Dogs Can Hunt for Dinner

Read Rock Star Dog Owners Make Mealtime Engaging

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Quote from the Canines #4

Wheeeeeee, this is AWESOM - Uh Oh. One of the dogs in the hood just saw me playing with bubbles. Oh, crap! Come on - cut me some slack! Mom won't let me chase squirrels, I haven't maimed a cat in months - what do you expect? NOT chase it? NOT pop it? SO WHAT if it's a BUBBLE! It's all I've got. Great, another topic for my therapist.

…

Thanks to Melissa Alonso for this great photo she sent in.  Way to be, Melissa.

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Top Signs You’re a Rock Star Dog Owner – #1: You Make Mealtime Engaging

“If you plop my food down in a bowl, yes, I’ll eat it, but – BOOORING.” -Lenny the Lab (2002 – present)

This Food is So Lame I Could Sleep Next to It

Some dogs eat so fast that when they’re done they look at you and say, “You kidding me? That’s it?”

Others won’t touch the food you put down because it’s SO lame for a predatory animal to eat something that just sits there.

The Myth: Feeding is feeding.  Just give the dog a meal – she’ll eat, drink, and be merry.

The Real Deal: Mealtimes are a great opportunity to stimulate your dog’s mind, build a deeper bond with you, satisfy her natural hunting instincts, and increase the appetite of a dog who seems to have said the hell with dog food.

Rock star dog owners turn mealtimes into engaging activities. Here are a few easy ways you can do it:

1) Ditch the food bowl.  Put the meals in a Busy Buddy toy.  Just fill the toy with food and then your dog has to play with it to make the food fall out.  Hint: set up the toy so it’s easy at first.  Increase difficulty as your dog figures out smarter ways to dispense the food faster. Very fun to watch.

2) Scatter your dog’s food all over the backyard.  This was a favorite of my Husky-Shepherd mix, Eli.  He would hunt down every last piece of kibble.  It is amazing to see how talented dogs are with their noses.  Believe me, if your dog is into his meals, he will find every bite.  Yes, even in the uncut grass.  Like all new games, make it easy at first, then increase difficulty.

3) Check out the Eat Slow Bowl.  This will make meals last longer.  More fun for the dog and also safer for dogs who are prone to bloat from gobbling too much, too fast.

4) Make mealtime a training session and use the food as a reward. Teach basic obedience.  Or how about tricks? Just make it fun and interesting. Use one piece of kibble (or one lick of wet food off a spoon) as a reward for each task well done.  This practice will really enhance your bond and give your dog a chance to learn new skills.

One of My Favorite Busy Buddy Toys, the Twist-n-Treat

The Wrap: Mealtimes are a chance for your dog to do more than just stand over a bowl.  Try the ideas above that best fit your dog and your lifestyle.  You’ll see for yourself that the increased mental exercise will make your dog happy and improve his behavior.   If he’s a really naughty pooch, at the very least he’ll be out of trouble during the time he’s eating.

This Week’s Most Amazing Dog Sports

No, no, not agility or schutzhund – I’m talking about the sports the dogs invent.  You know, your bored dog.  He’s not going to sit around doing nothing for too long.  He was born to use his keen mind and athletic body – but that won’t always turn out the way you want.  If he gets put in a situation with a healthy serving of territoriality and a dash of barrier frustration, you might see some intense behaviors cook up quickly.  Here are some of this week’s most amazing dog sports, the ones that produce big headaches for owners, but a really great adrenaline rush for the dog.

Television Attacking:  favorite targets are other dogs and animals that, to your dog’s mind, seem to have suddenly and magically appeared out of nowhere.  Even more frustrating – these intruders have no scent.   Some dogs will bark at anything – even cartoons will spring them into action.  Many mad dashers go right up to the screen and give ‘em hell.

Window Frothing: a variation on television attacking, this can get intense.  A particularly bedeviling problem is when your dog learns to run to multiple windows to track the “perpetrator.”  Better get your squeegee, top dogs in this sport can really spit up your glass.

Now that's what I call a dedicated athlete.

Fence Frenzy: this is when there is something on the other side of the fence that your dog really wants, but can’t have.  Like another dog, a squirrel, children running.  All of the above can unleash the nightmare fence runner.  My border collie used to fence-run so intensely that he dug a fifty-foot long trench along one side of our yard that was 3 feet wide and one foot deep. He would bang straight into a park bench and then keep running.  Back and forth, back and forth….

The problem with these “sports” is they are self-rewarding for the dog.  Adrenaline rushes are fun.  If left to their own devices, dogs get really really good at producing them, become obsessed with them, pine for the moment when the slightest trigger will spring them into action.  Then they are thrilled: barking, chasing – wild-eyed, unable to hear a word you say.  I call it off the planet.

Dogs can be trained out of these behaviors, but it’s usually not easy.  Not easy at all.  If you see your dog starting to teach themselves one of these sports, stop the pattern.  It’s time to show them new ways of using their brain and body.  Check out my nosework blog from yesterday.