Why Puppies Protect
Their Food and Toys

It is completely normal for puppies and dogs to guard their food and toys. Remember that dogs were originally predators and their food did not come around easily, it certainly was not just served out to them on a dog bowl as it is now! This type of natural predator behavior is normal in dogs though and protecting his food and toys is just one way of saying, "Stay away! This is mine!" A lot of dogs are quite gentle when it comes to this though, but usually it depends on the dog.

Dogs can be incredibly gentle with certain things, but it is not something that you can always rely on. In order to avoid your dog from biting at you when he is an adult dog, which will not be funny business, start training him from the moment he is a puppy. Remember that the earlier you start training the better and easier it will be.

In order to train your puppy to give you certain objects such as his food or toys, teach him to follow a command. A command can be something like "Give" etc, and then offer the puppy something else in exchange such as a luscious puppy treat. Continue to repeat this exercise by trading off the treats for toys as many times as needed. Little by little you can offer the puppy even more interesting toys and do the training session again. This will make the puppy more willing to give you his even more prized possessions as well, which is the objective. Consistency is the key to good training.

Next, practice this training session in a place near the dog's food bowl. When your puppy eats, sit with him and try to hand feed him while your hand is in the bowl. You can start off by serving the puppy a little bit off his food in his bowl and while he starts eating add in another small portion of food. Then while the puppy is eating on that once again add in another teensy bit of food, and then again. This will teach the puppy to accept you coming near him food bowl while he is eating.

This type of training session should only be done by an adult. Dogs can become aggressive sometimes when a person attempts to get near their food or special toys, so if you are not completely sure on how to proceed to this or your puppy does not seem to be getting the point of the training session, get professional help and if you need to train an adult dog, get help from a pro.