Quiet and a Calm dog suddenly aggressive with food.?
My dog will be 11 next may. He's the calmest and most relaxed dog you could ask for. Never barks, listens great. However we just gave him a doggy treat, and he picked it up and walked away from us. I went to see where he went and when he came close, he picked it up and went to a different room. I only wanted to give him half so I pet his back to let him know I was coming for it and he gave an angry growl instantly. I was alarmed because he never does something like that. Still eating the treat I snatched it and he let out the loudest and angriest pitched scream ever. He snapped at my hand on the way up as well. I punished him because I should be able to remove food from him without an issue. Advice? What happened to him.
Anonymous2018-06-30T21:03:11Z
Nothing wrong with him other than you giving him a treat then stealing it from him
You should endevour learn a little about the nature of dogs then in that case. Take the dog for a vetcheck. its health may be deteriorating at that great age.
YOU Shouldn`t have "snatched" at the treat while he was still eating it. That`s enough to set most dogs off on the defensive. Old dogs can get very grumpy at times and forget their manners, and also you should have not have touched his back as he would have seen that as a threat from something he could not see and would obviously growl. You "should" have approached from the side so the dog could see you and then spoken to him or called him to you. He may have then dropped the treat of his own accord. Everything you did was viewed as a big threat, so of course he acted accordingly. Yes, of course you should be able to remove food from your dog without any issues, but only if you go about it in a firm and confident way and not in the way you went about it all. Sometimes we can forget our dogs are animals, and we forget to see things in the way they see them, and we make silly mistakes on our approaches to them sometimes, which confuses them, and their primitive instincts come into play automatically. Be more careful in future eh? Jmo.
Don't give him this treat again. By now he should have learnt to 'drop'/'leave' on command but many dogs will resource guard so you'll have to keep one step ahead so he doesn't get anything that might cause him harm, and once he has a treat or his normal food, leave him alone.
Now might be a good time to get him in for a health check - including a dental because it could simply be that his teeth/gums hurt meaning he knew he couldn't eat the treat easily, so he walked away with it, to eat it at his own pace.
I hope by punishing him, your didn't hit him!! This would only make a bad situation worse.