Resource Guarding Pit Bull

[Lil Misfit]

So...
Firstly, I'm a little confused about which dog is more in the wrong and which to correct. The Pit Bull (and mini Aussie) is mine so I'm mostly concerned about what I can do on his part, the Shih Tzu is not mine but I can train her if needed.

I have a pit bull (3yrs old) who is kind of a resource guarder, he doesn't have free access to food like the other dogs, and he is the oldest dog in the pack, so when I feed him I'm not surprised that he tells other dogs not to eat his food. He has never bitten a small dog, but in the past (@ around 1yr old) he has gone after an Australian shepherd, the Aussie used to guard food even if she wasn't eating, she specifically targeted the pittie and kept him away from food, one day he had enough and a fight broke out, nobody was seriously injured but that kind of marked a change in him, he no longer shares food with other dogs when he eats.
Now he's the oldest and everyone knows to leave him alone with the food, my mini Aussie (9mos old) is super smart and immediately figured out his place, our LGD/lab (2yrs old) also takes a more submissive role, even the cats leave him be. He's never bitten any of them, he plays well and shares toys, he's not jealous about human attention, and I can do ANYTHING to him (flipping over, roughhousing, medicating, bathing, taking things away, grabbing his food or toys, getting in his space, just annoying the hell out of him in general) and he would NEVER even flinch.

The problem (I think) is our newest puppy (6mos old Shih Tzu), she's obsessed with my pittie and will not leave him alone. She has access to food all day long but when he eats she obsessively licks his face, cowers, rolls over, climbs under his chin, and tries to eat with him. He is gutterally growling like some monster out of a horror movie the entire time but she does not give him space and I would say her behavior becomes more frantic the more he growls, if I try to step between them to give him a little space she frantically scrambles to get back to his face. I can tell him to stop and he immediately stops growling, but I don't necessarily want to suppress vocalization, I believe dogs have a hierarchy amongst themselves and it's healthy for them to vocalize and reasonably demand respect and space, I've seen so many nasty situations where people stepped in a ton and constantly hushed their dogs and then their dogs took the only other a available route and fought. I want her as a new puppy to understand that he needs space to eat but I'm also wondering if I'm giving him too much slack? Do you guys think it's dangerous to let a pit bull growl at another dog over his only portion of food?
The Shih Tzu is problematic about food in other ways, with other people in the house she will bark at them or attack them for their food, she's never tried that with me but I've seen it happen. The pit bull does not do that, you could cuddle him on the couch and eat pizza and never have a problem, which is why I think the problem is the puppy. Their size difference is what scares me, if my pit bull bites her he's the one that gets put down...

I would appreciate any input, advice, or scolding

 

[Ravenbird]

You are inviting disaster, to put it mildly. You have a pack of dogs with a young puppy and a powerful older dog who is trying to make it clear to the rest of the pack to let him eat in peace. As you admitted, that's what dogs do. To let them "work it out" is neglect on your part and at the very least will cost you a vet bill in the future, and at the most death and heartbreak.

If food is the ONLY problem with all the dogs getting along it's simple. Feed the dogs in three different spaces with doors closed. What they don't eat in 15 minutes pick it up. That's it. Period. If the puppy needs three feedings a day, do that. In a room with closed door. There is absolutely no excuse for inviting a pit bull to snap at a small breed puppy. That's my input, advice and a little scolding.

 

[LucyXIII]

obsessed with my pittie and will not leave him alone. She has access to food all day long but when he eats she obsessively licks his face, cowers, rolls over, climbs under his chin, and tries to eat with him

I'm not an expert trainer or behaviorist; I wouldn't know how to address the issues with your pack after something happens, but I do know that prevention is best.

Do not allow the puppy near any adult with food. If the toddler is being a brat, the parents step in and get her out of the big kid's face. You address it so he doesn't have to.

He is gutterally growling like some monster out of a horror movie the entire time

He's being a dog and sending clear signals that the puppy is ignoring or doesn't know, because baby. But, on the subject of horror movies, remember The Shining? "They need to be 'corrected'".
If the puppy is corrected by the pit, it might go as badly as it did for Grady's family.

she does not give him space

Create space.

she frantically scrambles to get back to his face.

Don't let her

wondering if I'm giving him too much slack?

No, not at all. He's being a very good and patient boy. Honestly he's shown remarkable restraint this far. The puppy is being allowed to behave in ways that are unsafe and might cause your pit to resource guard more forcefully or in other areas.
Let the old man eat in peace; he eats in his own space, where no other animals can bother him. Keep the puppy safe by not letting her play with fire.

 

[JanS]

I agree that they all need their place to eat and the pup needs you to let it know that it's not acceptable to keep pestering your Pit or any of the other dogs.

It's also not fair that you're free feeding some dogs and singling him out not letting him have any except at feeding time. I would put them all on a feeding schedule with no free access at other times and give them a separate place to eat. I think your Pit is being extremely tolerant considering the harassment he is sometimes getting.

 

[Lil Misfit]

Thank you all so much, I will definitely be keeping their feedings separate. They already get fed away from each other most of the time but there are just some days where he ends up being fed around them, I'll stop letting that happen. The Shih Tzu probably needs put on a schedule anyways, she's one of those more obesity prone dogs, and clearly needs trained feedings.

 

[Two Dobes]

You mentioned you could train the puppy....I think that would be a great start! Kid definatley needs bounderies! I am in agreement with what has been said; protect your pittie....you are right that you could lose him in a tragedy

 

[Aaron56]

The problem (I think) is our newest puppy (6mos old Shih Tzu), she's obsessed with my pittie and will not leave him alone. She has access to food all day long but when he eats she obsessively licks his face, cowers, rolls over, climbs under his chin, and tries to eat with him. He is gutterally growling like some monster

I tend to feed all of mine together and I only have a handful of hard 'rules' for them that I personally enforce if needed.

Each dog has their own bowl and is to stay away from any other bowls that are NOT theirs and Stay away from any other dog that is still eating.

The pit would not be growing if you were keeping the puppy under control and trying to train it. Supervising directly whenever food was around so you could be the one to educate the pup instead of the pit having to do it...