For dogs who exhibit aggressive behavior at their food bowls, my favorite resource-guarding protocol consists of several parts.

First: feed the dog its meal in a safe place where it will not be disturbed. If I need to put up doggie gates in doorways between rooms to assure peace during meal times, I will do so. Invariably with all the foster dogs I've cared for at home, just this one this procedure of Separating Dogs at Mealtime has prevented or resolved lots and lots of dog's posturing, warning growls and so on. That's management. Why would that be so? Well, 'personal space' and 'social distance' are incredibly important factors for dogs. Then after the dogs indicate to me by their body language that they feel safe in their new environment, I begin to address the behavior problem of a dog's willingness to resource guard its food bowl .

Part 2. I start by placing the dog's food bowl in a location away from the kitchen counter. That meal-preparation area is just too filled with intense aromas and contains things that are of extremely high value to the dog, that we refer to it as "hot."

Some of my clients' dogs have exhibited such strong territorial aggression around the kitchen that the owners themselves couldn't even enter the room safely. Yikes! If any dog who resource guards its food bowl begins to extend the area by growling under its breath or showing teeth when any member of the family is even within the general vicinity, then I strongly recommend that such a dog is to lose kitchen privileges altogether. I want the human adult, not the dog, to assume ownership rights in his or her own kitchen.

After client and I mutually agree to a new location such as a utility room or a hallway to place the dog food bowl, and after the dog has grown accustomed to being fed its meals there undisturbed, then and only then will I begin to add the next element: the distraction of a single person moving very slightly, such as by giving a slow underhanded arm gesture at a distance from dog, beyond its critical close space. When I write that, I mean farther away than the dog's immediate comfort bubble. Thus the underhanded gesture, similar to bowling, that I'd use to toss some delectable but tiny food treats would begin at a distance of perhaps five feet from the dog. One doesn't need to toss the food to the dog all the way, just toward the dog, in the general direction of the dog, so then the dog may move toward the tidbit on the floor to eat it. No words needed for this part.

Part 3: Person moving by giving a tiny hand gesture is to drop roast turkey or roast chicken tidbits. Another such favored treat, easy to prepare, are frozen meatballs purchased at the grocery store. Then just take two or three of the frozen meatballs from the container the night before the lesson; leave them in the refridgerator in a container to thaw overnight. Then the next morning cut them up into small tidbits to use.

I like this part; it's purely classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is Pavlovian. It  means the simple pairing of two things: Favored Person + treats to eat. I begin with one adult owner as first person to drop treats near dog's food bowl. I instruct the person to make no eye contact with dog,  not to address the dog with words of encouragement. Let me explain why. Some dogs who feel they must safeguard their food bowls may perceive a person's direct eye contact to be a threat; a challenge to it. We don't want that. We're striving to avoid that, to keep everything calm and casual. I suggest no talking so as to avoid adding a sound distraction while the dog is eating. Just drop meatball treats when walking by, or use an underhanded gesture to roll a small tiny bit of meatball toward the dog. Stay at least five feet away initially while walking slowly and tossing in a gesture similar to bowling or rolling the tiny tidbit treats on the floor toward the dog .  Do that about three times or a few more if you wish. Then stop. Walk away. 

Repeat at the next meal time. I want the dog to gradually become relaxed, not guardy of its food bowl when a family member walks by.  Remember to begin with an approach no closer than five feet from dog.

One handler: Do these next sections all with the same adult human acting as the dog's handler throughout. Later, about a week to ten days later, we'll start all over from the beginning step with the other human adult as the dog's handler.  After proceding all the way through the steps for a week, one may begin to have a child begin the proces -- provided that an adult supervises every meal and also provided that one has the youngster start the protocol at the very beginning again.

Part 4. Begin to prepare meals that are much smaller in volume than what you have been feeding. If normally feeding dog a ration of 1 1/2 C to 2 cups of food per meal, then measure out the regular quantity. Set it aside. Put only 1/4 to 1/3 cup of food in dog's bowl. Add 1/4 cup of the same food to a second bowl, but do not place the second bowl on floor nearby just yet. Wait. Give the dog the first bowl of food. After dog finishes and looks up for more, place second bowl about 5 to 6 feet from the first bowl in the kitchen. Then continue with the third and then the fourth bowls in the same pattern, one after the other, in a timed interval, not rushing this process, until dog has received its full portion of its meal. Practice this part 4 for about three or four day or much much longer, up to four weeks, if you prefer.

The length of time needed for Part 4 is determined by the dog's behavior. If the dog continues to exhibit stiff body posture, lowered head and shoulders a bit lowered as if the dog is hunkering down over its food, then that means the dog needs much more time to grow accustomed to this part. That's okay. Each dog is an individual and it learns at its own rate. 

Part 5. Continue as started in part 3, but this time, place two or even three of the bowls down for the dog at one time, yet still spaced apart from each other. Then while the dog is scarfing down food from bowl #1, toss a meatball treat or a chunk of cooked chicken into bowl #2. Do this part without closing the social distance to the bowl. Human is still situated about 5 feet or more from food bowl. Practice, practice. Make certain to keep the atmosphere relaxed, unstressful.  You may continue this Part 5 for three or four days, or longer as you wish.

Part 6. Change the value of food item tossed into bowl two, three and four, to something other than chicken. For instance, it could be a cut-up turkey hot dog. It could be tiny slivers of deli sliced roast beef. It could be bits of cheddar cheese.  It could be a big spoonful of just-prepared macaroni and cheese. The whole point is to help the dog associated the Favored Person with "Good things for me" appearing in the dog's food bowl.

This process is using classical conditioning. Whenever we use classical conditioning, it's a good idea to be patient, to offer many repetitions over a bit of time, such as days. So practice, practice. Do not add any other elements at this time.Do not change any other criteria at this time.Do not try to have lengthier sessions. Keep things calm and relaxed.

Part 7. By the weekend, another family member may join first owner during the Add Treats to Food Bowl exercise. No talking. No eye contact. No moving about. Stand still in one position without closing distance to dog. Do an underhanded slow toss into bowl 2, then into bowl 3, and then into bowl 4. Practice, practice.

 If dog is able to accept this part calmly, without appearing stiff or stressed, then the owner/handler could reduce the social distance to about four feet. It's especially helpful to place oneself in a position that is not head-to-head with the dog, but rather place oneself is a sideways position relative to the dog, for that's less confrontational in the dog world.

Review: After this beginning, I'd stop to assess the progress with the whole family in a review lesson. Review the house rules: During dog's meal time especially, there is to be no running, no shouting by anyone in the home. There's a reason for remaining calm. It is not our aim to add provocative stimuli while dog is eating. Give dog peace and some social distance to enjoy its meal so that it will experience no stress, and no sense of competition for its food nor for its food treats added to the bowls.

It may well be that this simple added structure will help to resolve the food guarding. If it has not, then review with family and telephone your personal dog-training instructor/ dog behavior consultant for a follow-up lesson. 

 Rules: No feeding dog tidbit treats during meal preparation time. No feeding tidbits to dog from the table while family is eating. Also absolutely no interference with dog once it has lowered its own head to its personal bowl. That last one is so vital to show dog respect while it's eating.

Part 8. Each time a new family member, or child in the family, is to begin this teaching plan, it's important to start over at the very beginning again to work through all of the step from the very start. Do not rush the process. We want to avoid a set-back, so we move forward in a slow progression, step by step.

An aside: Most of the cases of food-bowl guarding that I have seen so far are from dogs who misperceived their owners' intentions. These dogs could have presented a danger to the family. It is for that reason primarily that I remove the dog's food bowl from the kitchen area entirely.

Safety: But there's a secondary reason, too. During meal preparation, any one in the kitchen could drop a paring knife or a fork by mistake. I never want such a knife or fork to fall into the face or eyes of a dog looking up, watching me closely. I don't want that to happen to your dogs, either.

Simple trick lesson. Incidentally, I've found it amazingly simple to teach a very gentle lesson, called "Out of the kitchen."  Dogs pick it up very readily. I use this lesson and cue for times when I wish to cook or prepare meals. Simple rule: no dog in my kitchen while I'm cooking or preparing meals. They're so cute. They lie down on the dining room carpet facing the kitchen to supervise me while I'm in the kitchen.  What good dogs. What v-e-ry good dogs.

Big caution: If such a food-guarding dog exhibits any other type or types of aggression toward any family members, then this whole plan will need to be revised to differ mightily.  Please caution any children repeatedly not ever  to crowd dog, not to touch dog, nor even to walk near dog while it is eating.

  Multi-Dog Household:  If the family has another dog or dogs, then each of the other dogs needs to be placed in its own secure crate located elsewhere in the house where it is unable to interfere with this step-by-step procedur for the first dog, the student dog.

 I hope you find these suggestions to be helpful..

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