my dog growls around food

[Unregistered]

I was wondering what to do. My dog growls around food and gets ready to attack when something comes around his food. Other then that hes always sweet. He gets plenty of food but he turns into a tiger when it comes to food. IF you even stick stuffed animals next to him while hes eating hell rip them into shreds.

[miakoda]

Begin by going back to the basics of training with him. work on everything such as sit, down, etc. Also, begin feeding him only from your hand. If he choses not to eat, so be it. One day soon he will realize that this is the only way he can get food. If he starts eating out of your hands ok, then feed him while holding the bowl. Get involved in his eating & make him understand that you are LETTING/ALLOWING him to eat. Not letting him think that he is the boss.

Now that being said, food aggression is a very serious issue. Probably 70% of dog bites occur when someone walks by a dog that is eating or chewing on something & the dog is highly possessive. This is not a good scenerio any way you look at it. The older your dog is, the harder is will be to correct this behavior. It's easier when they are younger as you haven't been letting him get away with this behavior, thus allowing it & actually encouraging your dog's behavior as I'm sure everyone leaves him alone after he growls at them, as long. Now here I will speak from the heart. If you cannot fix this behavior, there is only 1 choice that you have and that is to put him down. There is no reason to take the risk of someone getting mauled all b/c they walked to close to this dog while he is eating/chewing. It's just another headline in the making. Good luck with him & feel free to ask more questions.

P.S.-enroll in a training course with him as well. If you can, find a trainer who will come to your house & help you work with him there. It's always good to have that kind of professional help