RE: need bigtime help
With any of the dogs I've had, after the first week or two of having them I would take the bowl away while they were eating always praising them at the same time and/or petting them. I would continue this while raising them for the first year. This always did the trick up until the black GSP came along. BUT, now that my black GSP is older, sometimes he doesn't like you pet him while he's eating but it's usually b/c he's crabby....eventhough he's the nicest dog in the world. And in all honesty I believe it's b/c he wasn't raised in a completein-house environment like the my white GSP was. I think that if you condition them to eat while you are around them while giving them attention they will be fine. A sharp reprimand (sp?) might be in order while they're young but you don't want to discourage them from eating. It's simply a dominance issue. If you have young children then the growling while eating might be an issue.