I have a GBGV who is now 21 months old. she has become very food aggressive to the point where she will now bite us to warn us off. This doesnt occur when we are giving her her own food but only when she comes across food that is ours that has been left around. WE have children and although I try hard to not let them do this they still sometimes leave food around. She used to just growl but now she has started to bite  and she went for me today which is the first time. I think I will probably have to see a behaviourist if not I think she will have to go as she could be a danger to my children. Please could anyone give me some advice Thanks

To be fair to the dog, she is just reacting naturally. She found it, so it's hers! You are trying to steal her food.
To get your dog to give up food you will have to train her.
Two strands to this, I think.
One is to get her to associate you putting your hands in or near her mouth and bowl as positives, so keep adding food to her bowl, and teaching her to let you open her mouth, and giving her food treats when you do it.
You also must train her to drop on command. Start off with low value items which you effectively swap for higher value (eg she drops the rubber toy you give her a piece of chicken - but whatever is high value to your dog), until she will automatically drop whatever is in her mouth on command.

> One is to get her to associate you putting your hands in or near her mouth and bowl as positives

you really need to get your dog to do this for several reasons- of course the biting is most important but you'll also need to look at teeth, get bad things out of there and if (god forbid) they are choking on something at some point its always a useful thing to be able to do.

Sudden changes in behaviour should really be addressed first with your vet - although there is every possibility this is resource guarding (food or any other "prized" possession) it is better to have any possible medical reasons ruled out whether obviously physical (mouth/neck/joint pain for eg) or neurological issues.

There are a few MUST do's and MUST don'ts to observe and you really need to be on the ball here! 

Let's looks at the Do's :)

1. See a vet, have her thoroughly checked over and see if further tests are required.
2. Assuming a clean bill of health, seek a veterinary referral to a reputable behaviourist
3. Put three or more small bowls of food down, spaced well apart, when the dog is to be fed.  "Drop" a little food in each bowl from it's daily ration - as the dog eats from one it will see and hear you adding to another.  It should over time develop a realisation that you around a food bowl = good, extras coming.
4. When the dog has something in it's mouth, toy, food (laundry! :-D ) offer a "SWAP" to the dog with something of higher value - i.e. it has kibble, offer cheese; it has cheese, offer roast chicken; it has toy, offer dog biscuit/treat or a more exciting toy; it has laundry or similar stolen item, offer something more rewarding (probably food)
4. Lay out some basic ground rules for the family as well as the dog and ensure they are stuck to rigidly until professionally advised otherwise

here come the DONT'S :)

1. Ensure that your children neverleave a crumb of food lying around - EVER.
2. Don't allow the dog to remain in the room where you are preparing and eating food - no matter how inconvenient.
3. Don't permit the children to feed the dog or interact with the dog when there is food around - theirs or the dog's
4. Dont permit the children to take anything from the dog or pre-emptively rescue something it's about to take
5. Don't take your eye off this dog for a second until remedial training is showing sound progress

The fact that warnings have escalated so far that this dog is now biting IMO lays bare the fact that family actions should have been addressed much more quickly than now and also that advice should have been sought much sooner too.  However much of that is a moot point as the fact is that things have escalated so please follow the guidelines above plus any other sensible precautions until such times as professional advice with someone who has examined and observed the dog closely has been gone through.  This is a young dog and, barring serious medical problems, this behaviour can be turned around but it needs dedication, commitment and by the nature of the dog's reactions, outside expertise.

There are some very experienced folks on here who doubtless will be able to add to the above.
I hope this helps a little meantime.

Best wishes, Teri

Sorry  to be downer but a dog and biting  and children do not mix. if you can't sort it, you may have to take serious action, got think of your family first. Wouldn't like to see any anyone in A&E because of the dog. Sorry

TIPPER- Food agression is a natural behaviour for a dog, OK it's definately not a desirable behavior especially with kids in the house and every dog is not going to be like this, but it can be overcome. When anybody decides to take on a dog they should be prepared for putting in the training involved, including overcoming problem behaviours that may arise.
I also would not like to see a child in A&E because of a dog bite, but I also wouldn't like to see a dog given up easily to a shelter just because it requires some extra training.

IMO any dogs shouldn't be left unatended with children & if you know your dog has food agression you make sure you are extra carefull.

I got my old dog from a rescue centre, he was 4 years old when I got him. I didn't realise he had food agression, he never showed any signs (but that's probably because I always left him to eat in peace) until one day my eldest son (2 year old at the time), walked past my dog when he was eating, the dog nipped my son (never left a mark, just a warning nip). From that day I made sure it couldn't happen again and I worked very hard on overcoming it. 10 years on and neither of my children have been bitten (not even a nip/growl/warning stare from the dog). Since overcoming the food guarding, the dog has no problem with anybody (not even the cat or puppy) near him when he is eating.
I made sure my children were involved with feeding the dog, they would put his food bowl down (with me strictly supervising), this helped teach the dog that the children would give food and that they had as much control over his food as I did.

All the advice from Teri is brilliant (IMO). CONSISTENCY is the key to any succesfull training other wise it only leads to confusing the dog. Dont ever hit or shout at the dog when it displays aggressive behaviour, this only gives it more need to defend it's self, stay calm.

It takes confidence to rectify aggressive behavior, I think you would definately benefit from seeing a behaviourist.

This problem can be overcome, but there is no quick fix.

Excellent post Teri, covers just about everything. :-)

The most important issue is to just make sure that there is no food for this dog to guard. She should not be allowed in the room at all when food is around.

Perhaps you could also teach your children to only eat at the table or if they are small to have one of those toddler tables to only eat at with the dog removed. I know our children love to snack, but if you teach them to only eat in appropriate places it will help immensly with this problem, also stop you getting crumbs everywhere. :-D

Also I know you say this is just with food?  But, is the dog the same with toys, does she growl for seating preferences? Or is it truly only for food?

See how things go, I hope that the problem either via a behaviourist or by changing your eating routines will be sorted, but I personally need a dog I can trust, I'm afraid it would be spending an awful lot of time in segregation if it were mine until the problem was worked out.

I am sorry, however I disagree that food aggression is a natural behaviour. I have owned dogs for the last 25yrs. Most of my dogs being GSD's and I have never encountered any food aggression behaviours with any of my dogs.

There havent been any food aggression episodes with each other either, even with treats, as each dog respects the other and I can happily feed them their meals together with their bowls next to each other knowing that there wont be any problems.

Yes, it would be a good idea to seek help from a behaviourist at this stage especially since she has snapped already. It would be such a shame for you to have to rehome her as a last resort. It sounds to me as if she thinks she is the Alpha and it is her right to be entitled to any food that has been left and is available and she is trying to enforce this through her growling.

I think Teri has given excellent advice and this would be a good way to move forward with her.

I wish you all the best.

however I disagree that food aggression is a natural behaviour.

I totally agree, it is not something I have ever come across in a dog either, it is a problem that some dogs may have for various reasons, but it can be sorted out. :-)

You have not encountered food aggression in your dogs because you have taught them not to display it/there is no need for it. I have also never had a dog that I raised from a puppy showing food aggression.

The following is a section from Turid Rugass on food aggression:

"5. Defending food is not a reason to put a dog to sleep - that's exactly what any dog might do if forced to. It would be like putting a dog to sleep for being a dog.
6. This has little to do with aggression in the commonly used phrase "being an aggressive dog". It's purely protection of his own resources."

in full - http://www.canis.no/rugaas/oneqanda.php?id=934

This seems to me that it is a natural behviour, which most owners can easily avoid through training/socialisation during puppyhood and handling adolescence correctly, many dogs will test thier owners during adolescence*.

* "he needs to check things out in order to see the types of reactions he will get if he ever thinks about it later." Turid Rugass

however I disagree that food aggression is a natural behaviour.

I also agree with the above statement.

In nearly 30 years of breeding/owning/keeping dogs I haven't experienced it and this is perhaps not a coincidence.

With this particular dog I think hindsight could be used to determine how this dog got to this stage and used as a precaution for the training of future dogs.

In the meantime Teri's excellent summary of how to re-shape this dogs behaviour should be adopted IMO.

5. Defending food is not a reason to put a dog to sleep

It is I'm afraid if to do so a dog is willing to attack and bite it's human owner and defend it's food violently and at all costs. (Hopefully not in this inst as a behaviourist should be able to help)

Domesticated dogs do not react in general the way that wild dogs and wolves do, food is plentiful, and provided for them by their owners which is the main reason that our dogs love us so much, Jeangenie once posted a piece that dogs are the largest of parasites, which at first I did not agree with, but on reflection she is spot on, that is exactly what our dogs are, and thus it changes their behaviour towards us, they will not in general attack or strike out at us for food as we are the providers, our dogs are extremely well fed and cared for so to point a phrase they are very unlikely to bite the hand that feeds.

When dogs do resource food guard there is generally another reason for it, either it has had food taken from it so feels threatend or a dog has issues which can be turned around in the majority of cases.

As I've said on previous posts I have never had to teach a dog not to strike out at me or to stop it resource guarding it's food, it has absolutely no need to do it, whether a pup or a dog it has no need to guard it's food, food is plentiful, so it is no longer a natural behaviour and certainly not an acceptable one.

many dogs will test thier owners during adolescence

Again never had any dog do this over food. :-) In may other ways yes, but never over food.

Carrington - how do you go about feeding puppies, do you ever approach them while eating and drop food into thier bowls (or similar)? If you do, this teaches the puppy that you are there to give food, therfore it shouldn't ever feel the need to guard its food (ergo, you have taught them not be food aggressive).

This is a genuine question, I am not being sarcastic. :)

The example you give is no different to a Dam regurgitating or bringing food to it's pups, yet a wolf or wild dog may well still resource guard food and is very likely to defend it's kill even against it's own mother, though as a pup it was brought food, so feeding a pup does not ensure it does not resource guard at all.

Domestic dogs do not resource guard (usually) because they have no need to.

The teach situation was in reference to the way that yourself and a few others will remove food from a dogs mouth so as in your way of training to stop it from becoming a food resource guarder, my opinion and practised with many pups and dogs over the years is that this is an irrelevant training method and has no bearing on making a dog not food aggressive as dogs in general will not be it is no longer a natural need. :-)

I see your point, I still think it's a natural behaviour, but I do see what you mean. :)

I just think that a dog doesn't need to feel deprived/in competition to feel the need to protect its food  (in much the same way my dad would get a little protective if somebody tried to take his steak off him ;) ).

Dogs display many instincts that they have no need for, such as prey drive, burying a bone to store food, guarding a home/garden, some dogs have the instinct to run eg. Huskies.

I am not trying to argue with you (I don't want to be taken the wrong way :( ), I respect your beliefs and the reason you believe them, this is just an insight into why I believe what I do :)