My 9 week old puppy barks at his food when he is fed. He'll swat at it and growl at it etc etc. If I take it away he won't growl or bark at me and he lets me put my hand in it. I don't think it is food aggression per se, but I am confused on what it means and if or how I should stop it.


On another note we are having bite inhibition problems too. When he is just regular playful everything is fine but after naps or when he is super playful he will really hurt you. We want to try time outs the problem is our closed door locations he enjoys i.e. the bathroom or outdoor porch. Does anyone have a suggestion of a way to do a time out where the closed door rooms don't work? If you just turn your back at him he will bite your back. We have tried baby gates but the way the moldings are done they just don't fit well enough to stand up.



Thanks.

I would guess the barking at food is play. My puppy used to bark and paw at pigs ears and bully sticks. Now he only does it every once in a while. I live in a studio apartment and the bathroom wasn't an option for me either. I just used his crate. I know its not usually recommended, but I didn't really have another choice. Mostly my pup's biting stemmed from over excitement or being over tired, so I'd put him in the crate for 10-15 min to calm down, usually with something to chew. It worked pretty well for us.

ive been having the same thing, and ive tried just about everything, i use time outs in a small bathroom/ crate will work fine, alls you trying to do is get em to calm down, and i also do the "yelp" and stand up and walk away. yelp makes her more playful. i try to go in another room and shut the door behind me every time too before i resort to time outs. staying consistent and being patient is the next step. there are many threads on here about it too you can look in to.

another thing i started doing; went and bought bitter spray and put it on my arms when i play. shes starting to think twice about biting now...but she is also learning when its on and isnt... just stick to what ever method and remember she/he is just a puppy

wpskier222 wrote:

I would guess the barking at food is play.

Yeah, Shaqua does this. It is actually kind of funny. Her play bark and give me attention bark are very similar so the first few times she did it I was confused. Ha ha! She barks at me the same way in the morning if I sleep in too late.

It's always been play every time I have ever witnessed barking and playing with (swatting, pawing at, chasing) food.