When pickiness or a lack of interest in food appears suddenly, however, it could be linked to a health change 1, in which case a checkup with the vet is in order. If your dog has always been a picky eater, you probably don’t need to be too concerned (though ringing the dinner bell can feel like an exercise in futility). If your dog is a picky eater, slow down or eliminate these treats in order to ramp up their appetite for when you would like them to eat.Some of us are lucky enough to have dogs who dive into their bowl at mealtimes like they’re vying for first place in a pie-eating competition. Dog owners sometimes forget that extra treats given to dogs between meals can be filling to dogs. This “testing” can actually teach a dog to resource guard their food.īottom line, stay away from your dog when they are eating in order to create a more relaxed eating environment for them. And don’t “test” to see if they are food aggressive by putting your hand in or near their bowl. Please, stay away from your dog’s food when they are eating - this is especially true for children. Messing with your dog’s food causes them stress and can sometimes make them wait to eat until you are not around. How would you react if someone at a nearby table in a restaurant decided to sample your food? Would this make you want to eat in front of that person? Animals are predisposed to guarding their food. Dog owners forget sometimes (I’m guilty of this too) that dogs are animals.
Stay away from your dog’s food bowl when they are eating. By changing foods, you run the risk of having them reject each new food or having to deal with gastrointestinal issues caused by food changes. Dogs are 100% happy eating the same food for years. Once you find a food that agrees with them (i.e., taste and digestibility), there is no reason to change it. If you have a dog that is picky about their food, don’t change what you are feeding them. Here are some great bottomer ideas I’ve discovered:ĭon’t change their food. You’ll want to slowly fade the bottomer out until your dog is happily just eating their regular food. This works well because it forces the dog to eat through their regular food before getting the good stuff. A bottomer, on the other hand, is simply putting the something extra on the bottom of their food bowl (i.e., put the bottomer in the food bowl first followed by their regular food). A topper is when dog owners put something extra delicious on top of their dog’s regular food. You’ve heard of a topper, but a bottomer is much better. Mother Nature has a wonderful way of making this happen - appetite. In a very short amount of time (usually 12-48 hours), your dog will happily eat when the food is presented. If your dog isn’t actively eating or done with their food after this amount of time, pick up the bowl and try it again at the next regularly scheduled feeding. How does it work? Put the food bowl down for 20 minutes. Scheduled feeding (normally once or twice a day for healthy adult dogs) can get otherwise finicky eaters into eating when you want them to eat. You miss a great daily opportunity to teach impulse control to your dog by having them wait for your cue before eating. Not surprisingly, this practice is associated with overweight and underweight dogs.ĭog training treats become less motivating for the dog because they have access to food all the time. You don’t have control of how much, or how little, food your dog is eating. They think there is a magic food bowl that dispenses food independent of you. Your dog makes no connection between you and the food you provide.
Free-feeding, versus scheduled feeding, is when dog owners fill a bowl with food and leave it out for the dog 24 hours a day, topping it off as needed. If your dog is unhealthy, senior, very young, or on a diet protocol as suggested by a veterinarian, these suggestions may not be applicable or appropriate. I’ve provided five ideas below to help you get a handle on this. Food is an important variable in a dog’s behavior and needs to be controlled by the dog’s owner and not by the dog.
Money motivates people, but food is the monetary system of dogs. It’s actually a much easier behavior problem to address than most dog owners realize. “My dog is a picky eater – What can I do?” is a common question for many dog owners. ©Scott Sheaffer, CBCC-KA, CDBC, CPDT-KA, USA Dog Behavior, LLC
0 kommentar(er)
