8 mth Lab growling

Taking his food away is not going to make him appreciate you coming around his food any more than he does now, in fact you'll make him guard it more. Once again ,that's old school. Try dropping a treat in his bowl when you walk by instead and he'll learn that you coming around his bowl isn't such a bad thing.

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Originally Posted by last5oh_302

Taking his food away is not going to make him appreciate you coming around his food any more than he does now, in fact you'll make him guard it more. Once again ,that's old school. Try dropping a treat in his bowl when you walk by instead and he'll learn that you coming around his bowl isn't such a bad thing.

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not so

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Originally Posted by last5oh_302

Taking his food away is not going to make him appreciate you coming around his food any more than he does now, in fact you'll make him guard it more. Once again ,that's old school. Try dropping a treat in his bowl when you walk by instead and he'll learn that you coming around his bowl isn't such a bad thing.

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You have a lot to learn.

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Originally Posted by Deerslayer99

Roe.....yes I did see the parents and they were as docile as can be.....just for the record, I am not training this dog to be in the field/ wish I could but not enough time to train him that vigorously so I have him doing your basic....sit/shake paw/waiting for my command to eat etc etc.....your basic house dog commands....he has it all down to a science for listening to me so I have no concerns there.....his growling has somewhat slowed down now but I can just about do anything to him while he is doing it but it is scary not knowing if he is going to strike me or not....I do know the difference between the playing growl and the out of the blue deep down growl.....it is even worse when u are around his food dish and crate so I scold him for doing it and take his food away until he comes up to me nicely...then he gets it back......a lot of good suggestions here but also a lot got side tracked with all the bickering amongst the ranks of you all...thanks for the responses people....appreciated greatly....hopefully I can get him to stop permanently soon....

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He is starting to take ownership of these things.

Deerslayer, all I can tell you is, try it. No harm no foul either way and you won't have to get into a wrestling match with your dog. Also try hand feeding him. Let him know that you're not a threat or someone that is going to bother him while he eats. A little hand feeding a dropping in treats as you walk by does work.

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Originally Posted by last5oh_302

Deerslayer, all I can tell you is, try it. No harm no foul either way and you won't have to get into a wrestling match with your dog. Also try hand feeding him. Let him know that you're not a threat or someone that is going to bother him while he eats. A little hand feeding a dropping in treats as you walk by does work.

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That could very possibly escalate the problem. This dog is starting to grow a pair and taking ownership of his food dish and his crate. He doesn't need pets and coddling or treats.

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Originally Posted by Jakezilla

That could very possibly escalate the problem. This dog is starting to grow a pair and taking ownership of his food dish and his crate. He doesn't need pets and coddling or treats.

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I really don't see a way that this display of food aggression would be escalated by what I suggested.
Training to trade and drop things is all part of it.
What would you suggest?

If it was my dog, for starters I would probably wait until he was lying down somewhere. Then I would go stand next to him and work my way in crowding is space until he got up and moved. Then in about 5 minutes when he was comfortable somewhere else I would do it again. This is my house and if I want to be where you are you need to move. If the dog is lying in a doorway it needs to get out of the way when I am coming through. Never go around your dog, go through it. I am coming through clear a path. In this case the owner may need to get a foot under the dog and gently nudge it to get things moving.

This is similar to making sure you go through the door first. If that dog started to lean on me I would bump it away with my knee, he needs to respect my space. You never have to say a word to the dog or get rough with it, it's all about body language and personal space.

Do this kind of stuff properly and you should be able to take that food dish away whenever you want.


A good friend and very good trainer put it to me this way. "We need to mentor these young dogs and teach them how to be good citizens and we can't do that if we are their buddy. The buddy time comes later when they are older and they have earned it."

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Originally Posted by Jakezilla

If it was my dog, for starters I would probably wait until he was lying down somewhere. Then I would go stand next to him and work my way in crowding is space until he got up and moved. Then in about 5 minutes when he was comfortable somewhere else I would do it again. This is my house and if I want to be where you are you need to move. If the dog is lying in a doorway it needs to get out of the way when I am coming through. Never go around your dog, go through it. I am coming through clear a path. In this case the owner may need to get a foot under the dog and gently nudge it to get things moving.

This is similar to making sure you go through the door first. If that dog started to lean on me I would bump it away with my knee, he needs to respect my space. You never have to say a word to the dog or get rough with it, it's all about body language and personal space.

Do this kind of stuff properly and you should be able to take that food dish away whenever you want.

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What does any of that do for food aggression? lol You "should" be able to take the food away? Talk about escalating the situation. Just sayin..

I've never let my dogs get to the point of showing food aggression, but when they already do it, there are better ways to deal with it than crowding their space thinking you'll be able to grab their bowl. That just sounds dangerous.

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Originally Posted by Jakezilla

Just wanted to touch on what Kraka said for the pointing dog guys.

When you go out hunting, how you start the hunt will set the tone for the hunt. If you arrive at your hunting spot and you let your dog out to run around and do this or that while you get ready you can't expect a polished performance from your dog in the field. When I am hunting and I arrive at my spot, I do whatever I need to into order to get ready. Once I am ready then I get my dog out and run through a few simple commands on a lead, heel, whoa etc. Then we move to the "line" and I have the dog stand still until I release the dog to hunt and I will probably turn the dog as well once it hits about 50 yds whether he needs to turn or not. After that we are hunting and that indirect pressure gets you inside the dogs head and if you have done the things right in the yard you will probably see a more responsive dog as well as crisper bird work in the field.

If it has been a particularly long trip and you feel you need to air your dog out as soon as you get there, let him out and then put the dog back in the truck until you are ready. Then take the dog out and run through a couple short drills before you start. Make this a habit and you will have a better time in the field. It doesn't have to be a long and drawn out process my routine only takes a couple minutes.

Set the tone of the hunt before you start and you will have a much more enjoyable hunt.

For those of you that plan to train on the woodcock when they come through, treat it like a hunt and go through the steps and get in the dogs head before you start. You will get much more accomplished that way.

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Thanks so much for this! A light went off over here! Makes so much sense. I will definitely try this with the Britt. Hopefully, it will help him get focused much sooner when it's time to hunt or train instead of thinking it's just playtime.