Dog lovers- Lab

[Razorback01]

Question for all the dog lovers, especially Labs. We have a yellow AKC male that is fairly well behaved, except when it comes to feeding time. He (Jasper) isn't the friendliest to strangers but thats not what concerns me, don't come into our back yard. When eating he's is constantly growling, ect, and can be fairly ferocius, but has never bit.

How is the best way to get past this, and I don't need any whip his butt comments.

When we purchased Jasper at 6 weeks, we also inherited a 1-10? year old stray Aussi Shepherd (Buddy). He was at our house and we just couldn't take him to the pound. Buddy at times can dictate what he wants, but Jasper is large enough to be able to settle the situation. I would imagine that Buddy did some bullying during the first few months.

Long story short, we recently bought a black female lab thinking of breeding in a couple of years. There hasn't been any problems yet, I just want to make sure there aren't. And yes, I'm aware of the first "heat" cycle in the next several months.

Let me know your thoughts of the approach to take.

[Texasredneck]

The last dog I owned did the same, first keep the other dogs away, then VERY CAREFULLY apporoach the dog and be friendly with him as he eats, do this a little at a time and hopefully he will calm down, it depends on the dog also some are like that and others will settle down. Donot get real close but dont show fear either(yeah i know easier said than done)let the dog know youre not there to hurt him or steal his food and of course donot reach for his dish, just try to gently pet him in a good way and talk to him. good luck

[Red Dot]

Labs are usually very friendly dogs.
Go back to the Animal Shelter and they will give you written instructions on training a dog.
When my daughter adopted our two (before Gustave) they gave us all kinds of Rx and literature.
The younger one (Charlie) is a beagle Hound and went to my neighbors yesterday and brought back a whole BIG chicken he had killed and eaten part of her.
So right now he is in someones else' back yard until I can get my back yard secure again He is also a very loving well trained (except for chickens!) 7 month old puppy. He minds VERY well and until yesterday we had NO trouble with him.
The cream colored (Butter) is part grayhound and retreiver mix. He is SO sweet, and has looked for Charlie all day today.
Worked on the fence this afternoon and will go bring him back home tomorrow.

[Smart]

How is the best way to get past this, and I don't need any whip his butt comments.

If you've been raising him with a "soft hand or "putting him in timeout" like a lot of anti "whippin' his butt" owners do, then he is probably feeling like he in the dominant creature in the area. Until you break that dominance, he will continue to growl at the food bowl.

You probably don't want to hear the rolling on their back method of breaking dominance that we use for our labs.. .........so how you chose to break that dominance is up to you.

[Low Fence]

Some dogs are just aggresive when it comes to food ( you should see an english pointer). Most aggresivness is due to a lack of social skills that are developed as soon as the dogs are weaned... I said most (dont know your situation). good luck and keep us updated

[garza]

x2 with smart

[gonehuntin68]

You have got a problem on your hands because he know thinks he is the leader of the pack and you are included in that pack. Until you become the leader you will not have much effect on his attitude. It would be to hard to explain on here how to do it because every dog needs a little different approach. I wish you the best of luck.

[gonehuntin68]

If you've been raising him with a "soft hand or "putting him in timeout" like a lot of anti "whippin' his butt" owners do, then he is probably feeling like he in the dominant creature in the area. Until you break that dominance, he will continue to growl at the food bowl.

You probably don't want to hear the rolling on their back method of breaking dominance that we use for our labs.. .........so how you chose to break that dominance is up to you.

Darn you smart you beat me to it.

[stikshooter]

What Smart said.

[justhrowit]

As far as the food goes... he's food dominant. When you give him his food for now on make him wait for it. YOU tell him when he can eat. Have him sit in front of his bowl until YOU say he can eat, not when the bowl hits the floor. Right now he is thinking "This food is MINE, get away". Break him of that habit.

J

[shawn]

Smart, Justtrowit,and gonehuntin68 are all on point.

[Razorback01]

tomorrow's afternoon feed, first up is justthrowit's recommendation, second would be Smarts rolling on the back.

I'll let you now what happens. And thanks for most of the recommendations, I don't want a "cow dog" thats fine the other 99% of the time.

[Eric Pence]

We had a choc that would do this also but my wife came up with the idea that we would feed him about a measuring cup full of food away from the other dogs ,when we would reach down to fill his bowl again and if he showed any signs of aggression or growling then I would do like Smart said and forcefully roll him over and hold him down(Not hurting him but just controlling his movements) until he began to give up and then let him up.Then we would fill his bowl again and do it over if necessary until his feeding amount was done.It took about 5 days of this and he is a very polite eater now.Any questions and you can pm me I have own 4 labs and a springer.

[k9trainer]

making him wait for his food is a great start, but you still need to change his way of thinking once he has his face is in the bowl. The method I have always used has been extremely effective. Once his face goes in the bowl and he is eating walk back into the area, close enough that he has not started growling yet and toss him a piece of cheese or hotdog, then walk away. It may take weeks but you need to get closer and closer as time goes by, but not too quickly that he growls. Each time you approach you toss him his treat and walk away. The possesiveness isn't always linked with dominance, sometimes it is weak nerves and he fears you taking his food and the growls have worked for him. Eventually with you giving him treats with your approach you will notice him willingly leaving his food bowl for the treat and welcoming the sight of you while eating. Just my 2 cents. good luck

[gonehuntin68]

tomorrow's afternoon feed, first up is justthrowit's recommendation, second would be Smarts rolling on the back.

I'll let you now what happens. And thanks for most of the recommendations, I don't want a "cow dog" thats fine the other 99% of the time.

If you try rolling him on his back you must get him to completely submit and relax. If he does not completely submit and you let him up you are just reinforcing his dominance over you.