My old husky attacks over food. Can medication help her aggression?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I am sorry to hear about Blue, but you are not alone! This type of behavior is usually related to fear - fear that is so extreme that the pet has no choice but fight or flight. It often leads to aggression. The bad news is that an expensive trainer may not be able to help Blue anyways because her fear level is so high. The good news is that there are several great anti-anxiety medications that can make a HUGE difference in Blue's life. Not only will they reduce fear (and therefore aggression), but they will make whatever training you try MUCH more effective. (Pets cannot learn when they are scared). My favorites are amitiptyline and trazadone, but there are others available. Talk to your vet about what is available and reasonable to try for Blue. I hope this helps and best of luck to you and Blue!

I would recommend a few different things for Annabelle. The first is getting a trainer to come to your home and see what the triggers are for her. That way they can help you learn how to deal with it and hopefully redirect her. There is medication that may help. Understand that it may take multiple medications, multiple trials and it can take time for medication to fully work. Your veterinarian will be able to prescribe medications to see what would be best for her. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Many dogs experience resource guarding behavior, which leads them to become highly possessive over their food and/or prized toys or treats. The safest approach is to be sure that Freya and your puppy are separated in different rooms or crates while they have access to any food or treats. You can also contact a specialist in veterinary behavior (https://www.dacvb.org/) if this issue persists.

Feed just one diet. Switching diets frequently will reinforce the finicky behavior and may lead to gastrointestinal upset. Dogs thrive on routine, so feed Magnus at regular mealtimes not when asked. Prepare the dog food and leave it down for 20-30 minutes then pick it up whether it has been eaten or not. Repeat this at the next mealtime. Do not feed or give treats between meals. If you are training, use a reward that takes no more than a second or two to eat. Be firm. Magnus will not starve. She will eat the food that is offered when she gets hungry. Sweets should not be given regularly and tea contains caffeine which can be toxic to dogs. Regarding her calming down, consider formal obedience training to teach manners. Your vet may be able to recommend or refer you to a certified trainer. Regular exercise and a variety of toys and tasks will keep her "busy" and work off excess energy.

I would be happy to help you - feel free to request a consultation if you want to discuss Koda's issues in more detail. For now, I can certainly give you some general information about food aggression and how to treat it :) Food aggression, like other types of resource guarding, occurs because the dog is afraid that you are going to take their food away from them. This doesn't have to be based on any negative experiences in the past - it's a hard-wired, instinctive behavior that is stronger in some dogs than others. Treatment is based on teaching the dog that good things happen when you approach his food bowl, so that over time, this doesn't make her feel threatened anymore. You can start by walking by her and dropping a treat into her food bowl while she is eating. Once she's comfortable with this, you can gradually work up to approaching her, picking up the bowl, adding a special treat of some kind, and giving it back. It's never recommended to punish this behavior, or to bother her or take away her bowl while she is eating, since this only reinforces the idea that bad things happen when you approach her and will make the problem worse over time. The book "Mine!" by Jean Donaldson gives an excellent overview of this issue, along with detailed step-by-step training instructions to address it.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding the puppies. You will likely need to separate them to give them break from playing and keep them separate at mealtimes. This will allow your puppy a chance to rest a bit so that she does not become overwhelmed by her littermate. Good luck!

Mealtimes are a common trigger for aggression between dogs in the same household - this may be a resource guarding issue related to the food itself, or could be redirected aggression that is happening when Harvey gets excited and/or frustrated while waiting for his food. The simplest solution would be to put both dogs in separate rooms with the door closed (or in their crates, if they are crate-trained) prior to getting their dinner ready. Feed them in their separate areas (again, in different rooms with the door closed if possible - separate parts of the same room isn't enough), then let them out once they have both finished eating. Pick up the bowls and put them away afterwards to avoid any resource guarding issues with the empty bowls. If this doesn't help, or if you are interested in a more detailed training plan to work on this behavior over time, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist. He/she can evaluate both dogs in person to hep determine what is causing this problem, and put together a detailed plan for you to work on the problem. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org