Why does my dog guard her food. She's. Never done this
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Food or "resource" guarding is a common behavior in many dogs. The behavior is usually a result of a dog feeling possessive over an object they feel is valuable, may be taken away, or is in limited supply.
Usually the behavior starts when they are puppies and they are competing with other puppies for a food source. However, changes to the environment such as adding a new dog to the household or another dog who steals food, if there were changes in diet, if there are frequent visitors to the house with whom the dog is familiar, or if there are children who are liable to push the dog's boundaries. All of this is perfectly natural behavior for a dog.
The problem is when this natural behavior becomes dangerous to the humans trying to feed, live, or play around your dog while she is eating. If you do not have children in the house and you are able to feed her without risk of being bitten, this isn't necessarily a behavior that needs to be corrected. You can be aware that she likes to guard her food, and take steps not to push her boundaries when she is eating.
If you feel you or someone in your house is at risk of being bitten due to this developing behavior, then it is possible you will need to seek the assistance of a behaviorist in your area to do some long-term training sessions with her to help ease her out of this habit.
While non-neutered/spayed animals may be more prone to developing more aggressive behaviors, once they start having the behavior, simply getting them fixed won't eliminate the problem. It has already been "learned", and consistent training is needed to help redirect her behaviors. However, spaying her may help a bit in the training process, not to mention help her overall health if you do not intend on breeding her.
Until you can have your vet recommend a behaviorist or training program for her, the best thing you can do is let her eat in a calm, quiet environment so she doesn't feel threatened. Trying to punish her, stare her down, or "dominate" her may make her feel like her meal is in more danger than it actually is, and it may end up causing the food guarding to get worse. If she does well with being fed in a quiet environment, that may be all you need to do! If she gets worse, positive reinforcement and desensitization training with a professional will help to gradually correct how she reacts to anyone approaching her food.
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