I have a full blooded germen shepherd at home. He's a great dog but he gets really defensive when you get near him while he's eating. The other day I pulled an old disc out (from disc golf, like a frisbee) and tried to play catch with him. He caught it just fine but he treated it like a bone - he took it to his spot, set it on the ground in between his front paws, and started chewing it exactly how he does when we give him a bone. When I walk up to him to try to get it he growls and acts like he's gonna attack me.

What do I do? Dog is like 7 years old.

1/28/2010 6:38:29 PM

tip #1 - dont fuck with an animal while they are eating

1/28/2010 6:40:13 PM

knock him upside the head and show him who is dominant.

1/28/2010 6:40:28 PM

tip #2 - don't wait until the dog is fucking 50 years old to start training it

1/28/2010 6:41:11 PM

If he's 7 years old, it isn't going to be easy. You could reign him in as a pup and he'd know who was Alpha, but now, you're risking him biting your hand off.

I'm no expert, but if you want to exert some dominance, you need to start letting him know before he has the food/object and is eating, protecting it.

1/28/2010 6:41:54 PM

Don't listen to twista. It's a dominance thing. Basically, let him know you're boss. Don't let him eat until you allow it for starters. If he growls pinch his neck with your fingers or take him to the ground, be careful with this until you know how aggressive he is. Same with the toys. The leader of the pack gets the food and toys first and uses growling as an indication of 'fuck you I'm boss'. It's easy to change their mind but you need to be consistent.

Good luck!

1/28/2010 6:42:34 PM

Quote :

"knock him upside the head and show him who is dominant."

1/28/2010 6:43:06 PM

don't listen to Kiwi

If you have given the dog food, that is HIS FOOD. Do not fuck with him while he is eating.

But yeah you do have to establish dominance.

That doesn't mean you should fuck with it while its eating.

1/28/2010 6:44:18 PM

^lol pussy. Twista doesn't like being alpha I guess.

1/28/2010 6:44:53 PM

My dog looks at me like I'm a god.

1/28/2010 6:45:26 PM

the trick is to beat them until they cower in fear, but not so much that they piss in the floor

1/28/2010 6:46:52 PM

We figured out that Tanuk was food dominant when he was ~3 months old. Boy did he make a mistake, he was on his side the second he lifted his lip. For the next few weeks the only food he got was given to him out of our hand. I would not want a large dog like him to growl and protect his food. For some reason I might need to take his food away, heck I should be able to take his food away from him whenever I want to.

1/28/2010 6:50:34 PM

Food aggression is a dominance issue. Your dog thinks that he's the boss. You need to (re)establish your role as the top dog. Basic obedience training, making a dog work for their food and toys, and exercises like an alpha roll is helpful.

The easiest thing to do is to get rid of the food bowl and start feeding your dog by hand until your dog realizes that you are the source of food and he only eats if you let him eat.

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 6:58 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2010 6:58:18 PM

yes, make the dog understand where the food comes from. make the dog understand that you control when the dog gets food... but agree w/twists: once a dog has started eating, you generally dont fuck with its food after that point

now I *can* take my dog's food away if i wanted to, because i am the alphamotherfucker and my dog is totally submissive to me, but i dont do it because theres no reason to be a dick to my dog.

but there are other dogs, especially if you get a dog that is older, that i would not want to try that, even if i am the alpha. there are limits to being alpha. It doesnt give you license to do just anything.

as far as a chew toy or frisbee tho, that's is *not food*. you need to be able take that damn thing away from the dog anytime you please. here's how: glare into its eyes. yell at the dog in a loud deep voice, "DROP IT, GODDAMMIT, DROP IT!". speak like youre ready to punch it in the head.

if you have to, grab them by the scruff of the neck and pry it out of it's mouth but then pop it hard on the nose. punish the dog for not dropping the thing when you tell it to.




[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 7:03 PM. Reason : ]

1/28/2010 7:01:45 PM

help me train MY dog. she chews up things. although she has been good recently (for the past like 2 days. well this morning she did chew an arm off a stuffed animal but that is MINOR compared to the damage she has done in the past)

my dog was food defensive when i first got her but luckily she stopped after i told her NO the first few times. now she is fine. it worried me at first cause i have a baby kitty too that likes to go and eat with the doggy (they are bff and have been since i got the dog, but the dog was still sketch with food).

that was totally unhelpful. but yes echoing what other people have said you have to let him know it is wrong. i dunno how easy it will be to train him if he has been like this since you've ahd him!

1/28/2010 7:15:04 PM

I CAN HELP YOU...BUT, FIRST...I WILL NEED TO KNOW THE CURRENT DOG CIRCUMSTANCE

FREE OR SMALL PRICE

1/28/2010 7:16:59 PM

1/28/2010 7:23:00 PM

i had a boyfriend once whose a rot mix who had MAJOR dominance issues and would freak the hell out if you got near her food bowl. it was pretty bad (to the point of attacking people she didnt know and other dogs...she wasn't that bad if it was him or his roommate)
they told me just to never bother her when she ate.

well one day he and his roommate went on a trip and asked me to feed her.

the first day i went in and started for her bowl, which still had a bit of food in it (not much).
my hand got about 6 inches away and she growled really loud and started to act like she was going to snap.
i wasn't having a good day so i kicked the whole damn bowl against the side of the pen (most of the food came out) and just stared at her.
i calmly (and pretty pissy and loud) said "You're fucking kidding me right?"
put my hand back in, got it and fed her.
never had a problem after that.

in retrospect it was a pretty dumb move...she could have taken my hand off.
but ill be damned if it didn't work.


my $.02



[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 7:29 PM. Reason : good luck to both of you !]

1/28/2010 7:23:22 PM

^ haha, that's pretty funny

I bet after you kicked the bowl over, the dog was like " daaaaaaaamn joie. I was just playin' wit j00 "

1/28/2010 7:33:41 PM

Well, you can ask BigEgo, I exert my dominance every time I come in town

I guess I could try the feeding trick. Trouble is my parents wouldn't follow through with it at all and as soon as I leave town he'd go back to being the king of the house. I'll just be sure to wear gloves at first.. he put a hole in my hand once while we were mock fighting.

1/28/2010 9:27:35 PM

Apply this to the dog until he either STFU or until he's dead.

1/28/2010 9:48:42 PM

1/28/2010 9:51:42 PM

People have been watching too much of the dog whisperer. I can't stand Cesar Milan.

Being the alpha member in the "pack" is too simplistic for most behavioral issues. Your dog is likely acting out on fear and/or anxiety, not because he's challenging you for alpha status. Negative reinforcement (yelling, kicking, popping on the nose, etc.) does not work and in fact will encourage his aggressive behavior. Make sure feeding rituals are constant... he needs to be fed the same food at the same time of day, in the same location every day. Do not give him him rawhides/bones until this behavior resolves, exercise him more as an outlet for energy.

Desensitizing him is going to be your best bet. If he normally growls at you while you are within a few feet of his food, stand right outside this boundary and praise him and give him a treat while he is not aggressive. After a few days, move a foot closer. If he acts aggressively, remove yourself from the situation and try again the next day. This will take time and patience, but this is the only way that the problem will resolve itself.

Staring your dog into the eyes does not assert dominance, it is a challenge. Acting like an alpha douche is only going to reinforce his aggression.

[Edited on January 28, 2010 at 10:45 PM. Reason : .]

1/28/2010 10:43:41 PM

Quote :

" I can't stand Cesar Milan."

I don't see you having your own dog training show.

1/28/2010 10:45:39 PM

Quote :

"(from disc golf, like a frisbee)"

1/28/2010 10:51:51 PM

AT BEST a typical frisbee could be compared to a very simplistic putting disc.

1/28/2010 11:12:37 PM

You really do need to start this shit early. First time I fed Dimitri I only let him get about half way done before I took it away. He didn't make a peep. I also used to give him a little rawhide stick to chew on and then used to just take it away periodically. Now, granted he's a Labrador and is really laid back and non-aggressive, but still, you can't even let those problems have a chance at developing in a large breed dog.

At this point it's going to take a little while to break this habit.

1/28/2010 11:24:41 PM

Get a few guys from your platoon to hold his bedsheets down tight and then beat him with bars of soap rolled up in towels.

1/29/2010 12:17:34 AM

PM Azaka. He's really good at training his dog and he's given me some excellent pointers and taught me how to use the clicker to shape my dogs behaviors.

My dog is 1 year and 1 month though

Things he's learned lately:

high five - gets up on his back legs and gives you a high five
shake
sit
lay down
roll over (either direction)
wait/stay - I do this every time I feed him or before going outside. I'll set the food down in front of him and make him wait until I say his release word before he can start eating or go outside. Before I started doing this he would bounce up and down like his tail was a pogo stick and jump at the food (but not at all aggressive just overly excited).
fetch - he'll actually run out and retrieve whatever I throw him and drop it at my feet (or close enough) when I say 'drop it'

You can pick up a clicker at petsmart for about a $1.

[Edited on January 29, 2010 at 1:57 AM. Reason : asdf]

1/29/2010 1:55:48 AM

i've been reading a lot about the clicker training - i just had never talked to someone who actually USED it.

good to know it worked for you! maybe i will give it a try after all!

1/29/2010 6:51:44 AM

I don't think the dog doubts that slingblade is dominant. I also don't think he doubts I'm dominant over him.

I could take his dog food from him if I wanted to, but there's no chance in hell I could get that frisbee or a bone from him

The dog can sit, lay down, I'm working on getting him to stay, go in his fucking house, run away from water, shake hands, and he does some shit where he flips things off his nose into his mouth. he'll play fetch but sometimes he is too active after the ball and if you use your foot to slide it back he'll think it's time to go after it again.

if you want him to roll over just look at him really hard for a while and eventually he'll be on his back

1/29/2010 7:36:12 AM

^^yeah it really works well. Azaka has been using it a lot longer then i have, his puppy is only a couple of months old but is already pretty well mannered. I've seen him stack food on its paws and it won't touch them until he says the release word (clicks).

1/29/2010 11:01:18 AM

Where do you live? You shoulder consider going to the Petsmart near Crossroads and sign up with Jackie (blond hair, short, probably in her 40's or so)... She trains horses and dogs and knows her shit. They have classes designed for certain age groups, too.

^3 I use a clicker with Gambit for him to come to me. It's AMAZING! All I really had to do was work with him for about one day and keep "loading" the clicker (where you just click it, give a treat, click it, give a treat, and so on..) Now I click it once and he comes running.

[Edited on January 29, 2010 at 11:04 AM. Reason : .]

1/29/2010 11:02:56 AM

^yeah thats what I did the first day...only had to do it for about 30 minutes before it registered...that and i think its because i was doing 'click treat click treat' so much that he chocked on his treats because he was eating them so fast

1/29/2010 11:06:47 AM

He's being dominate with his toys because he is basically the leader of "your" pack. If you inspect other areas of your day, you'll see why he treats you as the weak link. You need to eat first, walk through ALL doors first. I make our dogs sit calmly before they can eat, play, get petted/attention, and walk out the doors. If they get up, they don't get what they want. I get what I want first. It's frustrating at first but you need to start doing that now or your dog is going to hurt someone and you might have a lawsuite on your hands. Another very important thing to do is WALK YOUR DOG. German Shepherds are very intelligent and need to do what dogs were meant to do...migrate. Walk him at HEEL for about 30 min a day. It will take a long time at first to get around the block but after a while it will be second nature. He can't stop when he wants, can't sniff when he wants...he must walk at heel until you give him the "ok" to sniff, pee do whatever he wants. It sounds really mean, but that is how packs work.

1/29/2010 4:08:57 PM

^When slingblade or I have to put him on a leash and walk him somewhere, he doesn't go anywhere we don't want him to, and walking him around would be pretty difficult for me if I did give him that kind of freedom just because I don't weigh that much more than him. he knows better than to walk places I don't want him to

1/29/2010 5:16:01 PM

what kind of amazing treats are you people using? My dog eats dog treats as timidly as I eat raw broccoli. We feed her dry food mixed with a bit of canned food about 80% of the time so maybe it spoils her taste.

I try not to use treats.. my soothing praise should be treat enough!

I have a hard time with heel walks because I see walks as her play time. She'll do well on a short leash, but will still walk ahead a little. Usually I give her 15ft to roam as long as she keeps pace. She's definitely submissive to my wife and me, if you're wondering.

[Edited on January 29, 2010 at 5:35 PM. Reason : ]

1/29/2010 5:33:03 PM

i use milkbones and homemade treats

and carrots! she loves carrots

1/29/2010 5:36:00 PM

for starters, I didn't read this thread... but here's my advice and where I'm coming from.

I have a 4 year old German Shepherd who I've bred and since then helped raise two of the puppies (the rest we've sold) as well as the bitch that we bred him with.

This is a dominance issue.

What I'd do is give the dog a small portion of food, make sure he see's you fill the bowl and set it down.

Take it away. If he growls you should have something in your hand like a rolled newspaper (using your hand will eventually make the dog afraid of you when you pet it too, so an object lets them know you mean business) if he growls, immediately beat the dogs ass and take the food away. When I punish my dog, I twist the flap of skin on the back of his neck rather than beat them excessively.

Eventually, the dog will get the point.

I can stick my hand in my dogs mouth while he's eating and not hear a peep because he knows who's boss.

As a pre-emptive "I don't abuse my animals" because, I don't. German Shepherds come from being bred with wolves, and local domesticated dogs in Germany. They are known as Alsatians around the world, which literally means 'wolf dog' and this is for a reason. German Shepherds must be trained with a firm hand because they are extremely intelligent and will definitely learn how to take advantage of you.

1/29/2010 5:48:06 PM

Alsation doesn't mean "wolf dog"

Alsation means they're from Alsace (Alsacion) in France.. it can also refer to a person from Alsace

1/29/2010 5:53:36 PM

Quote :

"what kind of amazing treats are you people using? My dog eats dog treats as timidly as I eat raw broccoli. We feed her dry food mixed with a bit of canned food about 80% of the time so maybe it spoils her taste."

My dog will do whatever the fuck I want for just about any treat. He doesn't really like fruits though unless I give him little ass pieces. I still think it's funny to try to feed him bananas

1/29/2010 6:20:13 PM

french fries and rib bones are the best treats

1/30/2010 1:27:16 PM

you seriously thought alsatian meant "wolf dog" in german? seriously?

1/30/2010 3:07:47 PM

Step 1: Put your dog down.
Step 2: Get two pugs.
Step 3: Let them run wild in the house.

It's adorable!

1/30/2010 3:23:57 PM

yeah, until their eyes pop out

1/30/2010 3:24:39 PM