Learn me - food aggression

Here's the background:

7-8 month old female chocolate lab, we've had her since mid November. We did puppy training classes and she has been seeing vet regularly for shots and checkups.  Currently has Lyme booster next Wednesday and spaying is scheduled for June 6th. 

Back in March we went to a hockey tournament and left my older son to care for the dog and cat. Overall he did ok, but  spent more time that weekend on her own in her crate, and on that Sunday he overslept and she didn't get fed until after 1 pm (normally eats at 6am and 5pm).

Somewhere around mid to late March we noticed some food aggression showing up. Hair raised and growling when approached while eating. That has expanded to treats like bully sticks, and bones/kong toys with peanut butter inside.

If you hold the toy or chew stick she is fine and won't get aggressive, but once you let it go and she has sole possession she become aggressive. Once the peanut butter is gone, then she doesn't care if you touch it. When she's being aggressive, she's downright mean looking/acting with the growling, teeth baring and fur standing up.

We've reached out to the trainer from the puppy training and have a recommendation for someone to contact locally, but wanted to see what feedback and experience was a available on here  

I've seen it in some dogs.  My current pooch is very amiable and I've not seen any sign of it in her.  She's 5.

Good article.  I learned something:

https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/food-guarding

Personally, I would just try to make sure the dog has a peaceful dinner and doesn't have a lot of traffic around her bowl at mealtime.  Kids should know that dogs will naturally seek to protect their food and should respect their space.

We found a couple of things out YMMV.  

This is at heart a dominance/submission issue.  We broke this bad habit by consistently doing a few things.  Perpetually mess with the animal (head pets, scritches, and occasionally taking the bowl away).  When we encounter the aggressive behavior immediately go to dominating them.  With my large dogs (great danes) I lay on top of them until they stop fighting while I talk to them with my head over theirs.

It takes some months, but it solves it.  It's a significant risk to the dog in the long term if not addressed.  Every kid on earth wants to take whatever is in the dog's mouth out by hand.  You just can't risk someone getting bit and having to put the animal down.

In reply to 1988RedT2 :

Thanks for the link, that is definitely informative. 

In reply to 84FSP :

She's definitely focused on food, or things she views as food (bully sticks), since any other time she is definitely submissive. 

When I get home if I squat down to her level to pet her she will bow down (tries squeezing her head underneath me) and will then roll over to let me rub her belly. 

I can also eat my breakfast in the morning or a bowl of ice cream at night while she shares the chair with me without issue. If she tries to check out what I'm having, a conversational "no" while I move my bowl away is enough for her to stop trying. This hold for my wife and kids (13yo and 19yo).

Non food toys don't create any aggressive behavior either. 

84FSP said:

We found a couple of things out YMMV.  

This is at heart a dominance/submission issue.  We broke this bad habit by consistently doing a few things.  Perpetually mess with the animal (head pets, scritches, and occasionally taking the bowl away).  When we encounter the aggressive behavior immediately go to dominating them.  With my large dogs (great danes) I lay on top of them until they stop fighting while I talk to them with my head over theirs.

It takes some months, but it solves it.  It's a significant risk to the dog in the long term if not addressed.  Every kid on earth wants to take whatever is in the dog's mouth out by hand.  You just can't risk someone getting bit and having to put the animal down.

we do something similar with the two german shephards. From the first day we mess with their food and while they eat. We let them know that there is NEVER a time when growling and eating are allowed to happen. One is submissive by nature and a trained therapy dog. This was never a problem. The younger is a hyper-active over the top drama queen and she started the growing at her sister (actually half-sister) when eating. We pull her back from her bowl, make her sit/stay until she relaxes and then allow her back. 

It helps they are actually biologically related and are both "happy" animals. But taking control of the situation and asserting yourself as the alpha is key.