Food Aggression and Food Guarding in Puppies

To prevent your puppy from perceiving your presence as a threat to her food at feeding time, resulting in food aggression or food guarding, it’s important she gets used to being in your presence when eating.

• Start by standing beside her while she is eating, then gradually add a little food to her bowl by dropping it from your hand.
• When she is relaxed, you can lift the bowl and add some more food or a treat.
• Try walking a short distance away from her and then walk toward her and add some more food to her bowl.

Repeat these steps regularly and this will reassure her that her food is safe and that she shouldn’t fear people approaching her bowl. This will help avoid unpredictable and aggressive behavior in the future.