Snap Matty

Last week, I fed the dogs, starting with Matty (like always). As I fed Leeloo, I patted her head, and Matty looked at me and said, "Well, where's my pat on the head?" So I reached to pat him, too, and he growled at me. The next day, as he was eating, I reached for his bowl and he growled and snapped at me. I'm like, "What the fuck?" Not cool. He was initially returned to the shelter (pre-Rob) because he was possessive of food, but I had never had problems with it, and was always free to reach for his bowl (usually to add something, occasionally just to make sure that I could).

Even though I'm not sure what I'm SUPPOSED to do, I've been hand feeding him. I take his bowl in the mornings and sit in the middle of the living room. He eats while I'm holding it, and, if I do it pre-coffee, I'm really good at holding the bowl perfectly still. The first time I did this he didn't know what to do, and then he started trying to eat so fast he choked. Next, he would do a trick where he took a mouth full of food, turned away from me, and ate it at leisure before he turned back for more to do it all over again. That got my floor pretty drooly. Today though, he ate like a normal dog with the bowl in my hands. I'll let this go for a few days before I move my (poor, defenseless) fingers in with his food. I really can't deal with a snappish dog.