What to do when a dog guards food? Food guarding is a bad behavior. If a dog guards food from a young age, not only is prior “refusal training” hard to learn; it can also develop into guarding toys, guarding territory, and so on. At that time, as the dog owner, you'll be really troubled~ In this article, we introduce training methods to stop dogs from guarding food:

　　1. At first, dogs will be very resistant to you approaching their food, even threatening the owner with sounds. So at the beginning, you can use your hand to put a little food near you in front of the dog, then gradually feed it directly with your hand. This way, the dog gradually understands that you are not a threat to its food, but a giver, so it will relax its guard towards you.

　　2. Next, you can frequently feed the dog from your palm. Open your palm and put delicious food in your hand to feed the dog. This feeding method is very safe; the dog will lick the food and won't bite the hand. Once the dog gets used to it, you can attempt to hold the food bowl in your hand and feed your puppy.

　　3. Afterwards, you need to let the dog get used to someone being nearby while it is eating. When feeding it, first place your hand on its body. Stroke it while pouring food into its bowl. Do not stop stroking while it is eating. Be gentle and slow in your movements, and you can talk to it, so it trusts that you will not snatch its food.

　　4. Do not rush petting; proceed slowly according to the degree the dog accepts. You can start by stroking its rear half, and once it does not object, gradually move toward the head (this process may take several days to complete).

　　5. Once the dog gets used to having someone nearby and being stroked while eating, meaning it no longer feels threatened, start trying to take away the food bowl. During the whole eating process, if you notice signs of threat such as wrinkling the nose, making hissing sounds, or giving sideways glances, scold loudly and take away the food.

　　When it calms down, praise it, stroke it and say: “Good.” Then give back the food bowl. Repeat this process until it no longer resists.

　　Note: Training a dog to “not guard food” requires patience. Do not snatch its things at the beginning, as this can be dangerous.

　　Especially when taking the food bowl away, observe the dog's expression carefully. If the dog shows signs of aggression, stop taking the bowl away. (Source: PetsZone)