I just made a mistake, what should I do in future?

Hi guys,

A little question here, I just came home from work and Boomer was his normal self, very loving etc. For info, he is never food aggressive but his IS very greedy. Anyway, I opened the fridge and Boomer dived forward and grabbed at huge slab of roast beef, i din't even have time to shout at him when he then turned around a bite me very hard on the hand. This was a proper bite but with no growl etc.he basically had my hand pinned, its cut up but not too bad. I never hit my dogs but have to admit this time I hit him a couple of times, he then let go and ran off and is currently sulking in my bedroom.

I know Boomer likes to push boundaries but i'm surprised he bit me so quickly and angry with myself for hitting him back.

Even with a bloody hand I know that Boomer is a great dog and this is one of those situations where there may be a underlaying cause (boomer is a rescue afterall).

Something that might be relevant is Boomer never eats his food while I am at work, he waits until I get back and eats it straight away, I assume this is due to a past issue where he maybe went without food for a while i his past as he seems to hoard it until he knows I am going to feed him again.

Any advice on how I should have handled this would be great guys

I take it, that it wasn't feeding time? Its likely going to be very hard to change any characteristics in boomer with food, greediness and hoarding etc. Might be worth a token gesture to see if a behaviourist could offer some help, but I doubt it.

Thus the only thing to learn from it is to be more aware in future, and if necessary shoo Boomer out the kitchen before opening the fridge if he's got 'the look'.

As for the sulking, dont worry. Give him a day or two and things all be all dapper again im sure! They dont hold grudges.

Afraid I haven't got time to answer this fully as just about to cook tea but as the other poster says, try to avoid this situation in the future.

I disagree that there aren't things you can do as there is lots to do to ensure that he begins to see you around food as a good thing. There are two threads on here that were posted about food aggression, if you can find them, and on there i posted in detail how you can make your dog happy to be around food, and this doesn't include hitting it or taking their food away.

I'm sure you know that hitting him is not the best way to deal with it as he may not try to take food from you in the future but may well size up other people he sees as a challenge and try his chances with them. It will also make him less trusting of you.

Hope your hand is ok and you and he are over this soon and moving on to convincing him that it is great to let you be around food as that good things come when you are near his food.

Where did you rescue Boomer from? Can you call the rescue centre for some support?

I think you should get your hand looked at by a nurse as well just in case of infection.

Hope you are both ok x

I took on an old GSD who was ball-obsessed. One day she grabbed the ball, sinking her teeth into my hand at the same time. It wasn`t so much a mistake as a question of her not giving a monkeys if she grabbed me or not. After the initial screaming and cursing, I taught her (over time) to sit and wait at a distance while I got the ball out. And the Leave command.
Unlike Chris, I do think it`s possible to retrain the dog - but it does take time and patience. I`d start with the less contentious situations - basic obedience in and outside the house while preventing a recurrence with baby-gates. Maybe when the dog is responding well you could progress to Leave it with food, starting with low-value food when he`s not particularly hungry?
I wouldn`t dwell too much on his history. Dogs adapt to the situation they are in in the present, and he needs to change his behaviour to adapt to his new surroundings so the fact he`s in a new home is an asset. Daisy won`t eat unless I stand beside her but that`s got more to do with her being happier when I`m around.

As you say you didn't even have time to shout, did you just go to grab the meat back? Fairly natural instinct, and for him a fairly natural instinct would be to defend his prize.
I would actually forget about what happened re him biting and just move on.
start practising his leave it command, using high value treats, or if he's that greedy move up to high value treats once he is reliable with lower value treats. Once he has a reliable leave it command, try to remember to use it before your hand moves forward to recover whatever he's nicked.
Once he's perfected it, repeat it often and at random times.
Go clean up your hand, you may need antibiotics, and make up with him, he doesn't know what he's done wrong.

Kismet can be crazy around food and I know your situation is one I may have to face one day. We are working on it and with some great advice on here every day n every way we get a little bit better.

This is my thread and Catrinsparkles and others have some good advice for me.... I'm working on it and getting there... I'm sure you can too.

http://www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=95059

Selkie says hi and thanks again for the mussels If you feel you need a friendly ear who knows something of what you are going through feel free to PM me.

Thank you Magpye! Knew someone would be able to find it!

Thanks guys, some good advice there.

Boomer is back to his normal self already and i've made it obvious we are ok. I think this was a rare event for him and I'll just be a little more careful with food etc. i'll get the hand looked at by a nurse friend tonight just to be safe!

Boomer liked to test the boundries alot when I first got him and had some aggression in him so i guess this is something I need to remember a little more, its hard when he is normally such a angel though!

As i'm typing this he's now pushing me for a hug so I guess he really has forgotten about the smack as well!!!

Not a pleasant experience for you or Boomer, Mike.

Hope you can put it behind you and move on.

Hugs honey x0x0x