food aggresion

[Deb]

but not with humans ,i have a 5 month old Staffordshire bull terrier ,recently we had my sister in laws Stafford to stay too for two weeks with no major problems but after he had gone home i fed my dog did my usual routine made him sit for it placed the bowl on the floor made him wait till allowed to take it ten put my hands in the bowl the same time as he is eating no problems i then made him leave it and sit a short while till i allowed him to eat again ,everything ok so i continued to wash up and rattle around him while he is eating ,then my male cat came along and puts his nose in the dogs dish he has done this many times before ,my dog usually either carry's on eating and ignores him or puts a paw on his head to move him over ,but this time he snapped at him (he did not hurt my cat or get near to him snapped next to him ) i told him he was a bad dog and made him sit and wait for the food i also gave a cat a little of his food while he waited ,he has never ever done anything like this before and he would not get away with it with my two female cats as they would have his eyes out !! but my big tom cat is soft as anything and they usually play together ,cause this be a fall back of having my sis in laws Stafford to stay ? and any ideas how to move the balance in favour of my cat ?? Thank you

[foxi7778]

Hi Deb,
I doubt this would be something to do with your sis in law's dog as the problem would have arisen whilst the other dog was there. But I would hazard a guess and say it's probably more likely to be hormonal as the testosterone normally kicks in at about six months and he might be trying to assert himself a bit more. You are doing the right thing with the feeding...just make sure you feed in order of rank in your house ie...the humans, the cats and then the pup last and make sure the pup sees you all eat first. Hope all goes well.