Expert: Kaza - 9/19/2009

Question
please please help, we have a 14 week bichon friese, she is a growler especially with food, she actually bit my son who is 17 but i have 3 smaller children, she has a cage and she loves it, we put her food in there, one of my younger children stroked her while she was eating and she growled badly she will not let u touch her bowl, she eats as though she has never eaten before, please please help me we all love her so much,she also growls sometimes if the kids pick her up im scared she will always be aggressive ,she can be very very loving especially with me thank you

Answer
Ok so we know that her crate aka den is her special place, so it must not be used for food. otherwise she will growl, with 3 kids it is paramount that this is resolved.

Feed outside the den and NEVER permit her to growl with her food bowl, this is how to resolve this issue:

Place small food in bowl (NOT IN CRATE ) in room

allow her to walk to it

once she reaches it say STOP, BACK AWAY
remove food bowl, make her sit and wait for your permision to get the food.

If she sits , give lots of praise and say good girl well done food now.

Allow her to eat the food.

If she does not sit and wait remove the food, say NO . SIT STAY .

Remove food and try again in 5 minutes.
repeat until she understands that she eats AFTER YOU SAY THAT IS OK.

REMEMBER a dog is your inferior and only eats after you permit that to continue.

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