Aggression in my dog, what caused it and how do I handle it?

[Bindi-n-Beastie]

Hi! New here.
I have a 1-yo corgi, named Bindi. This morning, I was holding a treat that I was about to give her, when my brother came up from behind and was petting her back. She whirled around and snapped at him. As an experiment, my dad did the same thing (pet her back while she was watching the treat I held) and again, she growled and snapped.
So now my family is saying we have to take care of that, because we can't just let her be aggressive. And all of them operate under the theories of punishing a dog for bad behavior. As far as they are concerned, the only way to fix this is to punish her for bad behavior, and show her the consequences of it so she won't do it.

I've been going by the methods on this website for a few weeks now, so I tried to explain that that's probably not right and that maybe the display of aggression is rooted from our physical punishment of her in times past, that sort of thing. But they won't listen to me, and honestly not even I'm sure how to explain it.
So I'd really appreciate some insight on what would be causing Bindi to behave that way, and how we should respond. And the more fact-based/practical it is, the better because it'll take some effort convincing my family. I told them I'd research the issue and get back to them, and I did read most of Victoria's articles on aggression, but I haven't really gotten the answers I need. I just need to know what exactly brings about that sort of aggression from a dog, and how I should deal with it if not by discipline.
Thank you!

[Shalista]

Short answer? try not to touch your dog while food is involved.

Food may be exceptionally valuable to her and she doesn't want you to steal it. If you try to physically punish her it will only enforce in her mind that someone is going to steal it and she has to defend it. The harder you punish her for defending her food, the harder she's going to fight for it.

The easiest way to address this is just don't touch her while she's eating.

I'm sure someone will come along with a more thorough explanation soon.

EDIT: also kudos for trying to go positive in a punitive household. I was very much in your shoes. My entire house used very punitive punishment based training before i got my dog. I swung them around though and now they believe in what i do. Positive trainings results speak for themselves!

[Fundog]

Shalista took the words right out of my mouth-- er, fingers. Food= don't touch the dog, don't tease the dog, don't sneak up on the dog, don't startle the dog. That's pretty much our number one rule around here, especially for people who don't understand dogs.

[Bindi-n-Beastie]

Thank you both so much for the help! That does make sense to me, and I'd be happy to apply it.
I'm kind of worried that my family will think that's just 'encouraging' a bad behavior though. Could I do that as well as try a similar approach of teaching her that the only way she gets food is from me on my terms, or something? Like feeding her bit by bit while having her do tricks for it, or something? I don't know if that would make any difference or not. . . but so long as it also wouldn't cause issues, maybe it would help convince my family that I am fixing a bad behavior and not just avoiding it. Or should I just explain to them that she won't be aggressive if we don't give her something to be aggressive about, and let the results speak for themselves like you said?
Thanks again!!

[Shalista]

There's nothing wrong with making a dog work for her kibble Bax has to wait in a sit before i release him to eat. It's just good manners. and when i know we're going to do training I'll totally withhold his breakfast and then use it as his treats for working

I do still recommend not touching her while she's eating. if your family needs "proof" that your working on something try teaching her a "drop it" so you never have to worry about taking something from her that she ISNT supposed to eat. If she has the tendency to be guardy about her food and she gets a chicken wing she might choke on you're going to want a reliable way to retrieve without putting your hand in her mouth

A "leave it" could also be handy so she doesn't pick up something you've dropped.

I also encourage feeding her her dinners in a quiet room out of the way so she doesn't feel threatened by people walking by.
(Doubly helpful since people won't feel inclined to touch her while she's eating either if she's out of sight)

If you're looking for desensitisation techniques for touching food while the dog is there I can't really help, sorry hopefully someone else will come by soon to help.

[JudyN]

Bax has to wait in a sit before i release him to eat. It's just good manners.

I agree with Shalista - you don't want the dog diving into their bowl or snatching a treat. But don't be tempted to ask the dog to wait for long - this will only increase her anxiety round food. Think of it like putting a wonderful meal in front of a hungry two-year-old human and making them wait a long time before they can eat it. It does nothing to improve the child's behaviour and will only add to their stress. Also, be aware that it's not possible to train all dogs to drop high-value food such as a chicken wing. Your family may well think they need the dog to see them as 'owning' all the resources, and therefore entitled to remove food from the dog, but this doesn't fit with dog psychology - in a dog's world, possession is 10/10ths of the law.

As for needing to punish 'bad' behaviour - maybe you can explain to your family that this approach doesn't work because it doesn't address the dog's anxiety that she needs to 'protect' her food, and that someone approaching will be a threat. All punishment will do is make her suppress the aggressive reaction, but the emotions will still be there and one day they will be too strong for her to suppress, and she will react suddenly and strongly. It is far more effective, and far safer, to avoid unnecessary situations that might stress her.

As to cause - some dogs are just like this naturally. Some are naturally suspicious/anxious when they have food, others you can (though you shouldn't) take bones right out of their mouths. Alternatively, of course, there may have been a situation where someone did take something off her and now she's anxious it'll happen again.

As others have said, it's far better if you can convince your family to leave her alone when she has food. Maybe you could explain it in terms that it's not about being able to control the dog in any situation, which tends to be a bit of a macho thing, it's about making the dog a safer dog. It's about doing what works, not what massages someone's ego. Remember, the dog is an animal, and a predator, and no one ever calls a lion or tiger 'naughty' for defending its food Maybe we should be astonished that some dogs will let humans dictate what they do rather than being surprised when they don't in some situations. The aim is that the dog will be relaxed around food because she knows no one will take it and no one will come & bother her while she's eating.

I'm not an expert, but if you wanted to desensitise your dog, I guess you would show her a treat, touch her hind end, and give her the treat, and gradually teach her that contact on her hind end was a positive thing. Then, while you're holding a treat, get a family member to touch her hind end and immediately give her a treat that is better than the one in your hand, & build up from the touch to actually petting her. BUT I'm reluctant to suggest that, as it will only encourage them to do something which is completely avoidable and that she has shown she doesn't like.

You haven't said if she shows anxiety around food in other situatios, but it would be worth having a read of this post viewtopic.php?f=20&t=18074 to see if there's anything there that will make her feel more comfortable around food.

[Nettle]

Using treats for training is way different from making the dog perform for all its food. Mealtime should be nice calm safe stress-free downtime. While some breed/types love performing, others do not, and some may refuse to eat or develop anxiety issues if they have to perform for every mouthful.

Assuming your family is receptive, when they don't want to reject punishment, show them in a human empathy way what they want to do to the dog. For instance, if you were to grab a family member from behind just as they were about to take a bite of food, I can almost guarantee they will roar, whip round and lash out. Put it to them that way and they may start the glimmerings of understanding. Living with a dog is not a competition that we 'win' and the dog 'loses', but sadly old-fashioned dog training made it seem that way. Consideration on one part creates tolerance in the other.

Welcome to the forum

[Bindi-n-Beastie]

Thank you everyone! This has been really helpful!

Bindi does already know "leave it" and sort of knows "drop it," so I'll keep working on that one.
I am still a little confused just because, like JudyN said, she doesn't make any other displays of food anxiety. In fact it's my brother's dog that freaks out if Bindi comes near her food dish (though she doesn't seem to mind us there). Because I actually used to pet Bindi sometimes when she was eating, since I didn't know that wasn't good and since she didn't seem to mind. So maybe it was just because the treat I was holding was something she really wanted (more than just kibble) or maybe she doesn't trust my brother and dad as much as me? I don't know. And I guess they were doing a sort of 'rough-pet' (not like they were hurting her or anything, it just wasn't a delicate pat or something) and came up behind her sort of suddenly, as opposed to me already being there, kneeling down, and petting her gently.

Anyway, even if I hadn't had that issue with Bindi, I'm glad I asked! I never really realized it wasn't a good idea to take something from a dog. I admit I do it all the time, especially with my brother's dog who doesn't want to give it up. (though she never acts aggressively) Maybe that explains why she's so protective (though like I said, without aggression) of whatever toy she's got!

So thank you again! I'll give convincing my family my best shot, and start working on what you've all talked about!

[Shalista]

best of luck! it can be a hard road working positively with your dog in a punitive household but the bond you develop with your dog is well worth it =)

[Nettle]

Just a quickie - arrange your dogs' eating schedule so that neither can go over to the other while the other is eating. It causes huge stress, and stress has to go somewhere - often into a reaction to another incident. If there is already tension over food, rethink your practices to avoid it. Even though this is your dog putting pressure on another, it is still stress.

Who else is in the household (human and animal/bird)?

[ScarletSci]

Using treats for training is way different from making the dog perform for all its food. Mealtime should be nice calm safe stress-free downtime. While some breed/types love performing, others do not, and some may refuse to eat or develop anxiety issues if they have to perform for every mouthful.

Assuming your family is receptive, when they don't want to reject punishment, show them in a human empathy way what they want to do to the dog. For instance, if you were to grab a family member from behind just as they were about to take a bite of food, I can almost guarantee they will roar, whip round and lash out. Put it to them that way and they may start the glimmerings of understanding. Living with a dog is not a competition that we 'win' and the dog 'loses', but sadly old-fashioned dog training made it seem that way. Consideration on one part creates tolerance in the other.

Welcome to the forum

I was thinking something along these lines. To demonstrate to them how unpleasant it is to have someone sneak up behind you and jab you in the ribs while you're distracted! Having some respect for her personal space isn't 'letting the dog dominate', it's just showing respect for the personal space of another living being.

I don't think it's about the food. I think it's about sneaking up and touching her roughly when she's focused on something else(you and the treat). It feels like an incoming attack. And remember that corgi's were bred to herd sheep, they're instinctively wary of something like that.

I'd also try to persuade them not to do it, using the demo above, and praise her breed. Try to work some positive trick training around her instincts, and show them just how smart and hardworking a little corgi can be!

[Bindi-n-Beastie]

Thank you! I really appreciate all the help!

And Nettle, as far as other people/animals in the house- there's my parents and my two older brothers, my brother's dog, our cat, and a couple gerbils.