What to Do If Your Dog Has Severe Food Guarding Behavior? Three Methods to Improve It!

Most dogs that have not received proper feeding education tend to exhibit food guarding behavior: growling while eating and tightly holding onto their food, even threatening to bite. If a pet dog displays food guarding behavior, it can cause serious issues for the owner and the family. So, how can we improve a dog's food guarding behavior?

• Feed with Your Hand Instead of a Bowl
  After evenly distributing the food, take a small amount in your hand and let the dog associate your hand with food. Use a command to ask the dog to sit while eating, ensuring they don’t become overly anxious. After a week of this method, you should see significant improvement.
  

• Supplement Food with Your Hand
  Once the first step is completed, return to using a bowl for feeding. Place a small amount of food in the bowl, and after the dog finishes eating, give them a little more from your hand. This helps the dog get used to the idea that your hand brings more food, making them less resistant to your presence. For more aggressive dogs, especially those that bite, you'll need to go back to the first step for retraining.
  
  

• Gently Stroke Their Back While Eating
  Once the dog has adapted to the first two points, you can gently stroke their back while they eat. If they remain calm, reward them. If they display food guarding behavior, revert to the actions in the second point.

Finally, it's important to understand that food guarding is an innate instinct in dogs. It is advisable to start correcting this behavior while they are still young, as the chances of correction become smaller once they reach adulthood. In such cases, safety measures should be taken to protect owners from potential danger.