Dog lovers- Lab

[Smart]

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.

yep...there is a little more than just rolling him on his back involved...how old is he.....

[Wildman]

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.

I didn't say it, but agree with it. Once a dog is the ALPHA well, you are seeing the result.

[Razorback01]

I tried some of Justrhrowit's advice today, make him sit in front of his bowl and I gave hime a few pecies when I was ready. In mid stream we went and played with the dummy. We came back and no sound at all/ I'll try again tomorrow and let you know what happens.

[Lungbustr]

Best way is to prevent it. Feeding time is more than just throwing food in a bowl and walking away. Its a good time to make him work for food whether your teaching him a new command or reinforcing an old one. If a dog knows a command but is being stubborn, feeding time always tells. But its a little late in the game for that now sounds like you got to put him in check. Im guessing its just a pet not a hunting dog.

[Bill]

We had a beagle/ coonhound mix when I was a kid. The farmer who sold him to my Dad said he was a beagle, but his size and markings made us think later a beagle was not his father.

He was the nicest dog ever, but would growl and snarl as he ate, all his life. My Dad was never able to break him- and almost got bitten hard once.

I'd feed the dog in the garage and keep the kids away.

[The Crippler]

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.

yup...if you have a problem whipping a dog's butt or throwing him on his back, a lab might be the wrong choice of dog for you...mine have always been sweet and I have never had an aggresive lab, but I also whip their butts when they need it; usually only takes once

[Big8]

i have four labs and currently have a litter on the way. When i throw new dogs into my bunch i just let them duke it out. I have very high end dogs and they all have done that but over time they settle down. Just takes some settling down, but that also could be a problem and i wish i could help just never really had a big problem with it. And all my dogs are labs as well. good luck hope it works out

[jlptexashunter]

x3 with smart.
The dog thinks he's in charge. Don't be askeered to teach the dog who's boss.
We've raised a few dogs and make sure we jack with them constantly when they are puppies feeding.
The entire family gets in on the fun. We also keep food out 24 x 7.

Our Dachshund is a generally grumpy little guy but even the smallest kids can go to his food bowl at feeding time and take food out of his mouth.
Now they can't pet him while he's laying on the couch but they can take grub from him.

[Snapper]

Good advice here. It is easier when you start a puppy out with who's the boss. I use to hold my lab on his back until he quit squirming, then I would let him up. Never any problems on who was alpha.

[Sully]

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

This is your answer. Re-establish yourself as the alpha male. Fill his bowl in front of him then place it on the table and eat your meal while he waits. Offer it to him only when you are finished eating. But offer the bowl to him while you are still holding it. Let him eat a little then walk away with it. Rinse repeat. Don't give up control of the bowl until he is finished. He will learn that you control the food and he eats when you decide to let him. If he falters, get on him. By that I mean physically on him on his back and hold him down until he calms down. Don't let him walk through doors before you, don't let him on your bed, don't let him decide where you go when you walk him.

[Dusty Britches]

I had a lab that did the same thing that started at 2 years of age. If Jasper is less than 2 and doing this, it may be a dominance issue. If he is over 2, it is food aggression plain and simple. You do not want to beat him, because it will only make it worse.

A dog's warning signals are heirarchical (sp)
1. stops what it is doing and freezes
2. growls
3. raises hackles
4. stiffens and prepares for attack
5. attacks

A food (or resource) aggression dog will learn to skip steps when it is beaten. eventually, he will not show any prior warning signals before attacking.

Texas Redneck is right. But, I would add to it - get a different food bowl. One that has never been used for feeding before. There is a book on DogWise.com called "Resource Guarding..." It is about $10 or $15. It is very easy to read and you can implement the ideas while you are reading.

Basically the book says to make him sit and wait for you to allow him to eat. Preferrably, make him approach you, do not walk up to him and put his bowl down.

If it is still a problem, remove the bowl all together, feed by hand, but only allow him to eat when you give him the command. This will really reinforce that you are master and commandar and he must rely on you for food.

You can slowly add food to his bowl, but when he growls, pick it up and feed by hand.

My lab, at his worst, went from attacking after the first warning (skipping steps 2, 3, 4) to wagging his tail when we approached his bowl.

The really weird part - after he attacked, he would curl up in a completely submissive posture, as if he knew what he did, but didn't want to and doesn't understand why.

I must add this part - after he got over the food aggression, over time, he would growl and snarl and then be his sweet loving lab self. It was like Dr. Jeckle and Mr. Hyde. At 6 years of age, we put him to sleep. I have a feeling he had a brain tumor, but will never know.

AND - you definitely do not want to breed a lab that shows aggression like this. Labs are supposed to be gentle and not aggressive. When you breed animals you need to keep in mind that you breed physical and mental attributes.

[Zack]

Possession Aggression -

Google - Nothing in life for free or NILFF

This can progress into biting.

I absolutely do not suggest trying to alpha roll your dog.

You may need to consult a professional if it continues to progress.

zack at hpretrievers dot com if you have any specific questions