Ok I'm at a loss...lol someone help.
This is week two with Finnick, and I thought for sure he was over his food aggression, he will eat right beside snow and will wait when the beagle eats to even go near him....but today I walked over to him (it's been three days since I've hand fed him) and the jerk started growling at me when I got close. He dug his nose in his bowl and tried to put as much food as he could in his mouth when i sat beside him. I told him NO and took his food away, and hand fed the rest of the food left in his bowl..but I feel like somehow we got off track and he is getting worse than before. I stopped hand feeding after a week of having him because he was to the point of laying down in a calm relaxed state when he ate and he would let snow share his bowl....
I knew it would be a challenge, he is underweight and I can see his hip bones, so i think this is because lack of food...we are feeding 1 cup in the morning, two in the afternoon and one at night..


Any suggestion or feedback would be great...I'm open to other methods to help me get him straight.

http://shibashake.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Stop-Your-Dog-from-Guarding-Resources-guarding-food-resource-guarding-dog-aggression

check this out

I didn't see this until now, sorry!

4 cups of food is a lot of food. Even if he's underweight it's best to get it up slowly rather than load him up on food. Sometimes guarding gets worse when they have too much to guard.

Dogs who guard take time to get "over" it. They are insecure and feel they need to protect their food from anyone (even you- the source.)

I would start hand feeding or at least sitting beside him and tossing food into his bowl while he eats. Make sure he has enough room between him and the other dogs. While some people feel the dog is only "cured" when they can eat directly next to another dog- I feel this puts way too much pressure on them and we only "think" they're cured because they've learned that showing their discomfort and fear gets them in trouble. My dogs are fed in a circle around the kitchen and every meal everyone sits in the same place and has space between them and the other dogs. Not because my dogs are "aggressive" I just feel they each deserve their own space when they're eating.

So I would give him his own space (as well as the other dogs) in the kitchen (or wherever you feed) and sit down next to him with the bowl. Don't make things uncomfortable by forcing contact or by making him "deal." Just toss a bit of food in his bowl, let him eat, and then toss more. He'll begin to positively associate your calm non-intrusive presence with the satisfaction of eating, and eating without feeling he needs to become protective.

Odin was very very food aggressive when I first got him and now I can even pick up his bowl of raw and move it or take things out/put them in using this method. I don't mess with their bowls unless I have to. I hate when they bug me and i'm eating so I give them the same respect.

Thank You....as always Kristina, you help so much! lol it totally makes sence to give him his space, and i can see where messing with him and his bowl may cause confusion for him.

I went back to strictly hand feeding him, and i thought i was maybe feeding him a bit much, but the way he eats its like im still not feeding enough...and he hasn't gained a pound. I thought it could be worms or something but he was cleared by the vet, and the heartguard would have taken care of anything anyways..he is however, only 6 months old, so that could be why.

when he eats i only let snow in with him, the other two eat in our dining room now. Snow is so focused on her food that she doesn't even try to go near him...however when she finishes she will usually walk over and want some of his food, and now he is more than willing to share with her. Shes helped us teach him manners as far as not trying to bite and play so hard. lol

Our beagle, Goober, is a male, and when he is in the room Finnick is on guard though. When he growled at me on sunday i noticed goober was walking in the kitchen as well...eventhough goober is the sweetest thing in the world i think it had something to do with him setting him off.
I would love to have all four of them in the same room again, and im pretty positive i'll eventually get there, but its not going to be a quick fix like i thought lol

With the other non husky dogs, we had them since they were babies...so our Goober never developed this problem, and Mia...well...she was completely different because I tube fed her from the time she was 11 days old...and she had my two year old constantly by her, so she is basically used to sharing and having someone up her butt all the time lol

I really like the idea of tossing food in his bowl as he is eating little by little. That seems like it may really work. I am going to try to do this tonight and see what happens.

He has started getting really vocal when he doesn't want to do something...like if i tell him bed (crate) he woos at me, it is so funny. this morning it was raining really bad, so he literally lifted his leg and i caught him just in time trying to pee on my sliding glass door...so i told him no, outside, and it was almost like he was backtalking me with the response i got out of him..haha

just wanted to give ya an update..
i gave him his bowl this evening with dinner and put a small portion of food in at a time. By the middle of the feeding he was much better! He started off trying to get as much food in his mouth as he could, but after i continually gave him a little bit of food with each bite he took it seemed to calm him down some. I'm going to stick with this for the next few weeks and see what happens.

I would be concerned about a dog that is eating 4 cups a food a day and not gaining weight. Heartgard can help prevent infestation, but it can't always take care of every worm situation. And worms have cycles, I would have him rechecked for parasites. Just to be safe. And make sure your vet knows how much you are feeding and that he's not gaining weight. Maybe you need a higher fat content food, that I don't know.

They make slow feed bowls but you can also put a good size rock or hard rubber ball in his bowl then the food.

Freya has some food agression too, not with her dry food, just with her raw.

I've started feeding her by hand, making her sit or paw (It's a new one we're learning) before each nad every piece. I pat her and scratch her face around her mouth right down to her tail while she is eating and I havnt had one little growl from her. I'm so impressed. I'm going to keep feeding her this way each meal for the next week or so and see where that gets us agression wise.

Well, it's been about a week and a half with Finnicks "portion" feeding, and Kristina, you are amazing lol this method has worked wonders and he is such a good boy while eating now. He has his bowl back and the rest of the dogs are now eating with him at the same time. He is still given a little bit at a time by myself or my husband once a day, and we supervise the other feeding and it's going wonderfully.
He haven't had any growling and he is completely relaxed during food time.
Yay for a balanced house again!
We have been strongly in forcing the NILIF lifestyle with him and he is catching on pretty good.
so thanks, again...you saved me from having a complete nightmare of a puppy lol

So glad its working well!