alone" camp. I've never had a food aggressive dog.

I feel bad for the shelter dogs around the food guarding test too. It seems so unfair and unreasonable to expect a dog, even under the best of circumstances, to tolerate being harassed while they eat. To put that expectation on a dog with a questionable history, possible including starvation, seems just crazy to me.

I'm strongly in agreement with Mike and Kristel.

"There are plenty of different ways to communicate through training if you need to call your dog from something or have them "drop" an item in case of emergency that doesnt have to involve harressing them at the bowl."

and

"They learn "out" and "leave it", and take treats from my hand during training, all separate from mealtimes. I'm very much in the "feed the dog and leave it alone" camp. I've never had a food aggressive dog."