The power of making your dog ‘work’ for his food.

Wed 18 Nov 2009 by

The following quote is taken from Dr. Ian Dunbar’s article Errorless Chewtoy Training (www.dogstardaily.com).

‘Without a doubt, regularly feeding a new puppy (or adult dog) from a bowl is the single most disastrous mistake in dog husbandry and training. Although unintentional, the effects of bowl-feeding are often severely detrimental for the puppy's household manners and sense of well-being. In a sense, each bowl-fed meal steals the puppy's raison d'etre — its very reason for being. Within seconds of gulping his meal, the poor pup now faces a mental void for the rest of his day with nothing but long, lonely hours to worry and fret, or work himself into a frenzy.’

Using food as a way of occupying your dog throughout the day, should not be a difficult concept to grasp, yet many of my new clients find this suggestion a difficult one to put into practice.

Apart from their daily exercise, dogs have very little to look forward to. While owners may insist that their dog loves sitting on the sofa with them, most dogs would rather their owners put more effort into providing stimulation for them and less time into cuddles or shopping for dog coats.

Providing mental as well as physical stimulation for your dogs can help avoid so many behavioural problems. Day to day challenges such as excessive barking, separation anxiety, destructive or attention seeking behaviours can all be reduced by helping your dog become addicted to looking for and receiving food.

There are so many products on the market now which come under the title of ‘interactive toys’. All have the same function. They make your dog ‘work’ for their food, instead of simply inhaling the kibble within seconds from their bowl.

These include toys which should only be used while you are supervising such as the Nina Ottosson dog puzzles. (http://www.petplanet.co.uk/category.asp?dept_id=724). In addition, treat balls come in various shapes and sizes and allow the dog the joy or rolling a toy around a flat surface (I use my concreted front yard) which regularly results in pieces of kibble spilling out. Finally, there is a group which I consider suitable for helping your dog to settle in their crate or bed while the owner is busy. These include all of the Premier Busy Buddy range (http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=1269&pg_id=863) which include the Twist & Treat, the Tug-a-Jug and the Brissle Bone and the original Kong toys (http://www.petplanet.co.uk/product_group.asp?dept_id=177&pg_id=262).

With puppies or rescue foster dogs, I make use of all the interactive toys on the market to help my dog occupy himself while I am busy working or need to go out and about. If my puppy has plenty of mental and physical stimulation while with me, and the option of further mental stimulation from his Kong or Busy Buddy while in his crate, his potential to get into trouble as a result of boredom is considerably reduced. I never feed young puppies from a bowl. With my adult dogs, they still enjoy their treat ball at least twice a week and regularly get Kongs and Busy Buddy toys if they are going to be left alone for prolonged periods of time or if I am having a really busy day with work.

Give your dog’s the best Christmas present this year. Invest in some interactive toys and throw away their food bowls. You should have much happier, calmer dogs as a result!

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