GSP Food Problem?

Phil V.

New member
My gsp is 5yrs. old now and I've had her since she was weaned. She has been around the rat terrier that I have since then too. The problem is the okder she gets the more protective she gets of her food. They have separate food dishes and are more than 10' apart. Whenever the terrier gets within 5' of the gsp's dish she starts growling. They have been together this long and it seems to be getting worse for her protecting her food. They both get the same food and both are treated the same. The gsp came from a litter of 9. Any suggestions or comments are welcome. I've been thinking of putting her in the attached heated garage if it gets any worse.
 
feed one or both in crates, give them about 5 minutes to eat and then pick up their dishes even if they didn't finish eating

after a couple days they will eat their food right away and five minutes later you can pick up their dishes and let them out again with no worries
 
feed one or both in crates, give them about 5 minutes to eat and then pick up their dishes even if they didn't finish eating

after a couple days they will eat their food right away and five minutes later you can pick up their dishes and let them out again with no worries

^^^This^^^
 
have you tried just correcting her as soon as she shows aggression? not talking about a beating, but a stern no, or maybe grab the back other me neck and give a little shake.
 
Very typical, mine do the same. If they don't finish their food, the like to guard it. With mine, it seems as though dominance changes from time to time I feed them 15 ft apart. Sometimes Ill go out back and watch thru a window. They constantly watch each other, and if one leaves the garage, the other immediately goes over to check the other dish. They seem to have a mutual respect for each other, usually all it takes is a quick stare and the other will retreat if approaching. Once in a great while there will be a brief battle, which sounds worse than it really is. (kinda like husband&wife arguing) Typically I'd view the male as the alpha, but a few weeks ago, I'd given both a biskit, the male ate his, the female put hers in her crate. I was working in the garage, the male grabbed hers, and she gave a few growls/barks and ripped it right from his jaws.
 
Well I got bad news Saturday afternoon about my terrier. She's in the early stages of kidney failure. Thanks for all the advice. She turned 8 in October.
 
Sorry to here that, I love my dogs like they are my kids.

Worry about them everytime something happens.
 
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