Pushed Too Far « Wilde About Dogs. A man places a dish of food down before an adult Labrador Retriever, and then crouches down and stares at the dog. The dog blinks, turns her head, and looks nervous. Seconds later, with the man still crouched there in a tense, stiff stance, the dog begins to eat. The man reaches toward the dish. The dog snarls, and turns her head toward the man. As the man continues to move toward her in a hovering crouch, the dog turns sideways and takes a few steps away. There is a period of approximately 15 seconds where the dog remains lying with the man crouched nearby, as the man talks to the dog’s owner.
I wish the foregoing had never happened. It appears that Cesar had been called in because the Lab guarded his food and had threatened the male owner, and the couple had a baby. It’s easy for the average dog owner to see things this way: Cesar put a dish of food down in front of the dog. Like this: Like Loading... Gail Fisher's Dog Tracks: Sometimes, it's behavior of owners, not dogs, that needs to be fixed | New Hampshire NEWHAMPSHIRE02. Last week, I wrote about a YouTube “teaser” for a television program, showing a 2-year-old Labrador retriever named Holly who was aggressive around her food. (If you missed the column, here's a link). I watched the full TV episode to learn more about the situation. At 5 months, Holly started growling around her food bowl. We don't learn why she might have started growling, but I've helped many owners experiencing this behavior. Nearly all dogs start for the same reason — the owners were following recommendations from a “professional,” such as a breeder, rescue worker, trainer or veterinarian, advising them to get their puppy used to them being around her food.
They're told to pet and talk to her while she eats, to stick their fingers in her dish and to move her bowl to teach her that they can. Consider how you would react. This reminded me of the worst case I ever dealt with. I had two immediate thoughts when watching this show. More on food bowl behavior next week. Food Aggression and a Famous Trainer. Those of you who have followed my little blog here for any time know a few things about me. First, I deal with aggressive dogs and their behavior problems, with an eye towards treating the problems.
Second, I evaluate dogs that have been labeled aggressive, and often legally declared Dangerous Dogs, to find out what makes them tick and to recommend, if appropriate, treatment and management options. Third, I too often deal with truly dangerous dogs-dogs that have killed human beings. I also do detailed evaluations of those dogs, some of which have been posted here, and give a detailed breakdown of the specific behaviors observed and the circumstances under which they happened. A few of these are also on the blog. I also look at other evaluations from time to time to give an opinion of the behavior displayed and quantify that behavior. That is what I am going to do today. The Famous Dog Trainer's clip can be found on YouTube here. Dog Whisperer: Showdown with Holly. Dog Whisperer: Showdown with Holly. Match used for reading light leads to Manchester fire | New Hampshire NEWS07.