Why did my mother dog aggressively attack her puppy's eyes over food?

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.

It sounds like Stela is resource guarding. The food is hers and she is protecting what is hers. If you want to start introducing food into the puppies’ diet then I would start with a puppy starter food and I would separate them from Stela when you offer it. I would also keep Stella’s food somewhere that the puppies can not access. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

I would feed them in their crates or in separate areas. That way they both can relax during meals and you will avoid an escalation of dominance over food which could result in aggressive behavior and fights. Also Poli may become more fearful and anxious which is not a good thing. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dogs.

Yes. You will need to remove the mother from the puppy. I also recommend to have the mother spayed or to not breed her in the future. Not all dogs make good parents. Attacking the puppies is not a good quality for a mother dog to have. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi there. Aggressive behavior over food or other high-value resources is very common, and can even be considered normal in dogs. I would recommend managing this issue by continuing to feed the dogs in separate rooms or parts of the house, and picking up the food bowls before allowing the dogs back together again. As long as you're consistent about doing this, you should be able to avoid any issues.

If the pup wasn’t the runt or injured then I would separate her from the rest. She may be tired of taking care of them, puppies can be very demanding. The pups are old enough to start solid food. I usually mix puppy milk replacer with canned puppy food or moistened puppy dry food. Make it sloppy and use your finger to teach them to lick the food and then eat off of a flat plate. They should grow fine and you don’t want to risk another injury or death. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your puppies.

It is best to keep the puppies away at this point so she does not keep doing that. You can start to bottle feed or lay her down and let them nurse under your direct supervision then take them away when they are done so she can’t hurt them