I have a 7 weekold westiepuppy whose sisters went to their new homes yesterday. Mum is now being quite aggressive about food with her.  She wants her own food and the pup's food and snaps at her if she goes near.  She's at her worst with treats, for example a dentastick, where if i give them both one she'll want them both.  worst of all was today where the bitch refused a raw chicken drumstick, but the pup was keen, and mum spent all afternoon howling at her about it, eventually went and stole it from her and is now aggressively guarding it but has no interest in eating it herself.  What's it all about?

In my limited experience, it sounds quite normal. My terrier is just the same, she takes every single toy off my GSD. She doesn't like raw, but will guard any bit of raw just to stop him getting it, even though she has no intention of eating it. I would feed them seperately, I would also keep her (Mum) on a long lead when you feed treats. Even the most maternal mothers become very selfish once puppies are self sufficient, they see them as competion, they forget the nurture bit unfortunately. Do you have somewhere where the puppy can go to eat her raw chicken in peace. A cage might be an idea, I wouldn't let Mum call all the shots, sounds like she won't give her daughter a bit of peace when there is food/treats about, she is showing who is top dog in the household.

thanks for your reply- i was beginning to think i was invisible!
Yes, pup has a cage and largish pen, but this has been adapted to allow mum in to feed pups at will, so she is able to use the visitation rights to steal chicken too!
She does seem to have stopped feeding pup altogether so maybe i'll just  make it impossible for her to get in, although i didn't want to do that for a while in case she changes her mind, or gets distressed.  I'm a little disappointed that she no longer seems affectionate towards the puppy.  I had visions of companionship and playtimes, not snarls and snaps...

I guess that this sort of thing depends on the dam, my girl always has access to her pups, but once they are on solids she is taken to a different part of the house so that they can eat in peace and vice versa. After the feed my girl is let in to hoover up any leftovers, and spend time with her pups.  With chicken wings I have always given a pup upto 30 mins to eat it, if it has been taken in the garden and hidden or hidden in the pups whelping crate my girl will then be allowed after 30 mins to go in and search them out, she has never, ever taken a chicken wing from a pup though and if a pup even goes back to a wing she will back off and allow her pup to finish it, waiting patienly for any leftovers, but that is my girl.

I can say 100% that my mothers Westie cross would not do the same, she would definitely take the chicken wing from a pup and has done so when my mum has introduced a newbie to the pack, so as a mother I have no doubt she would act just like your girl.

As already advised just feed them seperately and watch out for food guarding from your girl, she may well give the pup a nip are you keeping this pup? Is your Westie an only dog, and if not does she food guard with any other household dogs? 

I can honestly say that I've had this happen with both our Pomeranian's and Spanish, definitely don't think it's a terrier thing!  I have usually got my girls away from them by then though, but it doesn't take long before they are happy to be next to each other eating with none of this if I'm keeping one of the pups and the rest have gone.

Don't worry. a) it's normal, pups are at the bottom in the pecking order so they
just cannot be cheeky and go near an adult's food. b) I would NOT separate them
for feeding as this is a valuable lesson the pup needs to learn and c) who better to
learn the lesson from than mom who certainly will not harm/damage/injure/kill her
pup in teaching the lesson. The sooner the pup learns other dogs' food is a no-no
the better. Other non-kin dogs may not be as gentle about it.

And no, it's deffo NOT a terrier thing. It's a canine thing. :-)

yes, that i understand, but the pup doesn't really go near mum's food - it's mum who wants ALL the food, including any treats etc if they get one each.  She usually lets the pup eat her fill first if it's dinner, but something really tasty, she just steals it and snaps at the pup to keep away.
i don't want to upset the natural order of things, but i don't like her getting away with this, but don't know whether to tell her off or not.

but i don't like her getting away with this

This is the way mommydogs handle their offspring. Don't correct her for
doing the right thing. If the pup doesn't learn the lesson he may assume
that it is ok to interfere with any other dog's food or treats - which can
have fatal outcomes. You would upset the natural order if you didn't
let the puppy learn this vital lesson in life. Do not overly protect the
pup as the puppy may come to the conclusion you or some other
human will be always there to "rescue/safe" him - which will not be
the case. The puppy needs to learn how to act appropriately in
order to be safe in later life.
Please don't take this opportunity away.

I personally feed all mine in separate areas of the kitchen - or outside the room if they get possessive. Nobody likes to have stressful mealtimes - it can lead to gulping and the subsequent risk of bloat. So I'd definitely feed your two out of sight of each other. Why risk friction when there's no need?

a) it's normal, pups are at the bottom in the pecking order so they
just cannot be cheeky and go near an adult's food.

I wouldn't agree with that at all. Pups eat FIRST (they would not survive otherwise), so many adults will even stand back and allow a puppy to take their food -up to a certain age. It's known as the "puppy license" and I've seen it many times. By age 4 months or so the adults will finally say enough and tell the pup off. Of course, individuals differ, and I've seen bitches that won't let pups near their food even at just 3 weeks of age.
http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=2

I won't allow that sort of behaviour with my lot and I keep five of all ages.

they a re never allowed to take each others food, I referee,a nd after this they a re expected to have treats together and not thieve.  they get so used to the rules that they don't dream of having a go, but will take anything left lying around.

It does help to make chews etc low value by having plenty around.  I always have more bones or hooves or rawhides when I (rarely) use them so there is no need to squabble.  Anyone found hoarding has the hoard taken away and redistributed.

wouldn't agree with that at all. Pups eat FIRST (they would not survive otherwise), so many adults will even stand back and allow a puppy to take their food -up to a certain age. It's known as the "puppy license" and I've seen it many times.

The "puppy license" is a myth as it doesn't work with dogs outside the pups' closer knitted social environment.
Try place your puppy amongst a strange group of dogs and watch what happens when it displays a similar
show of disrespect it would show to the dogs used to him.
Being at the bottom of the pecking order doesn't mean they will starve. It just means they have to observe
the set rules and guidelines of dogs amongst themselves.

It is true however that pups up to a certain agewill enjoy a certain type of protection from overly
bolshy adults; the older a puppy gets though, the less protection is available for the puppy, the less is
their bolshy behaviour tolerated even by their parents or other dogs they live with.

In my humble experience (I have raised about 100 pups here over the past 9 years, some with their mothers,
some with their mothers would couldn't nourish them, some as orphans, some handraised but all growing up
amongst a group of dogs previously unknown to them) the "puppy license" fades away at a max age of 10
weeks. Now, most breeders would sell their pups at age 8 weeks and cannot monitor their progress as closely
as they would up to the point of sale. BUT - I have a funny feeling the puppy protection thing goes along with
- or maybe is directly linked - the phenomen we know as "puppy breath". The puppy breath is strongest at the
youngest age and slowly fades away. It is only a theory but I reckon the intensity of the puppy breath signals
to the adults how much correction a puppy is able to take.

>The "puppy license" is a myth as it doesn't work with dogs outside the pups' closer knitted social environment.

Even if that were so (and we see that from observing pups out on walks up to about the age of 4 months being granted high tolerance from 'stranger' dogs who we know are normally averse to interaction), then it would be irrelevent when it comes to feeding. How many people take their puppy out among strange dogs to give it its dinner?

I wouldn't tolerate any of mine snapping over treats - regardless fo age or rank.  Treats are a privilege and each has the same entitlement so I start as I mean to go on and they soon learn that jostling for first position is only acceptable if there's no sign of bullying or antagonism but other than that they know they'll each get the goodies :)

If there's an obvious issue with food - as in meals - then the best answer IMO is to separate them at those times - either in different rooms or, if supervised, opposite ends of one room.  My dogs are allowed to guard their own meals from one another which has never meant more than a meaningful stare and possibly a low growl but that's the maximum permitted.  In many years I've never had a 'food fight' despite having two out of six dogs (and these two are current residents!) being highly food possessive.   They are both fed a few feet away from one another and each has learned only to approach the others bowl when the left unattended. 

Any hoarders get their stash removed by me - 'you snooze, you lose' being the motto here whether meals, treats, bones, toys, everything basically :)  If you keep on top of things now you will reap the benefits later. 

I'd suggest keeping the youngster apart from the bitch for a while until a regime of calm and no stealing/threats is firmly established.

regards, Teri

Completely agree with Marianne here re the puppy licence - I too have witnessed it many, many times over the years with my own dogs whether within their own pack, as pups meeting strange adult dogs and of course my own mature dogs' reactions to meeting youngsters outwith the home too :)

I've found it to be very flexible up until a minimum of 4 months, more often 5 months, and then present but perhaps less lenient for another few months.  I currently have a 10 month pup who really pushes the boundaries as he's much too 'full on' in his methods of greetings and invitations to play and it's only very recently that he has evoked an unfriendly response from any adults - even then it has always been clearly tempered, both with his resident canine chums and totally unknown dogs encountered on walks, clubs and shows.

IMO the licence is only fully revoked when puberty has begun, although depending on breeds and maturity of lines within breeds that is obviously only a very loose guide :)

As for puppy breath, in most of mine that (most adorable of aromas :-D ) goes when they are fully weaned - one kept it for several weeks longer and, what can I say, it was lush :-D

regards, Teri

Completely agree with Marianne here re the puppy licence - I too have witnessed it many, many times over the years with my own dogs whether within their own pack, as pups meeting strange adult dogs and of course my own mature dogs' reactions to meeting youngsters outwith the home too :-)

It's funny to watch, isn't it. Great big dog stepping away because a little puppy wants to take their food. Sometimes they look SO unhappy, but you can tell they feel there is no choice -it's what you do. Never ceases to amuse me. :) (Of course, because of this I always feed puppies first if not separate, but my male dog is a slow eater so sometimes hasn't finished by the time the pup has.)

Snap

> It's funny to watch, isn't it. Great big dog stepping away because a little puppy wants to take their food. Sometimes they look SO unhappy, but you can tell they feel there is no choice -it's what you do. Never ceases to amuse me

I have never bred puppies, but when we got Buster our old male dog would allow Buster to take his food and this was a dog that used to have food-guarding issues. As soon as Buster sniffed towards the bowl, Rocky would step back and allow Buster to help himself, with a pityfull look on his face as if to say 'but I wanted to eat that :('. I had to feed them in seperate rooms or the poor old boy wouldn't get a chance.  Friends have visited with thier dogs in the past and Rocky would not step out of the way of his own food bowl for another dog, in fact I wouldn't have dared feed him with another dog around, he was bad enough if people-food was about. I was amazed at him allowing Buster to do this as I was under the impression that he would 'put Buster in his place' and teach him not to take his food - how wrong was I !!!!

The OP has twice corrected that the pup is not stealing it's mothers food, the mother is stealing the pups, the lessons you are trying to teach here BigEars are irrelevant in this case, the pup needs to have it's own food, it's allocated daily amount, it should not have it's food taken from it, the pup is only 7 weeks old.

As already stated by most of us on this post whom have all raised litters and also worked for many years with dogs the pup needs to be fed seperately, if the pup should then begin to take it's mothers food, she may or may not repremand the pup, but that is not the issue at present, the Dam needs to be kept away from the pups food, so that it can feed, grow and thrive.

Thankyou Carrington, that's right.  I have been feeding the pup in the pen and mum in her usual spot outside the pen, and she usually lets the pup finish, but isn't averse to jumping in and nosing her out of the way.  Funnily enough, she usually tolerates the pup nosing in on her dinner if she finishes first.  It's the treat side of things where things go awry - a dentalstick which the pup just wants to chew at, gets nicked - even out of her mouth!  Strangest of all was the chicken wing I gave the pup - mum wasn't interested in one at all - but mum went mad trying to get it away from her as though she thought it would hurt her, eventually jumping into the pen, taking it away then guarding it fiercely.  She ended up burying it in the garden...just to keep it away from the pup it seems.
I'm not just talking a warning growl either, this is a full on snap.

Hi jane

IMO you ought not to be allowing the bitch to behave this way - give the puppy it's treats/chews etc in a separate area that mum has no access to, preferably in a crate where the little one has the chance to slowly eat the wing and is also supervised by you.  Everything else aside, you're encouraging the pup to wolf it's food down whole and/or become aggressive/possessive itself around food.

Chicken wings or similar high value treats (whether enjoyed or not BTW) are likely to provoke this type of response among most dogs *if* you permit it - the answer is that you don't allow the opportunities for such behaviours to arise and, should you be remiss for a moment, you immediately put the mum out MINUS said chicken wing ;)

regards, Teri