NicoleKehler

Thanks for all your advice Adrienne, we will give it a try!

Thanks Adrienne, we will try leaving her bowl on the ground again and doing the treat drops. Unfortunately we don't really have access to an in person behaviour professional in our area and don't have an unlimited amount of money we can spend on a bunch of different trainers, but we will start with your suggestions and see if there is any improvement!

Thanks Jennifer, that's an interesting take on touching the bowl and giving treats, I never would have thought of that. We will give that a shot!

Thanks Jennifer, this is very helpful. We did work with a trainer who used the exact same metaphor, which makes total sense!

She typically only guards things when she is in possession of them, she won't show any signs of resource guarding for anything we have on us. We tried the technique of tossing a treat into her bowl this morning while we were holding it but that seemed to take 10 steps back in our progress (as I mentioned, we hold her bowl while she eats and ration it out - which has been working quite well up until now). For her first half of her meal she ate nice and slowly and was very calm, but the second we put the higher value treat in there she started growling and just about bit me after she was already done eating. Should we continue to try to do this (hand feeding her and dropping a treat in) or should we try to leave her bowl on the ground and do the walk by treat drop? We've done this in the past and it seemed to work, but then it got worse again so we stopped and started holding the bowl. As far as what we use as treats for training, we really only use her food. We rarely actually need to use a higher valued treat to get her attention, however it seems she slowly is getting used to it and we may need to up the value. Now that you mention her seeing the treat as the cue, we definitely notice that happening. As soon as she hears us putting our hand in the treat jar she starts listening. I will read up on the articles you mentioned to try to get past that. When you mention using a long lasting high value treat to throw in the opposite direction so we can get whatever it is she is chewing on, I am just concerned that we will be on this never ending train of trying to find something better than what she has. Is it okay to give her something that is still higher in value but is not as long lasting? When it is just my husband and I at home we are used to how she behaves, but we have a new little nephew now and the last thing we want is for her to react while they are around which is why we are trying to get her used to people being around her when she has something of higher value. You never know what kids will do and I don't want anyone to get hurt. It is good to learn a little bit more about her breed, specifically that they are independent thinkers and are roamers. We currently have a running lead outside that we put her on sometimes but we may consider putting up a fenced area in our yard for her so she doesn't need to be tied up.

I should also mention that she is actually quite good with her impulse control when she is focused on it. We can leave a treat on her paw and she won't take it until we say okay. Same with her food at mealtimes.

We have a 9 month old Sheperd Pyrenees Rottie mix, she is spayed and is an inside dog. She is very high energy and we take her out for runs whenever we can (lately it has been way too cold to go out, so I am aware she is lacking in the exercise department but there's only so much we can do inside). She does go to daycare once a week which REALLY helps on that day. She is generally a quick learner but is very strong willed and will usually only listen on her own terms (unless there are treats involved). She is HIGHLY food motivated, to the point where she shows aggression with anything food related. We now hand feed her meals by holding her food bowl and putting her food in little by little, which generally helps and slows her down as she would just inhale her food without chewing before (you can usually put your hand on her or pet her now while she is eating to show you're not the bad guy, but she does still growl at times). Treats like bones and kongs are still an issue but there are just simply times when we need her to go lay down while we are doing something so we give it to her anyway and let her have it by herself on her bed. However when it is time for her to stop chewing on it, she is very protective and will growl and snap when you try to remove it (sometimes to the point where we are actually afraid she may bite). We were recommended to take a high value treat and throw it in the opposite direction so she will need to get up and leave the item to go get the treat, so we are doing that now which usually helps. As soon as the item she is guarding is removed she is totally fine and doesn't try to get it back. We are trying to undo some habits that have formed which we think are making her feel like she is the dominant one of the household (such as being able to sit on the couch). There is progress being made with this one which is great. Her listening skills are terrible though unless you have treats. I guess a big question is how do you train a dog using treats without enabling the food aggression tendencies? I don't want to be inadvertently reinforcing the bad behaviour, however she just simply doesn't listen well when there are no treats involved. She loves to play with her puzzle toys that dispense treats, however we were warned by a local trainer that these toys may make the problem worse which we obviously don't want, but she still needs the mental stimulation. Recall is a whole other story too, she absolutely won't come back to you outside so we can only take her out on a leash now. Any suggestions?