My dog gets aggressive over food and toys. How can I stop this?

Question

Whenever Zelda is eating or has a toy, she will become extremely aggressive if we try to touch her. How can I stop this? She has caused some really nasty injuries because of this. Pet's info: Cat | American Longhair | Female | unspayed | 2 months and 17 days old

Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA · Accepted Answer

This is called resource guarding. There is rarely a need to touch a pet's food while they are eating - it is quite normal for them to want to finish the meal and be protective of it. During playtime, distract Zelda with a toy other than the one she is playing with to get it away from her rather than just taking it away.

My dog gets aggressive over food and toys. How can I stop this?

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