Food and water aggressive?
I am sitting a small 2-3 year old dog for a few days. The owner asked me to feed her away from the other dogs (which I already do with all boarding dogs). There was an implication she did not like other dogs getting near her food while she ate, which is very common for dogs in general, so it was not a big issue for me, especially since I already feed them seperate. What she did not tell me was the significance of her issues with resource guarding.
This dog growls and bares her teeth, even if I come near her when she eats OR DRINKS. She does not want me near her when she drinks WATER. I have never met a dog that resource guards water. Also, when I fed her dinner tonight, I needed her to go in her kennel while she ate, but she would not allow me to touch her, as she was already eating (her food was inside the kennel, but her behind was sticking out of it, and she was not walking in). She actually tried to bite, so I waited until she finished eating.
Besides this issue, she is a perfectly sweet, gentle dog. But when it comes to food or water, she does not want me near her. One of my requirements of boarding is that I don't take dogs with aggression issues. While her aggression issue is limited to food/water guarding, I also clearly state this on my profile and under my section of things I like know before boarding.
I think it's unlikely that the pet parent did not know about this issue, since they have had her for over 2 years, and I'm frustrated that I was not at least informed that she had issues with people being near her food/water, especially since they only indicated an issue with other dogs. Had I been informed ahead of time, I would have known to handle her a little differently than the other dogs at feeding time, and make sure that there were no water bowls outside of the kennels that more than one dog had access to at a time. Thankfully there were no issues with her or other animals around the water bowls before I realized the water guarding issue, other than a little growl at the cat
Additionally, this is the only pet parent that I've boarded for, that told me they had no time for a meet and greet beforehand. They said their schedule didn't allow it. I spoke to them on the phone and felt alright with taking the booking, but even though I gave ample opportunity for them to discuss any issues, the food/water bowl issue was barely mentioned.
I will have to bring this up to the pet parent, but I'm wondering how to word it. How would you handle this situation? What would you say to the pet parent?
Thank you for your feedback