all, Puppies, Leadership and Dominance in Dog Training, Guy Fawkes and similar stressors for dogs, Separation Anxiety, 'Walking the Dog' and all associated..., Dog 'Ownership' Helpful Tips, Preventing 'Fixation'/'Obsession' With Cats..., General Training, 'Obedience' Type Command Instruction, Safety Around Dogs, A Good Dog Behavioural Consultant/Dog Behaviourist, Entertainment for your dog, The problem with gadgets in effective dog training, Stress in Dogs, Reactionary Behaviour, Aggression, Embarrassing antics our dogs get up to..., 'Tis the Season', Visitors and your Dog, Vocalization, Strangers, Issues with Food, Cars/Vehicles and your Dog, Why does my dog?
Issues With Food and Your Dog
08.03.25
Dog Training. Dog Behaviour. Good and not so good dog training and dog behavioural modification.
There are good and not so good ways of doing things right?Some examples I come across in the dog training realm include -1. Teaching the ‘Sit’ by applying pressure around/on the rear end of your dog, whilst saying “Sit.”You do not need to, nor should you, physically touch your dog to train a sit in my opinion as 1. You will not always be close by to cue this action. 2. Your dog is not then necessarily undertaking the ‘Sit’- you are manipulating his or her body.When training, if indoors, you can walk your dog backwards towards a corner of a room, offering treats up just above their nose and back towards the top of their headand he or she usually sits. If out and about, step in front of your dog with your body, offer the treat in the same way, whilst asking for the ‘Sit.’ With this, no touch cue is needed once taught 🙂2. When teaching pups about ‘resource guarding,’ some advice circulating is to regularly take your pups treats etc. away whilst he or she is eating them. In my opinion and experience, this can increase a guarding tendency, as dogs become protective that you are going to come and take items away and quite frankly, fair enough, it seems like a scarcity of resources is in place. Instead, you must train a ’swapsies’ with other desirable objects from the get go… Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my book in association with HarperCollins ‘Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood,’ thank you 🐾
29.06.24Dog Training. Dog Behaviour. Teaching your dog the 'Leave' it command.The ‘Leave’ -*This command is useful to get a dog to move back away from an animal (for example a cat or person - so the dog stops licking them if this is an issue) or object (inappropriate food for instance). Keep hold of an especially favourable treat (or super interesting toy) in your hand and wait for your dog to lose interest - which they will eventually. The instant your dog has turned to go away, exclaim “Leave!” and offer the object. Repeat at least ten times.Sometimes to get at least the first few ‘Leaves,’ we need to lower the value of the item if the dog just won’t leave it alone. This food or toy still needs to hold some value though, for it to be seen as reward for the ‘Leave’ action Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my book in association with HarperCollins ‘Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood’ thank you.
6.11.21
Reactionary behaviour around food The best way to deal with a dog that is protective over its food bowl is to dispense with the bowl altogether.This usually solves the problem very quickly.You can scatter your dogs food, making it harder for them to protect, which diffuses the situation.Feeding a Puppy -One common recommendation is to take the food bowl away occasionally as the pup eats. However, experience suggests, the only thing that this teaches the pup is that something negative is likely to happen when people come near as he or she is eating—they may snatch the food.Even if the removal of food is synchronized with a reward, the dog may still consider the abrupt removal of their food more threatening than any benefit from the reward.Another common thought is to put your hand in your pup’s bowl as they eat, so they get used to the close proximity of people during meal times. Once again, a dog with a nervous temperament or a high food drive might feel this is too threatening and become more reactive in the situation.Bones -Food can be used as a trophy by dogs and a bone is an extra special trophy.Lookout to ensure there are no bones left lying around that your dog might want to protect, gather them back in and give them out when you want,Selina McIntyre, Dog Behavioural Consultant & Dog Trainer, Dogs Best Friend. For more dog behavioural and training tips, advice and suggestions, why not check out my Dog Behavioural and Training Blog/Tips page at www.dogsbestfriend.co.nz or head on into your local bookstore for a copy of my book in association with HarperCollins, ‘Big Dog, Small Dog - Make your dog happier by being understood’ thank you 🙂
11.12.2020
With this being the season of family gatherings -Let’s look at your dog’s stealing food from the table.Dogs steal food because -- Food has been given to them when they are begging at the table and they are coming back for more.- Your dog is bored - make sure they are getting out and and about exercising and have sufficient mental stimulation. [Read More…]
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Selina McIntyre of Dogs Best Friend, a qualified Dog Behaviourist & Dog Trainer in the Hamilton, Waikato, Tauranga and Rotorua areas of NZ since 2004.