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Posted by Chelle on March 06, 2003 at 07:42:03:

In Reply to: Re: puppy growled today posted by rachael on March 05, 2003 at 19:32:04:

The idea of "nothing in life is free" can still be established when giving treats seemingly "randomly" to a dog. She's actually working quite hard to make the choice of what to do or not to do when you are around and the object she wants to guard is around. By "dropping treats" and trading for her bone, you are rewarding no reaction from her- shaping how she should think about the situation. She's thinking (silly anthropomorphic analogy ahead) "oh boy, I have this really good treat and these silly humans keep dropping better treats around me when it's around. They are just too kind. Too generous." Isn't that better than the lesson of, "Oh man, those darn humans are around again and they are going to take this bone away from me. Oh what should I do? I guess growling worked before, I can try that again, but what if it doesn't work?" Do you see how that situation excalates and can escalate fast?

I have a 2 year old in my house and any type of guarding behaviors are very dangerous. So, I taught my girl that any time a person puts their hand in her food bowl something better will be left behind (I tend to use hot dogs, cheese, or boiled chicken). In her mind, a hand going towards a food bowl signals a very pleasant experience and she welcomes it with a wagging tail and snorts of joy.

Just one other thing- free feeding any pup really isn't a good idea. Food (even kibble) belongs to humans and not the dog. If it's left out for them all the time they believe it does belong to them (undermining the theory of everything in life isn't free). They tend to get possessive of it. Also, metabolically speaking, as your dog grows, scheduled feedings are easier on the joints and back.

Follow Ups:

• Re: about scheduled feedings rachael 03/06/03 (2)
  • Re: about scheduled feedings KDiamondDavis 03/07/03 (0)
  • Re: about scheduled feedings Chelle 03/07/03 (0)