How to stop my dog from being possessive and fighting over food?

Aw they are so cute! Growing and being protective over food is a natural and expected behavior for dogs so there's no real way to "train away" the behavior. I recommend feeding them in separate rooms and removing the food bowls before they are allowed to interact to avoid any fighting or injuries. You can also get an Adaptil diffuser for the household which may reduce some overall stress. Most importantly, however, is keeping everyone safe by providing separate feeding areas, separate water bowls, and not allowing your dogs to interact around food. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best of 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

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.

The best thing to do is to avoid these situations all together. Avoid giving them bones and if you do, make sure the dogs are separated so they can’t see each other while enjoying their bones. This type of behavior, if allowed to continue, will escalate and the dogs could hurt each other or you. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

I hate to hear this is happening. Unfortunately, it's impossible to know how best to advise you without being able to read the body language of the dogs. It's possible this is occurring because they are maturing. Both dogs also need to be spayed/neutered because this can help to decrease aggression. Intact dogs are much more likely to fight and have problems. Canine aggression is a complex behavior as it can stem from dominance, possessiveness, fear, anxiety, resource guarding or a combination. Most people are not familiar with reading canine body language and training. Because of this, I recommend to work with a professional trainer. Researching on your own will also be helpful. Familiarizing yourself with canine body language and dog training can help you to recognize what your pet is trying to say. You can find many books written on the topic and there is a trainer named Victoria Stilwell who I think is particularly helpful. Best of luck.

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.

Hi there. It's actually quite normal for dogs to want to protect their food from other dogs - as you've observed, this is not correlated with an increased risk of resource guarding towards humans. Having dogs eat side by side is somewhat unnatural, and many dogs aren't comfortable with this. If either dog shows any signs of guarding, I would recommend simply feeding them separately long-term. There is no benefit to going through a long training process to try and make them eat together, and this will likely be stressful for both dogs. Just feed them in separate rooms or crates, and let them back together when they're both finished eating.