Have you ever had an inanimate object that at one point was useful but then with repeated use just became weak and worn out? That object odd as it seems held memories of the times it was used, and when it helped achieve or accomplish something so it was kind of hard to replace it. I like to think I’m okay at getting rid of old, broken items, but this time it was a training tool. Getting rid of it for some reason felt like letting go of the dogs that were often at the other end, the lessons I learned while using it. I know it’s weird. The item I’m describing is my 20 foot leash. Originally purchased it when Jack was a puppy. I then used it for Tinker Belle, my first small breed dog. 85% of her training was done using this leash. She passed her Canine Good Citizen Test with mostly flying colors. She lost a point for being too eager to greet strangers. The next dog was Harley, a German Shepherd mix puppy I brought home to “foster” that my parents adopted only 4 days later. He was mixed with collie so he got distracted easily and would forget he was coming inside if something more interesting caught his eye. Then came Duncan. He had a issue with staying close. Also a small breed dog, his terrier instincts did not involve staying close to humans. He quickly learned that he could gain freedom by learning to follow directions. A few months ago, after resigning myself to the fact that this training leash was no longer safe to use, I ordered a biothane line from Palomine Lines and disposed of the old one. The colors are bright, the biothane is durable, makes the line easy to clean, gentle on the hands, it doesn't tangle as easily and it seems to be pretty resistant to the thorns and stickers that I often encounter here. Now it's time to create new memories with this training line as I work with my own dogs, client dogs and fosters.
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When it comes to our animal companions, we often say things like “if only I knew what he was trying to say” or “if she could only talk”. Well, dogs are great communicators! The problem is a language barrier. When I first really started getting involved in working with dogs, one of the things I needed to learn was how to read their body language. This was essential for knowing if a dog was fearful, happy, way too excited or grouchy. I was taught using a DVD set called The Language of Dogs by Sarah Kalnajs of Blue Dog Training & Behavior. I watched the DVD’s over and over, then watched them every year as a refresher. I started picking out various behavior patterns in the dogs I was working with. These dogs were owned, sheltered, and fostered. It was not long before I had more questions about what I was seeing and how various behaviors connected to different breeds. That soon led me to Patricia McConnel and her wonderful book “The Other End of The Leash”. Not only did I learn that yes, some breeds are more sensitive to body postures than others, but I also learned that our very presence in the room can alter a dog’s behavior. This caused me to watch the group of dogs (I was working in a dog daycare at the time) as each employee entered. I then challenged myself to disrupt the behavior of the dogs as little as possible when I entered the group. I quickly started watching how all people interacted with dogs, feeling bad for dogs who were put into uncomfortable situations by people who thought they were communicating with dogs properly. A very common thing that I saw was people sticking their fist in a dog’s personal space. This well-intentioned behavior was originally introduced as a “safe way” to greet a dog. The theory was that dog could sniff the hand briefly before the human reaches over the head of the dog to scratch or pet his/her head. Most dogs greeted in this way would either refuse to sniff, would retreat or do nothing. The human would take the observation of the dog not growling and not nipping as an acceptable sign that the dog would allow handling. In truth, the dog was terrified and hoping the strange human would walk away. The humans always respond with reaching over the head of the dog who is trying to look up at what is coming at them or retreat further from this scary situation only to have their trusted human force the issue on them. The owners would force the issue out of guilt that their dog was not being “friendly”, afraid the stranger would think less of them for not making the dog do as it should and thinking that by insisting that they were indeed teaching the dog “who is boss”. These interactions alone had me observing how dogs communicate with their body language how a training session is going. I started watching my own dogs as I tried various methods and techniques. Recently, I purchased a tripod for my phone so I could record my training sessions with my dogs. This has allowed me to see how I am unknowingly affecting the outcome of a lesson by my poor communication and what signals my dogs are clearly communicating that I am missing. After about 5 sessions recorded with Molly my Shepherd, I discovered that her constant itching is not dry skin or a habit, but a simple case of being confused by humans! I had known that displacement itching was a behavior to watch for, I just had not connected the dots with my own dog. I would not have seen that without viewing several training sessions with her. Now respond to her itching with a change in my approach to what I am teaching or take a short break. She is now picking up new skills even faster because finally, this human is paying attention. A few years ago I learned about a dog trainer that started all of her training camps by teaching her students how to train chickens. This premise was that the students had to learn to keep the attention of the bird, not be forceful, learn correct timing for giving rewards, and patience. I had done some basic training with my chickens but never anything formal or exciting. This year I purchased four more chicks to add to my coop. The breeder and I both thought that the chicks were female. As they matured it became clear that these four were boys. I was disappointed but this wasn't the first time that I would be caring for multiple roosters in one coop. The only difference is that I started to document their behavior development. If you are reading this and wondering what my chickens have to do with dog training, I don't blame you. I do have a point, I promise! Roosters are known for being mean. I have owned many roosters from various backgrounds, yet I have never been attacked by a rooster. I have had my thoughts about the reason for this but wanted to take the time to observe these four birds and find out what might be resulting in well -behaved roosters. Once a week I feed the birds briefly from my hands, then dump the rest of their feed into the trough. Once weekly each rooster is gently encouraged to come to me, then picked up. During this routine handling, they get their face stroked, legs handled and wings stretched out one at a time while talking in a calm voice. One of the roosters is named Frankie. He has never shown any fear. He is calm, relaxed, seeks out attention from me, and was the first to crow. The second one is Teddy. He had a week of being a little unsure and easily startled. I continued with the regular socialization routine and he moved through this phase smoothly which also made him the second one to start crowing. This pattern tells me that they are maturing at different stages. The final two both developed the fear stage at the same time, however they remained fearful longer. These two (named Boris and Eli) started a display behavior that is a request to fight (circle around their target, drop a wing and start to stomp their feet). If the "target" moves towards the bird or leans over the bird, this is perceived by the bird as a threat or invitation to fight. Eli displayed this behavior first to the other birds. He chose the lead hen. She charged after him and chased him away. He then did this to one of the older roosters. This resulted in the rooster ignoring the negative behavior from the young bird. The very next day, Eli displayed the same negative behavior towards me. I didn't move, didn't respond in any way. He did this one more time, then never did it again. He started crowing the next week. Finally, we have Boris. He is still struggling with his fear issues and is not crowing yet. I have continued the routine handling, hand-feeding with him. His behavior has been improving, though he has been very protective of his flock mates. As I was locking the birds in the coop for the evening, Boris would go into the coop but then come right back out to run behind me as I ushered the ducks inside. I was becoming frustrated and noticed that the more frustrated I became the more he would speed up behind me. I started watching him and using him as a frustration gauge. I would see him becoming stressed, so I would stop, take a couple of breaths and then proceed to move the ducks. The ducks went inside much faster when I calmed down, Boris stopped following me and he followed the ducks in the coop peacefully on his own - success! What is my point in sharing this? Working with dogs is exactly the same. There are multiple factors that result in the behavior they display. Things to keep in mind when working with any dog are their development stage, breed, amount of socialization. Some breeds take longer to mature. We love the breeds that look like puppies forever - the big droopy "sad puppy" eyes, the wrinkles, extra skin, droopy ears. These breeds will take longer to mature, some never do. Learn what your breed of dog of bred/created to do (companion, hunting, guarding, herding, etc.), then learn the development stages of that breed category. Knowing this information will help not only your relationship with your dog, but it will help you know when your dog needs more strict rules for a time, more exercise, more mental stimulation, or even more sleep. *If you would like to know more about how learning to train a chicken can help with training dogs, check out this link: https://www.legacycanine.com/chicken-workshops Choosing a New Family Member There are various ways to go about selecting a new furry family member. But when I think back on the last four dogs that entered my life I don’t think I actually chose them as much as I accepted that they were a part of my life and clearly there to stay. Meet Molly. Molly was a mess when she entered my life. She had a horrible yeasty ear infection, she was destructive, anxious, could not be crated, leashing her was a different issue. She was out to drag you to her destination. There was no walking this dog. If you had the guts to attach a leash to her, you were in for an experience. She caused two foster homes to quit fostering, was involved in a dog fight and out of control. Molly had no place to go and a storm was promising large amounts of snow. This dog needed Not just a safe place, she also needed a structured environment - so away we went to my house with a bag of dog food and a bottle of Trazadone. It took 24 hours to get her to understand my rules: 1. Mornings are work 2. Food comes after work 3. A crate won’t kill you 4. Don’t try to kill the cats, goat and birds There was still a lot she had to learn but she made great progress in 24 hours - this girl was smart and hungry for training. We survived the storm and Molly moved on to a new foster, was spayed and then brought back because she refused to go into the crate and would not stop barking. She was prescribed Trazadone the full 2 weeks she was with that foster before coming back to stay at the office. While at the office she learned that she could actually be comfortable in a crate and a head halter was a life saver for walking her. Those changes made her more appealing to the fosters so she left for a new foster home. Things went well for the first few weeks or so I thought. I had not heard any complaints. But that was the issue, I had not heard the complaints. Another snow storm was brewing and I took phone call stating that there was a dog fight, Molly was mildly injured and her stay was over at this home. The dogs were outside unattended so only the dogs know what happened. I was told that Molly would remain crated outside until another placement was found. I understood that they were upset but that was no way for any dog to live, even short term. Molly was dropped off at the office that day. I cleaned her wounds which were swollen and slightly infected. Preparations had already begun at home for the next snow storm. I grabbed another bag of food as I locked up the office and Molly came home with me again. Molly went off on 3 trial adoptions and came back after each one with reports of too much energy, no house manners, struggles with the other dog in the house not liking having another dog around... she had lots of interest but nobody determined or skilled enough to be able to make it work. She was on a quick path to being labeled unadoptable. I knew that wasn’t true, I just hadn’t found that adopter yet. I contacted breed specific rescues, trainers that specialized in shepherds. The rescues said they wouldn’t take her because she was obviously not pure bred. The trainers said they had their hands full already. I was frustrated, angry and not ready to give up on a dog that seemed to only be understood by me. At that point I understood that the only solution to the “problem” was to accept what was throwing a ball at me was my new charge. The third week in May 2019, I made it official and made Molly a member of a family. It’s August 2020 now. My parents adore the dog I call my “wild child” and she adores them. My siblings... They still think I’m out of my mind. She is a lot of dog and very overwhelming. She might win them over in a few years when the edge starts to wear off a touch. Now that I’ve shared this story, looking back on it I ask myself why I chose her. I love working breeds (Huskies, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Dobermans). I love to work hard and get rather stir crazy if I can’t. Working breeds are the same way so I understand their need to work. Molly is no more complicated than any puppy. The problem is that she never received the basic training frequently taught to puppies, so she is learning that now. I knew I needed (and wanted) to help her. I was planning to get another Husky when the time was right. Molly arrived when the timing was right and kept coming back until it was. The End of a Journey I haven't written in a while due to all the changes that have taken place recently. In November I started working for a local animal rescue, I took in a dog for an emergency foster situation due to a severe winter storm that had everyone stuck in their houses for a couple days, as well as a couple vet appointments mixed in for good measure. If you follow me on Facebook or Instagram, you may have seen the photos and updates on my foster dog, Molly. This post though is not about any of that. It's about the struggles of saying good bye to a beloved furry family member. When Tinker was diagnosed with an endocrine immune disorder I knew that her medical issues would end in her being the first of my canine crew to leave me. Every spring she would have issues with the pollen in the air, neighboring hay fields being cut, all turning into struggles with her sinuses and lungs. Her veterinary team and I became pretty good at being able to hold things off and keep her immune system boosted, but inevitably she would need antibiotics and an increase in steroids for a couple weeks to get her back on track. With each episode her lungs would become a little more damaged, but she was strong and a trooper. More than once one of the vets would state that they were impressed with her energy level, high spirits and ability to act as though she were fine when diagnostics clearly showed she was not. In March she got hit pretty hard with a respiratory infection. I thought she had hit her breaking point and was trying to prepare myself for the heartbreaking discussion about her comfort level and how much longer we had together in this fight. I put her up on the exam table and as usual she got comfortable. The clinic was not a scary place for her, it was filled with people that she knew, loved and knew cared about her too - she never had a reason to be afraid of the vet. He walked in, briefly looked at her and said "I don't need to state the obvious, she doesn't look good. She has been through a lot, but her eyes don't tell me she is done. Her eyes tell me she is indeed uncomfortable, but she isn't done fighting. She is almost 11 years old. That's really good for a puppy mill dog from a pet store. Frankly, she is one of a small group of dogs left from that pet store. Most of the survivors are not healthy. You have done very well keeping her as healthy and stable as you have. If this is the end for her, be proud that you guys made it this far, nobody else did. I'm going to send you home with antibiotics and if she doesn't start to improve in a couple days then we should talk again. With her track record, I don't expect to talk to you." With that, he gave her a little head scratch and told her to hang in there a little bit longer. The medication worked quickly and she was back to her usual self in just a couple days. We were all relieved, happy and moved on with our daily lives as normal. Only a couple short months later it hit again, but fast and hard. I knew the wait time would be too long to get her in for a vet appointment so I just called in and asked if my parents could pick up another round of antibiotics to get her going and then follow up with an appointment at the next available slot. They agreed that was the best route so she went to work with me so I could keep an eye on her, give her the medication she needed. She had not been to my new office so she was lost and confused as to where she was. It was a long day, but she did alright. That night she still was quiet, her pep was not coming back as quickly as it did the last time. She was only comfortable when she was in a her crate, so I slept in the chair next to her and woke up with every little sound. Morning came and so did the morning routine. Jack slept out in the family room with me and Tinker, Duncan was in his crate in my room. Shortly after returning inside from our morning potty break Tinker just wouldn't move at all, she stood still on the laundry room floor, looking down. I sat on the floor in front of her only to have her take one step forward to me, then collapse to the floor. I quickly picked her up and hollered at my Mom and Dad. Tinker snuggled into me and then took her last breaths. I was in shock, I really couldn't believe she was gone. I sat holding her for a few minutes, then wrapped her in her blanket. I had a radio interview for work at 8:00 AM. The last thing I wanted to do was go in and pretend to be all happy and cheery, so I decided not to. Each of the people in the radio station were animal lovers as well, so I got ready to go and start what would be a long day. I walked in to the station and told the staff that I was there but was sorry for not being as peppy as usual since only a couple hours before Tinker had passed. They were incredibly understanding, we got things done and I headed off to the vet clinic. Jack is always very sensitive to the loss of his animal buddies, so I was glad he was there when Tink took her last breaths. It didn't change the fact that he became extremely upset when I had him wait in the car with my Mom while my Dad and I took Tink in to the clinic. He scratched at the back of the car and whined loudly in his upset at the situation - he had never done that before. He spent the day with me at the office as usual but instead of being quiet, he was grumpy and needy. I was quite grateful that it was Friday, I just had to get through the day. Tinker died one week away from her 11th birthday, as hard as it has been to not hear her barking at everything, bossing the other dogs around, running around like it's the Indy 500, I can't help but be thankful for the many years I had with her. I was a part of a Facebook group full of people fighting for just one more day with their beloved canines, all of them having various forms of the same medical condition as Tinker, we didn't have the hard, day in, day out struggles they did and for that I know we were blessed. One of the things that everyone in the group does is at the end of their beloved canine's journey, they share a condensed version of the rocky road they faced along with pictures. I waited a few days and then posted our journey. Some people remain a part of the group to provide advice to those still marching forward. I have done that many times myself, however, this time I could not. My sadness was mixed with anger and remaining part of the group would not have been helpful for them or healthy for me. The anger was not with the people in the group or that helped us along the way, but anger towards people who breed dogs without any thought to the long term health of the dog they are bringing into this world. Anger towards pet stores who think its okay to sell animals of any kind - every one of those animals comes from an animal that their only purpose is to produce as much "product" as possible before it dies. Anger about a horribly broken system that will sadly always be around as long as pets stores bring in living, breathing "product" to sell in their stores. While I have recently purchased a few items from a pet store that sells small animals, exotics and fish, I still hold firm to the belief that until people stop purchasing animals from stores, animals will still be produced out of animal factories to be sold as products. If you want to add a animal to your household, check the paper, Craig's list, rescues, they are out there needing a place to go. Don't buy any animal from a store. *Note: If you are reading this and have not read my previous post about how Tinker came to be part of the family, you should : ) Encounter with a Stubborn Dog How to Get Your First Chihuahua Nine years ago, I met a lady through my work with an adorable long-haired Chihuahua puppy. The dog would be staying at the boarding kennel where I worked. Truth be told, while I liked dogs, Chihuahuas were just not a breed I was drawn to, no reason really. I had grown up around large, working breed dogs (Dobermans, German Shepard’s, Rottweilers and an Afghan Hound). Tiny dogs were just not something I was familiar with really. However, I thought this little dog with the uncommon name of Tayla was just adorable. All the staff members were eager to work with this puppy. There were some unusual care instructions for the pup, but she seemed unfazed by anything and very social. By the next boarding stay, the owner of the pup began voicing her frustrations to staff about various troubles with the pup, even at one point saying that she hated the dog and wished she had never taken her home. Staff members suggested re-homing the pup, even commenting that several staff members would love to provide a home for the dog if she did indeed want to part ways. Six months later (right before Thanksgiving), the owner decided it was best to re-home the dog and assumed that I was the one who volunteered to take the pup – I was not. The people who had expressed interest no longer worked there. I asked for advice from the business owner (my boss). I was instructed to go ahead and take on the dog. So, I did. The plan was to foster the dog, get her through her medical issues and adopt her out. She was obese, had a genetic deformity called Luxating Patellas (knees that dislocate with little to no movement from the dog), a painful back from severe weight issues and some food allergies. So, I told my parents the story and the little dog came home with me. My mom told my Aunt about Tayla and her situation. Since my Aunt had a small dog, she said she would adopt her, but due to winter road conditions it wouldn’t be until spring that she could safely travel to get her. Her name was changed from Tayla (a character from Stargate Atlantis) to Tinker Belle and the work began to get this dog back to a healthy state. It wasn’t long before Tinker Belle had sprinkled fairy dust on my parents and I causing us to fall in love with her. She quickly became buddies with the other two dogs in the house (a lab/rottweiler mix and a husky), then worked her way into the pack establishing her role as the Princess. Then we started wondering if it would even be fair to let this little dog think she was home, then in a few months move her across the state to start over. So, after a lot of thought and prayer, I called my Aunt and explained the situation. She completely understood (she’s an animal lover so I didn’t expect anything less). The little dog now known as Tinker is still the only female dog in the house. She is sassy and has this weird need to bark at the sound of paper being crinkled, when the other dogs are misbehaving or she’s not getting exactly what she wants. So far, no amount of training has fully worked that out of her system. There are days when I think the barking has improved and the next day, she is back at it. Chihuahuas are a very opinionated breed, so I am likely just working with a breed trait. I am actively looking for an alternative behavior for her in place of the barking, but I have not found anything she likes as much as her own voice. She is a fast learner, loves food, listens most of the time and is very high energy. As she has aged, she has developed other medical issues over time due to poor genetics (Endocrine Immune Disorder, Canine Emphysema), but she is doing very well considering her medical issues. Had Tinker not been needing a place to go, I probably would never have considered having a small dog. I thoroughly enjoy this sassy, bossy little girl! Note: Notice how the title of this post is "How to get your first Chihuahua"? It's true, she is my first. I did eventually adopt a second one. His story will come at a later date. Do We Rush the Training Process? We bring our new furry buddy home and can’t wait to teach her fun things, take her on road trips and just hang out watching Netflix together. If you have adopted an adult dog, you might even get out a toy or treat and ask her to do a sit or lay down. She does those quickly, so you tell her she is a good girl, give her the prize and head out for a walk. She has obviously had some training, right? On the walk she shows a string of behavior issues you didn’t expect, because she knew sit and down, you did not expect her to drag you off your feet as she tries to chase the cat walking by and fights through the fence with the dog down the street – well, this isn’t fun! Maybe it’s a sweet little puppy you brought home. You know he will whimper through the night a couple nights, but he will bond to you and then not miss his mom and litter mates. You do the late night, early morning potty breaks and after two weeks, he is still using the house as his toilet and instead of whimpering he now screams. Where did it go wrong? Regardless of the age that your new buddy arrived in your life, after a couple months, things start getting frustrating. You know you taught her not to chew the couch, or that he has been shown the potty area outside, but these issues keep coming up. After taking a few training classes with my own dogs and taught classes, I started wondering if we might just be pushing our dogs too fast. A common training class takes the dog from how to sit on cue to passing the Canine Good Citizen test in only two months. The average student works with their dog 1-2 times a week for about 20 minutes each time between classes. If you really think about all we teach our dogs and everything they need to know to be successful living with humans, is two months enough? Everything we expect them to learn and know is the equivalent of preschool to high school. Are we expecting too much too fast? If we slow things down, we give our canine companions the opportunity to really learn what we expect when it come to human house rules. Let’s face it, dog’s rules are completely different than ours and they don’t even know our language. To really help our dogs know how to live with humans, let’s start by giving them time to really know where their toilet area is, when to expect meal times, what they can and can’t chew. That alone can take four weeks or more, but it’s only four weeks in the lifetime of adventures we have with our canine companions. So, instead of rushing through, let’s slow things down, really help your dog learn. If you have a trainer and he/she is rushing you to get through a training series at a certain pace, find a new one. Everyone learns at their own pace and in their own way. Don’t let someone rush you and your dog through the early stages of your lives together. Enjoy every day. Accept that you will get frustrated. Know that in the end, it is worth every moment. Lazy day Activities With the arrival of fall, I start thinking of the cold weather that will be coming. If you're like me, the last thing I want to do is go for a walk in the cold weather. However, our dogs still need to do something even if we can't get them out of the house. I know I have been feeling guilty for not getting out with my dogs lately and it's not even cold outside! Just this week I read about some ideas from various people and heard about some from one of my favorite dog behaviorists, Ian Dunbar. I decided to put them to the test with all three of my dogs and then share how they responded to the lazy day activities. Activity #1:Teach a trick. If your dog is motivated by any food (including their plain kibble) like mine, then learning some new tricks might be a fun option. The dog I chose to test this on first was Jack my husky. I decided to try teaching him to stick his nose through a circle made by my fingers for the "Snoot" challenge. He became board with it in 60 seconds and walked off, refusing to come back over. I moved on to Duncan, my Boston Terrier mix. He was quite entertained by learning the "snoot" challenge. So to change it up a bit for him, the next day I taught him to roll over as well. He picked it up quickly. Once our 10 minute trick session was over, he was ready for a nap and slept for a couple hours. Activity #2: Exploring a new area of the yard. Ian Dunbar suggested this one in a video I recently watched. He said that simply getting out to the front porch or front yard can be a great outing for a dog, especially if they only go out there on rare occasions. So, I took Duncan out to the front yard (he was on 20 foot leash because he could fit through some low spots under the fence) and he sniffed around a bit, but then went and sat on the porch. Next I brought Jack out. He sniffed around the entire yard for 20 minutes. When I called him to go back inside, he was quite happy and tired. Next I tried with Tinker my Chihuahua. She kept trying to eat things like bugs, leaves, weeds so her time ended after only 3 minutes. Activity #3: Chewing. When I think of giving my dogs something to chew on, I always think of it as a way to keep them out of trouble when I am busy. The day had gotten away from me and I didn't do anything with my dogs to burn off energy and they were definitely board, but it was late and I wanted to go to bed, not go outside for a play session. I got out the antlers for them. My dogs trade chew items back and forth without any issue. So, they spent 15-20 minutes chewing on antlers from medium to extra large sizes (yes, even Tinker the 9 lb. chihuahua would take the huge antlers) trading, stealing and chewing. When I was ready to go to bed, they were too. I hope this helps give you some ideas of things you can do to easily provide some mental stimulation for your dogs when you just don't feel like doing much. Yes, our dogs do still need to get out for a round of fetch, chasing each other, go for a walk, but these suggestions can help breakup the day when you need to just take a day off. If you have some fun "lazy day activities" you do with your dog, please share them! The cold months seem to last forever, so the more activities we have for frigid days, the less stir crazy our dogs will be. Dinner is Served! Not that long ago, if a Veterinarian or Dog Trainer would have asked “what method do you use to feed your dog? We would have scratched our heads in confusion. However, now there are a few different ways of feeding our furry companions, but how do we know which is the right one? Let’s have a look at the options there are to choose from. Free Choice: With this option, your dog can eat however much they want, whenever they want. Some dogs do well with this, they never over eat and maintain a healthy weight without human intervention. Others either over eat and become obese or don’t eat enough and are under weight. One of the difficulties with this method is you don’t really know how much food your dog is eating. The amount of food your dog regularly consumes can help determine if your dog is feeling well or not. Additionally, if they are under any stress (boarding, hospitalized, a pet sitter is visiting while you are away, etc.) a dog that gets to eat whatever, whenever is much more likely to refuse to eat for several days. This becomes a chain reaction of problems that can quickly lead to health issues for your buddy. Measured, Free Choice: With this option, the amount your pup consumes during the day is measured out into the food bowl for consuming during the 24 hour time frame. If you are training your dog (really, we are always training our dogs), studies have found that dog’s learn best when food is used as a reward. Dogs that graze on their food are much less interested in food, making your dog much less motivated to work for the yummy reward in your hand. Automatic Feeder: These feeders can be very helpful! They are set to dispense an exact amount of food to your dog at a specific time. This helps to control how much your dog eats as well as ensure that they get their meals on time if you have a schedule that can change last minute. The drawback with them is that they only work with kibble, some dogs learn how to take the lid off and serve themselves a buffet. Meal times are a great time to reinforce good behavior and manners with your dog. Have her practice sits, downs, stays all before she gets her food. Strict Meals: With this option, you control everything about the meal. If your pet gets supplements or medication at meal times, those can easily be added. If your dog is a bit finicky about food, this can defiantly help improve their desire to eat because they have a short window of time to eat their food. You can also easily tell if your dog is feeling under the weather because they will either not be interested, eat slowly or walk in to investigate and then walk away. Noticing these things can help you spot issues with your dog’s health early. Typically, when dogs are fed at strict meal times, they are hungry and ready to eat no matter where they are or what is going on. If they do seem picky at first, you know it won’t last long! These guys are often quite easy to reward with treats. Slow Feeder Bowls/Toys: If your dog is a fast eater or gets board quickly during the day, slow feeder dishes or puzzle toys can be a great option to keep your dog busy longer, add in some mental stimulation and slow down your dog’s pace of eating to a healthier speed. Some dogs with resource guarding issues may become frustrated with the use of slow feeder bowls or puzzle toys, so use caution in those situations. Be sure that your dog can figure out how to access the food before using it as the only method of meal delivery. Canine Behaviorist Ian Dunbar highly recommends the use of Kong type toys for feeding all dogs rather than using bowls as this helps reduce bad behavior due to boredom, teach them to use chew toys and provides mental stimulation. I have not implemented this method with my dogs yet but plan to do so with my chihuahuas as they are both fast eaters and eat their meals in their crates. I will post an update when I implement this with them. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as easy as tossing a dish of food down for Toby and walking away. Yes, you can still do that, but when there are options that may be better for him, why not give them a try? Discuss the options with your Veterinarian, see what he or she recommends. Choose one, try it for a few weeks and see how it goes! Animals aren’t often fond of change to their feeding habits so give it some time for them to adjust to the new routine before deciding of you should try different one. |