Dog Health Questions: How do I handle a 2 year old dog growling at his food bowl?

My dog is a labradoodle and we have had him since he was a puppy. Since he was a puppy, when we put down the food, we keep our hands in the bowl for a few minutes and we never had a problem. Now he is 2 years old and for the past few months, he has gotten very aggressive with his food bowl. We feed him once a day. He is about 70lbs, so he never skips a meal. I really dont know why this is happening but we have small children that cant go near him if he is eating. Can anyone suggest what to do besides paying for expensive dog training?

Advanced Dog Training Exercises

Recommended Answer:
The basic concept for him is that he doesn't want his food messed with, just like if the waiter stayed by you while you ate and would reach out to your plate (me personally, would probably stab them with my fork... lol).
I would say when you feed him start by placing a few pieces of kibble in his bowl, then place a few more and so on, just so he can see that when your hand reaches for the bowl food goes in and it has a good association.

You may also wanna put him up to 2 meals a day, he may be trying to protect his plate because he knows it will be the only one he gets that day,

Dog Training - A Fun Activity

• u shood feed him 2 times a day...hes is soo hungry from only one meal that he thinks that u will steal his food so he gets agressive....he shood have two big meals a day...breakfast and dinner


• Your dog is probably feeling territorial. Have you considered having him fixed?
  
  You need to give him a smack when he growls at your hand when you put it in his food bowl. Not a hard smack but hard enough to let him know what he did was wrong and that if he does it again the consequences will be bigger.


• Leave food down for him around the clock and put another bowl down also. After a few weeks if this doesn't help, try hand feeding him only. He can't possess it then. This is what trainers have told me to do for food possession.


• maybe you could have your dog sit infront of his bowl. give him a treat and pet him. then you could put a treat in his bowl and pet him. after a couple treats in the bowl and petting him while he eats them without any aggression try feeding him his food with the same technique (from hand and petting then little at a time in bowl while petting). You could also try putting him on a leash and do this and every time he shows signs of aggression tug on the leash, have him sit, and strongly tell him no


• Feed him twice a day...away from everyone and everything. If this behavior does not stop, you'll need to consult your vet. Food aggression can get very ugly...and dangerous for your children. Think about it. kjl


• My niebors dog is like that. It dosnt matter what breed, cuz hes is a shih tzu.
  
  Its somthing they do natraully if not trained bout it.
  
  Its just trying to point out "hey buddy my food, get lost".
  
  so one easy solution is getting him fixed.
  calms down a dogs temper by ALOT, trust me it works!


• Hes Having territorial Issues so You Might want to stay away


• Eating once a day isnt enought for a dog one heavy meal is too hard on the stomach feed your dog in the morning and at night


• Get a baby gate and gate him in the kitchen or wherever you feed him.Keep the children out of that room during this time.
  I hope this does not start moving to toys, etc. and just stays with the food. Is this dog allowed on the furniture? If so, do not allow that. He should never be higher than your kids, meaning they do not sit on the floor with the dog.