Thread: Advice wanted on our 9 month old pup please

We have a little rescue pup, she was dumped at about 8 weeks old. She’s always had a bit of an attitude but with some tough love and lots of attention she’s gotten a lot better. I have/had plans to get her to be our little hunting buddy, she loves the gun (you can’t take the gun out without her), she’s got a brilliant nose and is a little pocket rocket.
But she’s tough....
She’s had food aggression, she jumps up on everyone, she digs holes constantly, she doesn’t really listen too well and won’t always come back, she tries to take on other dogs (until they put her in her place).
Last night was a final straw for me, she is alot better with food but growled at me when I fed her. I told her off and she was fine until I went to walk away and she growled and snarled at me again. I sat there for a good 30 mins patting her and showing her I’m not stealing her food and she was good until I went to leave and she’s growled some more. We have a young child so this is worrying. She loves him and is really good with him (besides the odd jump up), she is never far from him and follows him around all day. But this food aggression worries me, One day he might go near her while she’s eating and I’d hate for her to do something stupid, I cant guarantee he will never go near her while she eats as much as I try. I’d love some advice on how to work on this with her otherwise she’s going to need to find a new home because my child’s safety is number 1.
The other issues I need to sort too but the food aggression is most important. Iv never found a dog so tough, she just doesn’t seem to listen and can be really arrogant. Don’t get me wrong she’s brilliant 95% of the time.

She’s a little black jack Russell x kelpie x lab and is small at about 18kg and won’t grow anymore if that helps.

You want get rid of the food aggression, i might get better but it will always be there imo. I would be moving it on if you are worried about your kids.

The issue you have is that she is a rescue and you haven't had the chance to set her up from the beginning. I'm not saying you can't train her to the point you can trust her and she will do what you want, when you want, but it will be more difficult.

Personally I think the food aggression is only a small part of the problem and that your bitch (and the whole family) will be much better off from a serious effort to get her under control. If you don't have time or energy to put into her, it will not work (think 15-30 minutes of training every day for the next year).

I'll send you a PM with some initial thoughts (I am no expert dog trainer but I do have a fantastic deer dog who is a joy to be around).

Also found getting pups of 6months or older already sum have bad habits and hard to get rid of

every dog i have had has been a rescue dog. my current is an english bull terrier X dogo argentina. he was 18 months old and starved to 1/2 his idea weight when i got him. awesome dog who goes everywhere with me and i never need to lock the car

No expert but have you had her spayed? Some dogs get really "bitchy" as they get older.... Would have thought the food aggression is a sign of something else

Suggest you see your local vet for advice on where best local dog behaviourist is and consult them. They eill need to observe the dog closely to determine a suitable correction regime.

Define dumped at 8 weeks old ?
Taken from her litter or put in a sack and thrown into a river ? Regardless moved into a different environment/home @ that age should have no great bearing on what you are dealing with today,if you know the breeding of it I assume you know her back ground....
Sounds like a typical overgrown terrier with very little training or boundaries and overzealous typical terrier behaviour.
In time she will trade food aggression with property aggression or odject aggression, Ask yourself would you be surprised if you picked up her food while she was growling would she bite you?
If the answer is yes then.....the kids come first

A dog will show food aggression to a subordinate, so in simple terms the dog does not see you as above her in the "pack".
You will need to teach her that you are the all powerful giver and taker away of food and what you say and do matters to her.
It's also handy for when the dog comes across something you don't want them to eat ( dead rat etc..) so no matter how much they want to eat something, if you say NO then it doesn't get eaten.

Good luck. Try working on obedience until she gets the idea what you say needs to be listened to.
Hard work trying to break a habit Vs stopping it as it develops.

PM me if you would like to chat about moving you up the food chain
btw patting and praising for 30mins after she has growled at you is not really going to work since she made the threat and you relented by providing her with confirmation she is in charge.
I've been through the same thing with a 65kg Rottie bitch who was dumped on me by her owner. Lucky it turned out the hippo just needed some boundaries set and came right before anyone got the chomp/

Used to set the pecking order with pups by grabbing them by the scruff neck and hold them down.
Not hurting them just dominating them.
When the give up (are submissive) let them go.
You cant afford to get this wrong you have to be top dog.
Also fed dogs in their space and left them too it.
Never tried taking food of a dog when you give it to them its theirs.
But you do need to have command of them to the point you can stop them and if they have something in their mouth you can make them drop it or give it too you.
But you have to have the pecking order sorted.

In the shearing shed one day a young kid took a bite out of his Sammy at the same time a big hunterway decided he wanted the Sammy the dog took it along with bits of lip , not a happy ending...food for thought

One thing we do is put the food down and make them wait for the command before they eat. I can take the food off her with no issues.

yip take her food off her...whenever the heck YOU feel like it...you are the boss. she eats what you say when you say..... if you cant,yeah nah thats NOT an option...you can and will or you arent being the boss she needs.
we had anolder bitch who was starved as a pup...she never got over scoffing her food but never snapped at anyone....she wasnt allowed to do it.
sit n wait till you say they can eat is always a good thing,well I ve never seen a bad side to it.
sounds like a lovely dog.

Thanks for all the advice! Admittedly last night I got pretty mad with her and ended up taking her food off her and giving it to the old dog. Came home with some nice pork bones today and sat with her while she ate the whole thing and she wagged her tail the entire time. I could tell by her demeanour she knew I was pissed off after last night. I got some good advice in some messages and I’ll reply shortly but I’m going to do a solid 30mins of training with her a day. She’s really good with our son and has never shown aggression towards him but I just don’t want her thinking this is ok especially with him around. I had our son making her sit and stay etc for treats today and he came and went while she was eating her bone and she was happier when he was around.