New Member with fox terrier General Chat

Hello everyone, I have just joined your group and have found the website interesting with lots of good posts.
I have a 2 year old wire fox terrier and have had him since 8 weeks old. I have not had any experience with terriers as my first dogs were Cavalier King Charles spaniel. He has kept me very busy!! He likes lots of walks and is very smart liking nothing better than performing tricks which he picks up very easily.
I am posting this in the hope that someone may have experienced a new behaviour he has developed. Since approaching the 2 year mark he has start food guarding and this has now moved on and he is now showing aggression anywhere near his food bowl. He has not been an aggressive dog either with people or other dogs and most people say he is very friendly - too friendly as he likes to jump up to greet new people which we are working on. Any advice appreciated.

My advice would be to not waste any time making it clear that this is not acceptable, or it will get much worse.

I would start putting his food down, waiting a few seconds for him to start in, then tell him to back off and pick the bowl up. Wait a minute or so, put it back down and repeat 2 or 3 times each day. Then as maintenance, do it randomly so he gets the idea the food is NOT his and he MUST surrender it whenever asked.

I don't know just HOW aggressive you're talking, so I don't suggest getting bitten if it's that bad. If so, then crowd him away from the food with your entire body until it gets to the point you can safely reach for the bowl.

If it were my dog, it would get a no nonsense attitude check if it EVER dared show aggression toward me. You gotta nip this in the bud. Do not wait.

My Border Terrier always played keep away with toys with other dogs just fine until a couple weeks ago when one growled at her as she tried to tug at it. Well, what did she do? Instantly learned the behaviour form the other dog and started (believe me, only briefly) to try that crap herself. We had a 'come to Jesus' and she is now back to accepting another dog trying to get it away from her.

DISCLAIMER: This is my advice. Others can give their own. I am not interested in what other's think of my advice. People are free to take it or leave it, so spare me the attacks. I won't respond.

I thought forums were supposed to be a place of discussion, even though we disagree.

@pgitta This forum isn't normally the type to bite people's heads off. If you aren't prepared to debate people's opinions, don't join a forum at all. On a lighter note the advice you have given so far has IMO been quite helpful.

Hello there Elana,
Sorry for averting the thread topic I hope we can get back on track now. First of all welcome to Breedia.

So I can try to help you may you explain how bad the aggression is? There is what I like to call the canine ladder of aggression. Can you explain what he is doing when you go near his dinner. Also have you taught him the "wait" command?
Thanks,
Jane
xx

Sorry but I disagree. @ pgitta’s method is very aversive and is the type that could teach dogs to bite, or completely ruin their confidence around people.
OP, I don't suggest following anything that @ pgitta said unless you want to teach your dog to be afraid of you or people in general, or teach him that a warning growl isn't okay so that he goes straight to the bite in the future.



I don't mess with my dogs at meal times and have no problem taking anything including food away from them if need be.

I would start by intermittently adding more food or dropping in a treat while he is eating so he will realise that you’re not going to take his food away when you go near his dish and not something to be defensive about, or worry about a correction, gradually working up till he’s confident enough to let you remove dish if need be.

With bones /toys if they don’t want to give them up then I trade with something else, until I reach the stage where I can remove them with no trouble at all.

I wasn't biting anyone. I was simply stating I had no use for others doing exactly that to me. You can already see the rage building in replies like the one below. Then outright insults will follow should I dare to defend my comments, then a reporting to a moderator, and permanent banning no doubt. Hell, just for writing this you may suddenly see me disappear.

OP, you are free to take or leave my, or anyone else's advice. Note I do not state other's methods are wrong or you should ignore them. That would be sanctimonious.

Pot. Kettle. Black.

I wasn’t showing any rage, merely advising not to follow your method, and I certainly wasn’t being ‘sanctimonious’ just giving my opinion, we don't all have to agree and we can and should discuss our points without getting nasty.

My view is that if you remove the food you'll be making the problem worse because you'll have confirmed that the dog was right in that you were going to steal their food, therefore they will become even more defensive.

If I went into a restaurant and ordered a meal, I would not be happy if the waiter took my plate away from me after I had started eating.

Therefore, once I have given my dog her meal it is hers, and I would not dream of taking it away from her. The same with a chewstick, a treat, or a new toy.

What I give her is hers. Not mine to take it away when she is enjoying it.

Hi all,
My dog Louie is a shih tzu and he is very guarded over his chew even if,one of us just happen to go near to him he will growl and bear his teeth. My husband has in the past been assertive and took it off him but to be honest it didn't make any difference and it happens every time so a lot of taking of him. So, I'm thinking malka makes a good point about it being his once it has been given to him. I like how you make the comparison to us having a meal. Louie was having pigs ears but I actually think he can't manage them as a lot of times he has choked on them so, change to smaller treat for that reason and it also, means his small treat doesn't last and so no aggression. His main food, he has on a mat which we leave him alone to eat. Hope you find a good solution with your dog Elana.

With all due respect, it sounds like you believe you'd be a bully or mean to take away her food or treat, yet by allowing her to be possessive of anything is IMO a mistake. No one is suggesting to give food then take it away permanently. That would only add to the problem. The key is they trust you will give it back; to ensure the dog allows you to "borrow" it without acting defensive. You don't say whether your dog growls or tries to defend her food, so you may not have a problem, but I still think it wouldn't hurt to practice.

The problem with this is, what if you have guests over one day, and they happen to have a small child that reaches for the food or treat when you're not watching and gets a good bite? I would never allow my dog to ever growl at me unless it's a playful one. Also, it's not enough to just be assertive. He needs to be rewarded for NOT growling when surrendering his stuff. After a while, that behaviour will stop. But that's just me.

fair enough, but I've been in other forums where the "progressive, positive-reinforcement" jack boots came out in force the second someone suggested anything other than treating a dog like a human baby. And stating "don't listen to a word that guy says" is not really discussing viewpoints, it's more like "the science is settled"

On your last point, I partially agree. But I don't suggest taking anything away for long, just a few seconds at a time so they see they can trust you to give it back. You're right, long term removal would be interpreted as punishment, but honestly, even so, they are not the boss, and they have no more right to lash out at you than your child does when taking away their favorite toy.

Can I just say please guys that somehow a post has been made under my name today (the one I have pasted below) and I can swear I never wrote it. So can anyone advise me on how this has happened as I'd never say anything of the sort and this is the first time I've seen this thread? Also my phone has been on charge all night upstairs and this is the first time I've picked it up since last posting at about 6pm.

OP, I don't suggest following anything that @pgitta said unless you want to teach your dog to be afraid of you or people in general

No, you didn't. That must have been my mistake in some way clicking all the "QUOTE" buttons to reply to different comments I suppose. Although it is wierd seeing as how you didn't even post in this thread yet.

@

That's OK. At least I know I haven't been hacked or something. I thought I was gonna have to change my identity and start calling myself Deirdre Barlow!

The one thing I've done with both my dogs is, putting my hand in the bowl while thier eating from day 1. I know that's pointless advice now as it's been 2 years but I just wanted to say it worked for me.

As the expression "With all due respect" is one of the most insulting phrases that is used by people who actually do not have any respect for the person to whom they are responding, I decided that how I treat my dog is really not your business.

I am old enough and experienced enough to know exactly what I am doing.

However, thank you for your "advice".

I see your point, I would hope that now he only gets small treats that he finishes quickly. The meal times he gas a designated place which I would keep a child away from or be around at meal times. Both ways I can see a place for but in my house I'm afraid I have decided to give him his space with a chew and a mat works well for his meals. The reason for the mat is only because he us so fussy and he eats better lying on a mat choosing which cube if food to eat.