# Dog eats grain, snaps at lambs



## Rectifier (Jun 12, 2011)

We have 2 Akbash pups coming up on 9 months age. Neutered males cut at 6 months. They are great and spend a lot of time with the sheep and bark all night at coyotes. No lamb losses since purchase.

One of the dogs has a bad habit though. He likes to eat grain when I feed the lambs, just crowds in at the trough. I don't mind that, cheaper than dog food I guess, but he will snap at lambs that get in his "eating area". I have been trying to break him of snapping by throwing him to the ground and yelling and letting the sheep eat over him, to some success. He is a good dog and will lie there in submission until allowed up.

He won't eat grain from a pail though, turns up his nose. Its like peer pressure to be like the lambs? Anyone else experience this?


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## Tango (Aug 19, 2002)

I posted "Anatolian Shepherd Growling" yesterday with a similar issue. My ASD is 3 years old (never socialized or trained, she has been with me for 5 weeks) and she goes to the grain after eating her own food. I'm not an expert on LGDs but have been piecing together their behavior characteristics from readings, advice and experience. This is my 3rd LGD but my first ASD. LGD are protective of what they feel is theirs and that includes stock and non-stock. And they have a strong sense of what is their own and what is not. What I have been doing to work with Hannah with this and her other behavior issues is give her routine.
I feed her the same way and the same time daily. I first clean the goat's feeders and give their daily ration. Right after this I take Hannah's bowl to her and put it in the kennel. I remove her bowl when I see she becomes more interested in protecting it than in eating- about 15 minutes. I should add I also feed her more than I think she will consume because I am still trying to work with her to make sure she does not go hungry. So hunger ruled out I know she is going to the goat's feed as owner of their feed. Fortunately she listens to "no" astoundingly well. But bad weather intensifies her behavior so a couple of days ago, she was very ornery and didn't listen to "no"she kept going back to the goat's feed and growling at them when I turned my back. So now I stay with the goats. She is a quick learner. Already yesterday morning she was protecting one of the goats- the smallest one who always gets butted away from feed- from the other goats. So her protection shifted from the food to the goat eating it. It may have been a fluke or it may be the start of her shift toward protecting the whole herd while they are eating.
I don't know what your schedule is like and whether you have time to stay there everyday and go through the same routine. I think a consistent routine sets the best example for them. Consistent reinforcement, putting their attention to where it should be is done with supervision. I've been using treats and voice tone to reinforce the behavior I want and tone of voice to scold her. She's quite sensitive so it takes very little. I think you have an advantage as you've had them since pups and know their history and it won't take much to shift his attention away from the food and on to the sheep again. Hang in there.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I did not feed grain to my sheep except a little oats in the winter, so I never had such a problem.

Modern corn is sweet and attractive to animals who would not normal eat grain, such as sheep. If your dog was fed a kibble that had corn in it, he will always view corn as an acceptable dog food. He is resource guarding something he thinks is his, as Tango wrote. You could try training him to lie down in a spot several feet away from the sheep and grain. He lies down, lets them eat, and when they are finished you release him. Use food treats to reward him for maintaining the stay, and when you release him, give him some real good petting. Start with lots of treats so you can reward him for staying put, then over the days give him fewer and fewer treats until his only reward is the big petting when you release him. He is still young and can habituate to the routine.


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## secuono (Sep 28, 2011)

Mine eats the grain as well, but when I yell at her to stop, she does.
Shock collar will work. Give him a zap each time he sticks his face in the grain trough. Or if eating it is fine to you, but not the snapping, then zap him each time you see him about to snap. Ears go down, he gets a bit stiff, speeds up eating or slows eating, glares at the sheep, etc are all signs he's about to snap at them.
I don't mind mine snapping at the sheep when she's eating her dog food or if they get too rough with her, but anything else and she's not allowed to snap at them. Sheep learn to stay away from dog food, but they will only learn to fear the dog when it comes to their own food.


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## Rectifier (Jun 12, 2011)

Thanks guys, the "grain" is a screenings mix consisting mostly of wild oats. I get it for free from a small seed cleaner and use it to help finish the lambs this time of year. No corn here, though the dog food does contain corn.

They do have a resource guarding issue, fighting near to the death over their dog food if not fed at the exact same time. However they do not guard their dishes, only the food itself until consumed. I have seen them have a vicious fight over a dead mouse once, and once when I was BBQ'ing some hot dogs they were fighting over the privilege of being near the grill in the hopes of getting to eat a dropped wiener (strange that dogs can fight over a concept like that... seems very human)

So they are likely claiming the feed from the sheep and I will try to keep them right out of it. One dog has no interest but the other goes back to the trough immediately on release, showing way too much interest for what it is. 

Good to know this is normal and I will continue to discipline him, maybe I will hold him until the sheep are done and let him lick up the scraps, to let him know the sheep are the owners of this feed.


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

You're getting sound advice...as usual in here. The only thing I would add is to monitor your own feelings & thoughts during the times you're correcting your LGD. These dogs are super sensitive; so one of the things I have learned is to *say very little *and let my actions speak for me. In other words, getting between your LGD and that feed that isn't his/hers can be a non-verbal deterent. (This is actually how I taught my Karakachan to let me take whatever it is she is eating no matter how badly she might want it.)


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