Food Aggression problem?

[LeilaNami]

We rescued a blue heeler mix (or Australian Stumpy Tail since her tail isn't docked but she has a nub) that was hit by a car on the highway a little over a week ago. We got her fixed up and since she's pain-free now, her behaviors are starting to show themselves better. We've been trying to see if she would be good with the cat and if so, we would keep her. The cat is perfectly fine with the dog but it seems that the dog gets food aggressive with other animals but not with us. The cat was scavenging around the chair because Jason dropped some food and the dog ran over and made a warning snap at the cat. It didn't seem like she touched the cat at all. She also may have growled at the cat while she was trying to play with the dog's ears but I didn't hear it and it may have just been a grunt according to Jason.

If it were dogs of similar size competing against each other, I would have no problem correcting this behavior but I'm worried about this situation since it's a 6lb cat vs. a 40lb dog. They are already feeding separately and the dog has proven not to be food aggressive with humans she knows. Does anyone have any advice on this?

 

[desertanimal]

I had a blue heeler once. The trouble is, they're just really mouthy/nippy. Of course that makes sense. But it can be a problem.

Work with her on training other behaviors. All of the regular ones and anything else you can think of. She'll pick them up fast, and they're very food motivated, so you can probably just train with her regular kibble. Then, every time you catch her going after the cat, tell her to come and then do something else. My heeler had trouble with not being able to resist chasing and heel nipping a running person at the dog park. It's really hard to get them to stop once they've started a chase. It's much more effective to stop them from doing it before they get going. I eventually got her so that whenever she would see a running person, she would immediately lie down (can't run and nip if you're lying down!) and just watch them go by (intensely).

Good news is that she probably doesn't actually want to hurt the cat. Bad news is that she can anyway. My cattle dog went with my ex in the break-up, but the other dog has a hole in his ear and scars from canine marks on his ankles from that cattle dog. She just nipped too hard a time or two.

She has to know that you are the alpha and you set the rules for her relationship with the cat. That can be a challenge with cattle dogs. They are very bossy down the hierarchy.

 

[LeilaNami]

I had a blue heeler once. The trouble is, they're just really mouthy/nippy. Of course that makes sense. But it can be a problem.

Work with her on training other behaviors. All of the regular ones and anything else you can think of. She'll pick them up fast, and they're very food motivated, so you can probably just train with her regular kibble. Then, every time you catch her going after the cat, tell her to come and then do something else. My heeler had trouble with not being able to resist chasing and heel nipping a running person at the dog park. It's really hard to get them to stop once they've started a chase. It's much more effective to stop them from doing it before they get going. I eventually got her so that whenever she would see a running person, she would immediately lie down (can't run and nip if you're lying down!) and just watch them go by (intensely).

Good news is that she probably doesn't actually want to hurt the cat. Bad news is that she can anyway. My cattle dog went with my ex in the break-up, but the other dog has a hole in his ear and scars from canine marks on his ankles from that cattle dog. She just nipped too hard a time or two.

She has to know that you are the alpha and you set the rules for her relationship with the cat. That can be a challenge with cattle dogs. They are very bossy down the hierarchy.

Thanks! Tried it and she's already getting better. :}

 

[Speedy]

Well, my advice is simple, if she's food-possessive with other animals, as a LOT of dogs and animals in general are, feed her away from other animals and keep food out of the equation.. You can train her while you do this, but don't set her up to fail by feeding her with other animals..

You are also working with a working breed, cattle dogs are great dogs, but they REALLY need a job... And a lot of exercise. A tired dog is a lot less likely to aggress for no good reason. A dog with pent-up energy is going to be on edge a lot.

 

[LeilaNami]

Well, my advice is simple, if she's food-possessive with other animals, as a LOT of dogs and animals in general are, feed her away from other animals and keep food out of the equation.. You can train her while you do this, but don't set her up to fail by feeding her with other animals..

You are also working with a working breed, cattle dogs are great dogs, but they REALLY need a job... And a lot of exercise. A tired dog is a lot less likely to aggress for no good reason. A dog with pent-up energy is going to be on edge a lot.

Thanks Speedy. She was already being fed separately but there was a piece of food on the floor, or she thought there was a piece of food on the floor that we didn't know about. When the cat and dog are together at all there is continual supervision. We are exercising her as much as we can at the moment with her cracked rib and lung contusions. She will also have the opportunity to work on a ranch once she's better.

 

[Speedy]

Ah, I missed that - sorry!

That sounds great. That's where these dogs belong... Also, once she's healed, I might suggest a light muzzle for a while while training with the cat. A plastic or wire basket muzzle are great for this, you just have to work with the dog to make them realize it's okay. I'm not a huge fan of muzzles, but just for interacting and being safe for a while, it's worth it. One nip to a cat that small could mean big problems..

If you want to try the muzzle, you could work to desensitize her to it while she is still injured, just having her stick her nose in to get treats out of the bottom, and lightly hooking it behind her head then removing it before she decides she doesn't like it.

Exercise her mind.. Play games, like teaching her easy tricks, 'leave it' is one you can teach without making her move too much. Or paw, or hide a treat under a cup and set several other cups up like it and let her use that nose of hers to find the right one. You could work on teaching her to paw at it instead of just knocking it over to make it more interesting.

I've had to work with very high-strung working breeds who were on bed rest before - lol! You have to come up with things to keep them busy or they'll certainly find their own ways..

 

[LeilaNami]

Ah, I missed that - sorry!

That sounds great. That's where these dogs belong... Also, once she's healed, I might suggest a light muzzle for a while while training with the cat. A plastic or wire basket muzzle are great for this, you just have to work with the dog to make them realize it's okay. I'm not a huge fan of muzzles, but just for interacting and being safe for a while, it's worth it. One nip to a cat that small could mean big problems..

If you want to try the muzzle, you could work to desensitize her to it while she is still injured, just having her stick her nose in to get treats out of the bottom, and lightly hooking it behind her head then removing it before she decides she doesn't like it.

Exercise her mind.. Play games, like teaching her easy tricks, 'leave it' is one you can teach without making her move too much. Or paw, or hide a treat under a cup and set several other cups up like it and let her use that nose of hers to find the right one. You could work on teaching her to paw at it instead of just knocking it over to make it more interesting.

I've had to work with very high-strung working breeds who were on bed rest before - lol! You have to come up with things to keep them busy or they'll certainly find their own ways..

Thanks for the advice, Speedy. She's just now starting to play a little bit. We bought her a couple chew toys but she won't chew on one and is afraid of the squeaker in the other. She's one of the calmest dogs I know. The only thing she does is wander off, get something of mine, and bring it back to the couch to chew on. :wall: