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Ok this is a show I watch alot of (I like the fact that they rescue pets) but last night I watched them call a boxer (abandoned by his family and left tied in the back yard) a dangerous dog and put him to sleep all because he was protective of his food. The lady put that fake hand out and he started to growl and then bark and then bite the third time, they could have easily found him a home with adults who would know this and deal with this but I’m mad that they just said "oh he’s dangerous" meanwhile he took all his medicine fine he gave kisses and the only problem was the food and he’d been starving. If I hadn’t eaten in 2 weeks and somebody tried to take my food I’d warn you to back off too.
A dog like that is hard to adopt. Why run the risk that food agression could turn into other kids of aggression? What if a child passing the dog in a backyard offers a treat through the fence? What if the dog attacks someone with food while on a walk? Food agression is a very serious problem. I have been bitten at least five times (once on my face, I still have scars) because of DIFFERENT food agressive dogs. I wasn’t trying to take the food from them either. The bite on my face was from my dad’s first daschund, because I tried to get him out of the trash can.
That’s what i’m saying though if you have proper owners for him it would be ok and the problem wasn’t giving him food it was trying to touch his face, so it could have been dealt with but they didn’t even give him a chance, he was a very good dog with everything else and like I said if he was starving then that’s why he’s aggressive if he knows he’s going to be fed then he probably would’ve been better. I think they just jumped the gun on that one.
I must agree with you to a point. The methods they used were Sue Sternburgs testing methods which do not give an animal any time to settle in. The testing is done almost right away & is brutal. It is really set up for the dog to fail. It is all about numbers & $$ from Maddies Fund. However the likelyhood of finding a home that is competant or capable of handling such a dog is slim. This is the problem with 3/4 of the dogs out there now. They have NO training. Also, the probablility of finding a home with no contact with children is about nil – neighbors, friends/relatives that would visit all may have children!
Life is full of stressful situations, and if the dog panics in them and bites, it’s a dangerous dog. Even if the dog DOES go to people who understand the issue, it is not 100% safe. Someone could come over, not know the dog is food agressive, and get bitten if they try and touch the dog while it eats. And as I said, my dad’s daschund started with the food agression, and then began getting agressive about his toys too. Pick up his ball to play fetch and he would bite you and draw blood.
Well I’m sure they could’ve found someone or a couple who would be responsible enough to take care of this. I mean come on it’s a starving dog for crying out loud, as I said I’d warn you to back off too. This dog was good at everything else they even squirted that medicine up his nose and he took it like a champ so he wouldn’t have just bitten someone for the sake of biting. He was cuddly and friendly and playful so he could have been a great dog for someone but like I said it’s sad when they don’t give him the benefit of the doubt and just put him too sleep.
They don’t do the testing immediately. They give the dogs a week to rest from my understanding. They don’t just drag the dogs off the street, shove food under their nose and gasp when the dog snaps at them. That would be completely stupid.
And when you say ‘responsible and capable owners’, you are suggesting that the average american family cannot handle this dog. Is there a waiting list out there I am unaware of that people put themselves on WANTING a dog that will likely bite them over food? It’s just a fact that most people don’t want to keep animals that are going to hurt them. Why should the shelter sink a lot of money into that one dog when it can find ten other non-aggressive dogs a home with the time and money it would take to try to rehome that one biting dog? I don’t like it, but that’s the truth.
That is such a tricky call. I would hate to know I was in charge of that decision making. I have little terrier mix who my husband and I always jokingly say, God forbid he get loose and picked up because they would put him to sleep for food aggression. He just loves to fight for his food. He lives for growling at us. Yes we do encourage it because he is only playing. He will actually sit there and wait for you to say "I’m going to get it!" he’ll hunch his head and look and growl. If we touch his head one time he will bark and then start eating. He’s just a little runt and has to act bad. If he has a little treat he will hold one piece to play-fight with and eat the rest.
I have watched probably the same animal show however where they did give a pit a chance. Someone adopted him under the same premises. He was kind. Everything was fine, nice dog, but hen one of the vet-techs came around doing a follow up weeks later the dog bit him, bad on his hand. They gave him a chance and several months later they visited again and the dog bit the guy again for no reason.
the problem is, the decision was already made before the dog even had a chance!
As for trying to get the dog out of the garbage, you should never put your hand on a dog that’s already in it. Startled it out of it, I can see that.
Hungry, and without food for a few days? That’s abuse and mistreatment in my book.
Teasing the dog, as an only play over food what will you do when a stranger comes to hthe houjse and your dog bites them????
You need parameters set up with who you let be around your dog when it comes to meal times.
I have one dog I absolutely don’t want anyone touching. It’s not because she’s mean, she loves people, but she is snippish, and she does guard her food, and I won’t put up with her doing it to anyone, and I won’t put up with anyone trying to test what she feels is hers………………………….
If that was for me I absolutely do not worry about this little dog bothering strangers, many have been here, he only does this with my husband I he is a very friendly, playful dog and loves anyone that comes up to him. He is not aggressive. He is 8 y/o and has never bit or tried to bite anyone. One time I let some little kids pet him and he stayed inside and would not go out except to use the bathroom for 2 weeks. Pouting because I showed them he was not a tough guy. He will eat his food but just like to play with it if we are right there at him. He is wagging his tail and happy the entire time. It’s like he just stops and looks at you and says "try to get it". He will growl occasionally at the other dogs when they try to eat out of his bowl but it is more like a chewing growl because he wants control over the bowel. His daughter likes to put her big head in the bowl and he will do this but she ignores him and keeps eating. I can be in the other end of the house and say "Tobi stop" or "Tobi come here" and he will quit immediately. He’s just a little 6 pound boy so he has to use that yapping trap to be bad.
Thanks ladies i’m glad someone understands what i’m saying. Even if the dog had a week he was still left in his yard with no food and starving so it’s no wonder he is food aggressive. It’s not just him i’ve seen them do this with they put dogs to sleep before fully trying everything they can and saying that just because he is food aggressive and their are 10 other dogs waiting who arn’t, well so what he looked like a sweet and lovable pet who deserved his fair shot and when they tested him he was still skin and bones dogs tend to put on some weight after a week of eating.
I was SEVEN when the dog bit me, and my stepmother had told me to get the dog out of the trash. I do agree that there are much less severe cases of food agression that can be treated with TLC and it is not always right to put the dog down, but some dogs are just dangerous. I can very easily see someone getting a food agressive dog, getting bitten, and turning around and suing the animal rescue organization they got the dog from for not screening for food agression.
By the way, the dog was looking right at me as I approached. He got out of the trash, and when I bent over to close the lid again, that’s when he jumped and bit me on my face. He wasn’t startled at all. Just because a dog LOOKS like a good pet doesn’t mean it isn’t going to bite you.
holtho you are absolutely right on target except for one thing. In many shelters they do test right after admission or within a day. I also object to the food testing at all as I don’t feel that is a fair judgement of the dogs overall temperment. After all, don’t we preach to people to NOT ever go near a dog when it is sleeping, eating, or has puppies as the dog has the right to "react" at those times.
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