Dealing with Food Aggression in Huskies

The competition for resources starts early. As newborn puppies vie for access to their mother’s milk, they squirm and push and crowd out their siblings for prime feeding spots. Nature favors the larger, stronger pups here and sometimes human intervention is needed to ensure smaller puppies get equal opportunity to nurse.

As the puppies grow and ween and begin consuming solid food, the inclination to fight for resources has already been established. While a litter of young puppies may be given unlimited access to kibble for a while, eventually most dog owners feed on a schedule rather than keeping the food bowl full at all times, and growing pups quickly pick up on the narrow feeding window. So driven by nature, they become protective of what they perceive as a limited resource.

You may encounter your puppy giving a little growl as his muzzle is buried in the food bowl and he’s trying to devour it as quickly as possible. Or he may lunge at the treat in your hand, or worst case scenario, bite you or another animal who gets too close to his food source. This is food aggression, and this is very normal behavior.

Keeping in mind where this tendency originates, and that it is inherent and not indicative of an aggressive or unstable dog, let’s talk about how to correct the behavior.

As a breed, huskies are notoriously independent and resourceful. Their dependency on humans almost seems to be something they must be taught, and they challenge us at every opportunity. Food dominance is no exception and tackling it as early as possible, even before you see evidence of bad behavior, will be invaluable as your husky matures. I am working on the premise that we are starting with a puppy age dog who is early in training development, but these techniques can work with any age.

Teaching Eating Hierarchy

Prepare to feel ridiculous! Lots of dog trainers swear by this and I have actually seen it work, so here it is. Before your dog eats out of his bowl, you need to eat out of it first. I don’t mean actually eat food out of it, just pretend you’re eating his food, and only when you’re ‘finished’ does he get his turn to eat. For huskies, who are still pack oriented, this resonates fairly well. Just be prepared to defend your alpha status. I actually have a husky girl who gives me a piece of her mind the whole time I’m ‘enjoying her food,’ though to be fair she is opinionated about everything. Now for this to work, everyone in the family needs to participate in the ritual. We can’t have the dog respecting one person and nobody else. So before each feeding let your dog see you, or any other family member, eating his food first, and if he waits patiently then present the actual food to him.

Hand Feeding

This teaches two lessons: that humans are the source of food, and how to be a gentle pup eating from the hand. Hand feeding is by far my most favorite training exercise. It is a bonding activity, teaches patience and communication, and your dog learns to be ever so gentle nibbling kibble from your hand. It also gets your dog very used to having your hand in, around, and handling his food. He will be so accustomed to this that he shouldn’t even flinch if your hand is near or in his food bowl later on. Again, this is something everyone in the family should do. Now the idea is to only allow gentle eating. If your dog bites too hard, or is aggressive in any way when trying to get the food from your hand, then certain techniques must be followed. Never allow your dog to successfully retrieve the food through forceful means. He should quickly learn that gentle tongue action will open the hand for optimum food access. To do this I start with my hand in a fist with the food inside. This way he can smell it, but any initial open mouthing can do little harm to my closed hand, then once he starts nuzzling or licking my hand I will slowly open it to reveal the food. As long as only the tongue is involved and only the gentlest of nibbles to pick up the food, only then do I allow him to have it. We repeat this over and over, sometimes for his entire meal. It can take many tries, and even once he gets the routine down, he may still forget himself in his eagerness and become a little too rough from time to time, and gentle reminders and regular practice will eventually pay off.

Graduating to the Bowl

Eventually we want to be able to set down a bowl of food for our dogs without drama, without protective tendencies, just a nice calm feeding. Once your dog knows you are in charge, that you are the source of food, and not someone to challenge come feeding time, then presenting their meal in their dish should be as easy as it sounds. Make sure your dog is fine with your hand in his dish, and gives no indication of trying to protect his food. Then allow him to enjoy his meal. In the event he gives even the slightest warning growl then immediately pick up the food bowl, often accompanied by a firm ‘no,’ put it out of reach and walk away for a few minutes. When you return he will likely be more complacent and ready to try again. Feed a few kibbles by hand, and try presenting the bowl again, with your hand actually in the bowl. As long as he gently eats around your fingers without attitude you should be good to go. But remember this may take a few tries.

One final note: Dogs are creatures of routine. They quickly learn the schedules of the family and what to expect. When routines change, or certain people disappear for longer than normal, new dogs or people are introduced, or the dog’s schedule gets abruptly changed, etc., this can lead to stress. One of the first indications of stress is for the dog to suddenly become possessive of his resources. This includes food, where he sleeps, people he loves, toys and what he considers precious things. So if there is suddenly a regression in his training and behavior, look closely at his environment and work with him to adapt and feel safe in his space. Dogs don’t just suddenly forget all of their training. They are simply reactive creatures.