Just fed my westie a nice tuna dinner.  I got her to sit and stay, as usual, before allowing her to have her meal.  As she was eating i thought oh i will just add a bit more to her dinner.  I said leave, as usual, went to pick up the bowl and she almost took my hand off.  I have never ever seen her behave like this.  She was like a mad angry dog.  I have read that you should be able to take food away from your dog with no problem .... Help!!

The nicer the food, the more value it has. I expect you'd kick up more of a fuss if someone took away your plate of delicious prime steak, potatoes, mushrooms and salad than if they took away your bowl of cabbage soup.

Back to basics, I'm afraid! At mealtimes put her empty bowl on the floor and put her food into it, by hand, a little at a time, waiting till she's cleared the bowl before you add more. She needs to realise that you're the giver of food, not the thief!

Ok, dogs cant TELL that there is more in the bowl than there was UNLESS te bowl was empty, and i mean, wtih the pattern licked off.

So when you say 'leave' about her food bowl, all your dog knows is you are taking it, she doestn realise WHY, so this time she has thought 'no way, my dinner, you LEAVE'.

Yes, you should be able to take food from your dog, but no you should N OT just take it, without training her to accept it, and you do not train a dog to accept food being taken, by simply taking it.

Get four empty bowls. Put them a good few feet apart in a square, bowl at each corner.

Have a handful of biscuits and go ruond the square, bending down and putting a biscuit in each bowl, WHEN your dog has figured out there is nothign in any of them.

There are too many bowls for her to guard, there is nothing IN them to guard anyway, until you put it there.

What you are looking for , is to be able to approach her bowl and put more food in it WITHOUT removing it, she should sit bakc and let you, when you say leave, but you dont TAKE anything. With lots of practice, this will mean ou eventually have a dog that LEAVES its food for you to approach and handle, and IF you do have to take it away, replace it with something else if at all possible.

Em