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Hey Adam,
Welcome aboard! I agree in the same direction as Chris. Most of the pushy food issues with the other dogs should be able to be avoided by staying technical with the concepts found in “pack structure” and in the relationship building section in the aggression rehab section.
The intensity and desire for the food is a seperate issue. Rather than try to fight mother nature and supress what is natural to that particular dog – I would think it is better to understand and accept that it is part of who she is and instead harness that to your advantage. Understanding the uniqueness of what you are starting with is part of what the first layer “knowledge” is about.
Strong food drive is a great thing for training and all the advantages that come with it far outweigh the sloppy inching sit while she is waiting for food.
If you enjoyed the youtube videos, you probably recognize the Rott Milo on those. He is the same way. His owner makes him go to a “place” while he sets down the food since there are actual boundries that the elbows can not creep off or else Milo wont get released. But Milo is certainly quivering with excitement!
He doesn’t have him wait forever after he puts down the bowl, he just makes sure he is in the right position before he releases him, and since Milo knows that he does extra pretty “place” just very excited.
But, the food also works like a gem for him if he needs to sharpen up his obedience around a distraction, because if he knows food is in the pocket – training just got 100 times easier.
Since the training is not designed for competition and more for relationship building and general real life control you find it sometimes comforting to realize that somethings wont be as important as you might think at first.
For instance, suppose it is a hot day, and I ask my dog to sit. The dog dog sits but pops back up and doesn’t want to stay…. If I realize it is because the pavement is hot on his testicles I do not correct him for not staying – I allow the concepts in “attitude” to over ride “obedience” because within “attitude” is “respect”. By allowing the dog to disobey at that time i actually have improved my relationship with the dog by building trust and not damaging my image as a fair leader that will not put the dog in harm’s way.
So sometimes things may seem backward, but when you rethink what is important you will actually get the most from the team effort with Jabba.
In a nutshell “work with her, not against her. And have patience to give her little wins”
Her overall pushiness around the other dogs I would say is probably a reflection of a more dominant type personality. So you will see similiar behavior with food, toys, position to get your attention, etc..
This too is best managed through the structure exercises and will be best reinforced through later phases of obedience training. But that will take patience.
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Good luck!
Mike
