Shiver Me- Timbers- "Charlie"
My Little Dog, a- heartbeat at my- feet.<3 | 
 | | Barked: Sun Jan 6, '13 11:48pm PST |  | |  | | I've had a few dogs I've fostered or rescues with food aggression issues. My worst, was probably my foster Beagle, who had severe resource guarding issues(food, bones, crate, furniture, etc). I had him in my home with my other dogs with management, without issues.
This was a dog that couldn't be contained by crates either(he could work at the crate door of ANY crate until he busted out). To say the least, I had to get resourceful.
Anyway.. The foster-to-adopt sounds like a fantastic idea because it gives you a good idea of how much management and work is needed to work through her issues and live peaceably with her.
With Beau, I often kept him tethered to me when I was home because it gave me a good way of managing his behaviors - particularly the furniture guarding. Or, he would drag his leash so I could safely grab the end of it without provoking his aggression, while still guiding him away. It worked wonderfully, actually and I was the only person to foster him that didn't get bit, ever because of the ways I learned to manage his behaviors safely.
All play time was supervised(if I wasn't home, the dogs were crated separately). I did manage to find a way to rig his crate so he couldn't bust out of it, lol.
All bones, toys, chews, and food were given separately, either in the crate, or with the dogs tied up separately. This prevented either one from invading the others space.
Of course, I worked for months on Beau's food aggression with people FIRST, because that was my biggest concern and the biggest safety issue. I only ever had one scuffle break out between him and Charlie and that was because a lady walking by my yard tossed treats into the yard, WITHOUT permission, just because my dogs were barking at hers. I dealt with that situation quite quickly however, and she never did it again after I explained the issues not just with feeding dogs with potential health issues(Charlie's epileptic), but also of my foster dogs food aggression.
I had him for several months before he had to go to another foster home(a behaviorists home, actually), because I was having issues with my landlord. I was sad to see him go, but the behaviorist happily informed me of all the changes I made happen in his behavior. He no longer bit, but instead would bark if he was made uncomfortable. He was finally okay with having people around his food and to trade things with(I taught him an automatic sit when others went around him when he had anything and a firm leave it command), and she could even have him eating WITH her seven other Beagles without issues, as long as feeding time was supervised. Although I personally don't ever feed my dogs together anyway and am against that just for the potential issues alone, I was very, very pleased that many of his issues were worked through so well. Would he ever be fully trusted with small children because of his bite history? No. Would he forever need supervision and management? Absolutely. But he became a lot easier to manage and he learned to be secure too.
These issues, I find, generally easier to deal with than say dog/people aggression, or extreme fear issues. But that may be just me.
I would absolutely take on a dog again with the same issues as Beau, assuming I could manage and work on it with my child that's on the way and dependent on my child's age at the time of course.
If the two dogs get along otherwise, I will say that it is worth trying out, but you may not just have to manage the NE, but also your Beagle too(let's face it, they love to get in your face for that treat in your hand and even that can start a scuffle between the two). I think chews/bones, dropped food(whether your own or not), and treats will be your most difficult issues to work through because dog food itself is easy to manage and feed separately. Do you know if she resource guards toys or not? That may be something to try to find out too, so you can prevent anything happening from that too.
I agree with all Tiller's points, btw, and hope my story wasn't so much long and boring as inspiring and motivating, lol. It wasn't meant to turn you off working on the dog, so much as give you an idea that if I can work through it with a Beagle in the household(and a dog with much worse resource guarding), you may well be able to too, as long as you're realistic about it and can manage it safely otherwise.
ETA - Phoenix is ABSOLUTELY gorgeous by the way! What a cutiepie!Edited by author Sun Jan 6, '13 11:48pm PST
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....is that what a dog presents in a shelter may be subdued. Is there any way you could try a foster-to-adopt?
Or, sometimes, they present as a big stinking mess in the shelter and as soon as they are out are angels. Given the breed, if she is angel girl with everything but the food aggression, you really owe it to your family to do the foster-to-adopt and see what she has on offer for you. I'd not even press the food issue. You know it's there, feed her separately. I would also be cautious to get all dog toys off the floor for sometimes that possessiveness can transfer. Then just give her the time to show if out of the shelter she shifts on you at all.
