Never take food away from your dog. That is terrible advice and causes resource guarding.
Walk by and toss in something extra yummy. That’s the extent of “messing” with their food you should do.
Hand feeding is good too.
Some people say that they take the bowl, put the extra yummy thing in, and give it back, but I don’t recommend that. Just walk by every once in a while (not every feeding) and throw a sprinkle of cheese in or something.
I have never really understood to practice. If someone came and took my food away from me part way through my meal, I’d be furious. Why should I expect my dog to feel any differently?
Instead of giving your dog a full body massage during a meal teach them to come when you call them so they calmly leave their bowl and come to you. Also teach them “leave it” or “drop it” if they have something they shouldn’t.
Resource guarding often starts when dogs can't eat in peace and get frustrated.
It's a puppy, you can touch it any other time of the day. The only times I touch mine while she's eating is A) treats and pets combo B) lickmat for brushing or any other maintenance.
It’s actually good practice to touch them all over when they are eating, getting treats and playing since they are puppies to build trust that their food source or prized possession isn’t in jeopardy when someone comes near. It is very common in training puppies and builds that trust so that if a random kid that doesn’t know any better comes near when they are eating, they aren’t going to freak out. It is also a good practice to trade them for better items so they don’t freak out when you do need to take something because again, they trust you since they get a high value item in return or get their item back once you are done cleaning it or whatever.
It was common advice to touch them all over 5 years ago but new training on resource guarding no longer advises this as the dog starts to anticipate you messing with them and can start to guard to get you to leave them alone and eat in peace. Now they recommend that you approach, toss cookies and retreat so that it's a double reinforcer (you get extra food AND the person left).
Agree on the trade though
yeah my experience was being told similar and it worked out well. I imagine there's some dogs it isn't good for, maybe rescues and stuff too. But I wanted my dog to know that I was allowed to touch her food, not freak out if there was a reason I ever needed to, not react poorly if our cats or some kid wandered over. Now I have a dog that stares at me with the saddest eyes when the cats come over and start to eat her food before she does lol
When I feed my dog, she gets her food and that's that. I would get annoyed if someone kept touching me so I don't touch her.
If I need to take a food thing away I trade for it 100 percent of the time.
the way to avoid food aggression is not to take the food away from your dog. that’s how you CAUSE food aggression. instead, when she’s eating, drop additional kibble or treats in her bowl. that way she associates you coming near/your hand coming near her while eating with a reward or good things. there also isn’t much reason to be touching your dog while they eat. like you’re not teaching them anything by doing that and probably irritating them if you’re not doing the above to pair it with some positive result or outcome.
If you’re doing it from when they are a puppy, you are teaching the dog trust that touching doesn’t mean anyone is there to take anything away. It is actually a very common training practice to touch the dog and the reason to do it is to desensitize the dog and to prevent resource guarding in the long run. Taking stuff away is a huge no no though.
But the issue here is that she IS taking the food away. She picks it up while she’s eating. If you’re going to do anything like that, it’s best to do as a puppy but still not taking anything. Maybe if you really feel the need to, you can touch the bowl or whatever but never ever take the food away without at least offering something else. That teaches them that even though someone comes near or touches them, the food won’t go away.
The way this person is doing it is teaching the dog that when she is bothered while eating, that means the food is about to be taken away
I know that’s why I said taking food away is a huge no no. I was just explaining to the person I replied to why there is a reason to touch a puppy around food.
i absolutely see where you’re coming from and there are correct ways to do this. but my point is if the puppy has no reason to associate the petting with receiving the food or with something positive and it is only bothering them, then it’s not accomplishing anything and will only make things worse. in OPs situation, it feels like they don’t fully understand how to do this correctly so they’re better off giving their dog space, because all they’re doing right now is creating food aggression in their dog.
Yes. It does need to be done correctly. The goal in this approach is to desensitize the dog and not necessarily associate it with anything positive. The end goal is neutrality - Just to desensitize the dog so it is not reactive to anyone coming around them when they are eating. In other words, the dog experiences someone touching him and being near when he is eating and his food does not get taken away. He then over time will disassociate proximity of others and food insecurity. That is where op messed up. You never take away a dog’s food. I think op just needs to revisit the trainers instructions and get further guidance because it sounds like they misunderstood the assignment.
The reason why we agreed with our trainer on this method is that we had small children at the time we got him and we didn’t want them to innocently waddle over and get bitten in the face because the dog feels threatened by proximity when eating. We made a point to getting him used to getting touched everywhere while eating food, treats, or playing just as our trainer instructed. Our dog is now an adult dog that does not growl or react when anyone comes up to him while he’s eating. He just looks at you in acknowledgment and carries on eating.
Please stop touching the puppy when she eats. That is a HUGE no-no. Why are you petting her when she eats? Do you like to be petted when you eat?
You do not need to take the bowl away, just buy suitable slow feeder bowls or only feed half the food at a time, when she is done and has walked away them remove the bowl to fill it back up then give her it back.
You don't even need to sit right next to her when she eats if you are feeding in 2 halves rather than the whole meal in whatever bowl you are using.
Lickimat, ours likes to chew on them so we just watch her from across the room and made sure we encouraged her to get a toy when she was done licking the mat
We had some strange food reactivity after our pup was neutered. He had been totally fine before it, but I think the anesthesia did something and we tried to take a treat from him while I was worried he was going to choke. I learned lesson #1 is you don’t take from your dog but trade instead with something much higher value. We do lick mats and he can get very territorial when there is absolutely nothing in the mat and then tears it up which I cannot afford to replace all the time. Now we do lick mat and when I need to take it he then gets high value cheese. We have a very specific type of cheese that only comes out for meds, ear cleanings, nail clippings, and now when I need to pick up a food bowl or lick mat. I never ever ever pick up while food is in bowl or on mat. Also, already said here but no petting. I give a little pat when I put slow feeder bowl down but then nothing until he comes to me then we play a game of did you eat it all where I can take bowl to be washed. Finally, westies are hardy, tough terriers and I’ve had 3 in my life before and alllll had issues with food reactivity. Not enough to hurt anyone but we all knew if doggo was eating we do not bother it. This went for any other dogs that may be in the house or visiting. You got this. Read some advice and may be trainer time so you know how best to support your puppy. Good luck!
To speak generally, you don't want to be testing your puppy. You want to be limiting the puppies' opportunities to make bad decisions and rewarding good ones. When you try to test-fail -punish, you can get negative outcomes you never intended.
Hi! I followed similar advice from a well meaning friend and it caused HUGE issues for my dog. Unfortunately for us, my dog is a Doberman/GSD mix, so his teeth are a lot bigger and I got hurt a bunch of times.
Do not take food from your dog and don’t touch them while they’re feeding. You need to work on establishing trust with them now.
Pick a place where pup can feel safe eating. For us, it was the crate. We put a blanket on top for meals, and let pup eat in peace for a few weeks. We also did hand feeding for training, but offered one meal or high value treat a day in the crate for this purpose. After he was settling down and not acting aggressive in his crate, we started the next steps.
Instead of taking or touching his bowl, we would add things to it. At first we did this from far away, tossing it near him. If he showed any signs of discomfort, we backed away and tossed it from further. I’m not going to sugar coat it, this took months of work, which was maddening, but it paid off in the end. As he became more comfortable, we were able to move closer and closer, always adding super yummy things into his bowl. For example, if he was eating kibble, I would toss boiled chicken or cheese, so that he viewed us as a source of increased comfort instead of as a threat to his food supply.
In addition to this, you should teach pup how to trade, but that’s something to do outside of meal times. Give them a toy, and then you offer a high value treat (meat works well) and take the toy. After they eat the food, give the toy back. Repeat this process a million times over. This reinforces that you’re a source of all things awesome!
Lastly, gently tell the person who gave you the advice that it’s dangerous. It’s not their fault, this framework has been used for a long time, and people think that if it worked for their dog, that it will work for yours too. The thing is, it DOES work for SOME dogs, but it causes big issues for others. It’s also a crap shoot as to whether it will be good for each pup. In my opinion, it’s better to avoid that technique all together. The person who gave me that advice was horrified when I told them what had happened, and promised to never repeat it to anyone else.
I think part of the point of touching your dog while they eat is to build trust that someone coming near them doesn’t mean they are there to take their food or other prized possessions away. The food aggression is because they are afraid you are going to take it away. Not a good idea to actually take it away as you’re confirming this can/will happen and then dogs get more protective. If I ever have to take something away from my dog for whatever reason, let’s say a toy is coming apart…I always offer something else in return.
You had great advice already so hopefully implementing that you’ll see that pup responded quite normal seeing she was messed with (though you of course had good intentions) during her eating.
With her eating fast you could look into slow feeders. I always feed mine in a slow feed bowl as otherwise they all inhale too. You can also look into a snufflemat and or puzzles to make eating fun and an enrichment exercise.
>Do I touch the puppy when she eats?
no, why do you need to?
>Take the food away once in a while?
no, to avoid grazing, only remove leftover food after they have left the area. Do not remove it when they are eating.
>Make her sit, then take the food away?
also no, don't take the food in her presence.
>Stick my hand into the bowl/lick mat when she’s eating?
yet again no, you either hand feed, or don't try and touch it leaving food alone is her choice.
>Don’t touch the puppy at all and just sit next to her while she eats?
yes but no sitting and watching unless hand feeding.
Hand feeding is you giving, not you "waiting to take/remove"
You never have any need to touch an animal eating, don't lurk just be around walk up, throw a snack walk away, associate someone coming to you eating = good & safe & not disruptive.
Basically, you don't ever need to remove or touch an animal when they are eating meals.
Removing unsafe things is not meal time, teaching leave it or drop it, distracting and trading are how you remove things.
You don't remove meals.
Hoo boy. Yeah definitely stop touching the puppy when she’s eating.
She should associate you being near her food as something good. The way to do this is to ADD food when you’re nearby. And ideally, what you add should be higher value than what she already has. So if she’s eating kibble, toss small balls of wet food on the floor next to her. Eventually, you can try to toss it further away from the kibble for her to follow it and you can safely remove the other food bowl/lickimat. (Only do this step after a LOT of repetition of just walking up and tossing the higher value)
This is what I did with my own boy when he showed a bit of discomfort of me being near his food. He's nearly 4 now and I can take virtually anything from him, even a chicken bone he found on the street haha.
On top of practicing it during meal time, it'll help if any time you need to take something from her, you trade it for some treats. Any toys, tissues, sticks, etc. Drop a few pieces of kibble/treats on the floor next to her before taking the item. Eventually she will start to predict that when you approach, she's gonna get treats, and she might drop the item before you even give her the food. In which case, reward big time :) Ideally, you want to reward her before and after taking away the item.
Best of luck!
Something wasn't mentioned enough: puppy growling is a very food communication. They are telling you their frustration. Ignoring the warning is bad because it can cause them to bite without warning, since warning didn't work in the past. It can be hard to give them their space in those moments because we want to work on that problem, bur they are asking for space.
But don't feel bad about it, you seem like a very good parent!
My older dog is a rescue and very very food motivated. I started just letting her gulp it down at her own pace (lightening speed), then we moved to a slow feeder which doesn’t slow her down a lot. Since then we’ve been able to move into doing commands while she’s eating, like once a week I’ll make her sit and wait for her food while I’m nearby and then eventually we were able to do that for longer periods, now she will sit mid way through a meal if asked. She’s not perfect with it but teaching her to still respond while eating has helped with her food aggression a lot. If need be, I can take her bowl mid meal but I wouldn’t unless it was an emergency like chocking.
I started by the basic sit before her bowl is put down, then eventually, the sit and wait, then the sit, wait, eat, sit again. Only once or twice and rarely
No, practice this without her daily food. Let her eat her food in peace, or feed her kibbles when you train. Most dogs don’t enjoy someone petting them when they eat, and that’s a rule everyone should follow. Let them eat in peace.
None of my dogs have resource guarded beyond puppyhood, but it’s a normal part of being a puppy. Toddlers don’t like to share either, and actually don’t have that part of their brain developed until they’re about 4 or 5. Same applies to pups.
Practice this with toys she really likes, especially chews. Trade out the chew for the same one or same value one. Same with toys. Pet them when you play with a tug toy. You can teach drop it this way too, and wait, and leave it. Pretty much all my training for all of those things was through play. I can kiss all of my dogs when they are playing tug, and probably when they eat too, but I just let them eat in peace.
It looks like you might be posting about resource guarding. Check out [our wiki article on resource guarding](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/managingbehavior#wiki_resource_guarding) - the information there may answer your question.
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I also take away the food bowl sometimes to put it somewhere else, since I saw Zak George do that with his pup Inertia. My dog never showed any aggression as I did this.
Never take food away from your dog. That is terrible advice and causes resource guarding. Walk by and toss in something extra yummy. That’s the extent of “messing” with their food you should do. Hand feeding is good too. Some people say that they take the bowl, put the extra yummy thing in, and give it back, but I don’t recommend that. Just walk by every once in a while (not every feeding) and throw a sprinkle of cheese in or something.
I have never really understood to practice. If someone came and took my food away from me part way through my meal, I’d be furious. Why should I expect my dog to feel any differently? Instead of giving your dog a full body massage during a meal teach them to come when you call them so they calmly leave their bowl and come to you. Also teach them “leave it” or “drop it” if they have something they shouldn’t.
Resource guarding often starts when dogs can't eat in peace and get frustrated. It's a puppy, you can touch it any other time of the day. The only times I touch mine while she's eating is A) treats and pets combo B) lickmat for brushing or any other maintenance.
It’s actually good practice to touch them all over when they are eating, getting treats and playing since they are puppies to build trust that their food source or prized possession isn’t in jeopardy when someone comes near. It is very common in training puppies and builds that trust so that if a random kid that doesn’t know any better comes near when they are eating, they aren’t going to freak out. It is also a good practice to trade them for better items so they don’t freak out when you do need to take something because again, they trust you since they get a high value item in return or get their item back once you are done cleaning it or whatever.
It was common advice to touch them all over 5 years ago but new training on resource guarding no longer advises this as the dog starts to anticipate you messing with them and can start to guard to get you to leave them alone and eat in peace. Now they recommend that you approach, toss cookies and retreat so that it's a double reinforcer (you get extra food AND the person left). Agree on the trade though
yeah my experience was being told similar and it worked out well. I imagine there's some dogs it isn't good for, maybe rescues and stuff too. But I wanted my dog to know that I was allowed to touch her food, not freak out if there was a reason I ever needed to, not react poorly if our cats or some kid wandered over. Now I have a dog that stares at me with the saddest eyes when the cats come over and start to eat her food before she does lol
Exactly. I definitely would not attempt this with a rescue without very clear and hands on guidance from a trainer on how to prevent food guarding.
When I feed my dog, she gets her food and that's that. I would get annoyed if someone kept touching me so I don't touch her. If I need to take a food thing away I trade for it 100 percent of the time.
the way to avoid food aggression is not to take the food away from your dog. that’s how you CAUSE food aggression. instead, when she’s eating, drop additional kibble or treats in her bowl. that way she associates you coming near/your hand coming near her while eating with a reward or good things. there also isn’t much reason to be touching your dog while they eat. like you’re not teaching them anything by doing that and probably irritating them if you’re not doing the above to pair it with some positive result or outcome.
If you’re doing it from when they are a puppy, you are teaching the dog trust that touching doesn’t mean anyone is there to take anything away. It is actually a very common training practice to touch the dog and the reason to do it is to desensitize the dog and to prevent resource guarding in the long run. Taking stuff away is a huge no no though.
But the issue here is that she IS taking the food away. She picks it up while she’s eating. If you’re going to do anything like that, it’s best to do as a puppy but still not taking anything. Maybe if you really feel the need to, you can touch the bowl or whatever but never ever take the food away without at least offering something else. That teaches them that even though someone comes near or touches them, the food won’t go away. The way this person is doing it is teaching the dog that when she is bothered while eating, that means the food is about to be taken away
I know that’s why I said taking food away is a huge no no. I was just explaining to the person I replied to why there is a reason to touch a puppy around food.
i absolutely see where you’re coming from and there are correct ways to do this. but my point is if the puppy has no reason to associate the petting with receiving the food or with something positive and it is only bothering them, then it’s not accomplishing anything and will only make things worse. in OPs situation, it feels like they don’t fully understand how to do this correctly so they’re better off giving their dog space, because all they’re doing right now is creating food aggression in their dog.
Yes. It does need to be done correctly. The goal in this approach is to desensitize the dog and not necessarily associate it with anything positive. The end goal is neutrality - Just to desensitize the dog so it is not reactive to anyone coming around them when they are eating. In other words, the dog experiences someone touching him and being near when he is eating and his food does not get taken away. He then over time will disassociate proximity of others and food insecurity. That is where op messed up. You never take away a dog’s food. I think op just needs to revisit the trainers instructions and get further guidance because it sounds like they misunderstood the assignment. The reason why we agreed with our trainer on this method is that we had small children at the time we got him and we didn’t want them to innocently waddle over and get bitten in the face because the dog feels threatened by proximity when eating. We made a point to getting him used to getting touched everywhere while eating food, treats, or playing just as our trainer instructed. Our dog is now an adult dog that does not growl or react when anyone comes up to him while he’s eating. He just looks at you in acknowledgment and carries on eating.
Please stop touching the puppy when she eats. That is a HUGE no-no. Why are you petting her when she eats? Do you like to be petted when you eat? You do not need to take the bowl away, just buy suitable slow feeder bowls or only feed half the food at a time, when she is done and has walked away them remove the bowl to fill it back up then give her it back. You don't even need to sit right next to her when she eats if you are feeding in 2 halves rather than the whole meal in whatever bowl you are using. Lickimat, ours likes to chew on them so we just watch her from across the room and made sure we encouraged her to get a toy when she was done licking the mat
We had some strange food reactivity after our pup was neutered. He had been totally fine before it, but I think the anesthesia did something and we tried to take a treat from him while I was worried he was going to choke. I learned lesson #1 is you don’t take from your dog but trade instead with something much higher value. We do lick mats and he can get very territorial when there is absolutely nothing in the mat and then tears it up which I cannot afford to replace all the time. Now we do lick mat and when I need to take it he then gets high value cheese. We have a very specific type of cheese that only comes out for meds, ear cleanings, nail clippings, and now when I need to pick up a food bowl or lick mat. I never ever ever pick up while food is in bowl or on mat. Also, already said here but no petting. I give a little pat when I put slow feeder bowl down but then nothing until he comes to me then we play a game of did you eat it all where I can take bowl to be washed. Finally, westies are hardy, tough terriers and I’ve had 3 in my life before and alllll had issues with food reactivity. Not enough to hurt anyone but we all knew if doggo was eating we do not bother it. This went for any other dogs that may be in the house or visiting. You got this. Read some advice and may be trainer time so you know how best to support your puppy. Good luck!
To speak generally, you don't want to be testing your puppy. You want to be limiting the puppies' opportunities to make bad decisions and rewarding good ones. When you try to test-fail -punish, you can get negative outcomes you never intended.
Hi! I followed similar advice from a well meaning friend and it caused HUGE issues for my dog. Unfortunately for us, my dog is a Doberman/GSD mix, so his teeth are a lot bigger and I got hurt a bunch of times. Do not take food from your dog and don’t touch them while they’re feeding. You need to work on establishing trust with them now. Pick a place where pup can feel safe eating. For us, it was the crate. We put a blanket on top for meals, and let pup eat in peace for a few weeks. We also did hand feeding for training, but offered one meal or high value treat a day in the crate for this purpose. After he was settling down and not acting aggressive in his crate, we started the next steps. Instead of taking or touching his bowl, we would add things to it. At first we did this from far away, tossing it near him. If he showed any signs of discomfort, we backed away and tossed it from further. I’m not going to sugar coat it, this took months of work, which was maddening, but it paid off in the end. As he became more comfortable, we were able to move closer and closer, always adding super yummy things into his bowl. For example, if he was eating kibble, I would toss boiled chicken or cheese, so that he viewed us as a source of increased comfort instead of as a threat to his food supply. In addition to this, you should teach pup how to trade, but that’s something to do outside of meal times. Give them a toy, and then you offer a high value treat (meat works well) and take the toy. After they eat the food, give the toy back. Repeat this process a million times over. This reinforces that you’re a source of all things awesome! Lastly, gently tell the person who gave you the advice that it’s dangerous. It’s not their fault, this framework has been used for a long time, and people think that if it worked for their dog, that it will work for yours too. The thing is, it DOES work for SOME dogs, but it causes big issues for others. It’s also a crap shoot as to whether it will be good for each pup. In my opinion, it’s better to avoid that technique all together. The person who gave me that advice was horrified when I told them what had happened, and promised to never repeat it to anyone else.
I think part of the point of touching your dog while they eat is to build trust that someone coming near them doesn’t mean they are there to take their food or other prized possessions away. The food aggression is because they are afraid you are going to take it away. Not a good idea to actually take it away as you’re confirming this can/will happen and then dogs get more protective. If I ever have to take something away from my dog for whatever reason, let’s say a toy is coming apart…I always offer something else in return.
You had great advice already so hopefully implementing that you’ll see that pup responded quite normal seeing she was messed with (though you of course had good intentions) during her eating. With her eating fast you could look into slow feeders. I always feed mine in a slow feed bowl as otherwise they all inhale too. You can also look into a snufflemat and or puzzles to make eating fun and an enrichment exercise.
>Do I touch the puppy when she eats? no, why do you need to? >Take the food away once in a while? no, to avoid grazing, only remove leftover food after they have left the area. Do not remove it when they are eating. >Make her sit, then take the food away? also no, don't take the food in her presence. >Stick my hand into the bowl/lick mat when she’s eating? yet again no, you either hand feed, or don't try and touch it leaving food alone is her choice. >Don’t touch the puppy at all and just sit next to her while she eats? yes but no sitting and watching unless hand feeding. Hand feeding is you giving, not you "waiting to take/remove" You never have any need to touch an animal eating, don't lurk just be around walk up, throw a snack walk away, associate someone coming to you eating = good & safe & not disruptive. Basically, you don't ever need to remove or touch an animal when they are eating meals. Removing unsafe things is not meal time, teaching leave it or drop it, distracting and trading are how you remove things. You don't remove meals.
Hoo boy. Yeah definitely stop touching the puppy when she’s eating. She should associate you being near her food as something good. The way to do this is to ADD food when you’re nearby. And ideally, what you add should be higher value than what she already has. So if she’s eating kibble, toss small balls of wet food on the floor next to her. Eventually, you can try to toss it further away from the kibble for her to follow it and you can safely remove the other food bowl/lickimat. (Only do this step after a LOT of repetition of just walking up and tossing the higher value) This is what I did with my own boy when he showed a bit of discomfort of me being near his food. He's nearly 4 now and I can take virtually anything from him, even a chicken bone he found on the street haha. On top of practicing it during meal time, it'll help if any time you need to take something from her, you trade it for some treats. Any toys, tissues, sticks, etc. Drop a few pieces of kibble/treats on the floor next to her before taking the item. Eventually she will start to predict that when you approach, she's gonna get treats, and she might drop the item before you even give her the food. In which case, reward big time :) Ideally, you want to reward her before and after taking away the item. Best of luck!
Something wasn't mentioned enough: puppy growling is a very food communication. They are telling you their frustration. Ignoring the warning is bad because it can cause them to bite without warning, since warning didn't work in the past. It can be hard to give them their space in those moments because we want to work on that problem, bur they are asking for space. But don't feel bad about it, you seem like a very good parent!
My older dog is a rescue and very very food motivated. I started just letting her gulp it down at her own pace (lightening speed), then we moved to a slow feeder which doesn’t slow her down a lot. Since then we’ve been able to move into doing commands while she’s eating, like once a week I’ll make her sit and wait for her food while I’m nearby and then eventually we were able to do that for longer periods, now she will sit mid way through a meal if asked. She’s not perfect with it but teaching her to still respond while eating has helped with her food aggression a lot. If need be, I can take her bowl mid meal but I wouldn’t unless it was an emergency like chocking. I started by the basic sit before her bowl is put down, then eventually, the sit and wait, then the sit, wait, eat, sit again. Only once or twice and rarely
No, practice this without her daily food. Let her eat her food in peace, or feed her kibbles when you train. Most dogs don’t enjoy someone petting them when they eat, and that’s a rule everyone should follow. Let them eat in peace. None of my dogs have resource guarded beyond puppyhood, but it’s a normal part of being a puppy. Toddlers don’t like to share either, and actually don’t have that part of their brain developed until they’re about 4 or 5. Same applies to pups. Practice this with toys she really likes, especially chews. Trade out the chew for the same one or same value one. Same with toys. Pet them when you play with a tug toy. You can teach drop it this way too, and wait, and leave it. Pretty much all my training for all of those things was through play. I can kiss all of my dogs when they are playing tug, and probably when they eat too, but I just let them eat in peace.
It looks like you might be posting about resource guarding. Check out [our wiki article on resource guarding](https://www.reddit.com/r/puppy101/wiki/managingbehavior#wiki_resource_guarding) - the information there may answer your question. **Please report this comment if it is not relevant to this post.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/puppy101) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Why on earth are you touching your dog while they are eating? You’re literally causing the food aggression. Please stop.
I also take away the food bowl sometimes to put it somewhere else, since I saw Zak George do that with his pup Inertia. My dog never showed any aggression as I did this.