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Posted by KDiamondDavis on March 07, 2003 at 12:30:22:

In Reply to: Re: about scheduled feedings posted by rachael on March 06, 2003 at 18:27:32:

I feed my dogs 4 small meals a day. Dogs eat quickly, that's just normal for dogs. Some eat more slowly, and that can be normal for that particular dog. Not even chewing the food is normal for my dogs! As far as gas, that is more a product of the type of food you give the dog, and sometimes the dog's physical condition and even its breed. If it's a problem with your dog, discuss it with the veterinarian. High-quality dog foods cause less gas. Dogs have shorter, more efficient intestines than humans, so a lot of their function in this area is different than ours. In particular, a high-fiber diet is not necessary for a dog, and in fact can cause problems. Cheap dog foods tend to be higher in fiber, as do diet dog foods, so I'd avoid either of these.

There are various ways to work on getting a dog to accept a person's approach to the dog dish without guarding, and here's one I like. It tends to work more quickly, and since your pup is so young, you might be able to head off the problem before it develops much at all.

Here's what you do. Give the dog an empty dish at feeding time. This will work best when the dog starts to recognize that there ARE feeding times, not just a food dish kept out all the time. But within a few days of starting a feeding schedule, the dog will be in tune with it.

So, the dog is expecting food, and instead you put down an empty dish. Dog looks at you. You're standing several feet away. You walk up and put a very small amount of food into the dish (maybe one piece of kibbl) and walk back to your position several feet away. Dog finishes what was in the dish and looks at you again. Again you walk up and put just a little in the dish and walk away. Repeat this all the way through the meal. Feeding three or more small meals a day gives you more training opportunities.

Varying where you put the dish in the house is a good idea. I also use placement of the food dish to help a dog's fears of various things, such as when I had a dog get afraid of the rocking recliner in the living room. Within a few weeks, I had her jumping up on the chair, standing on her hind legs with her feet on the back of the chair as it rocked, eating her food from the dish I held up in my hand! You can do this with all kinds of things.

Keep up the routine with you putting food into the empty dish a little at a time for awhile. Forever, as long as this dog lives, occasionally walk up and put something into the dish while the dog is eating. If the dog starts to get testy at some point in life about the dish again, go back to the empty dish routine for awhile.

Another important factor that needs to be mentioned here is that the dog needs to be able to eat without worrying about other animals getting into the food. When a child is around, you need to keep the child away from the dog when the dog is eating. This is a HUGE reason--but there are many others, too--for feeding dogs at specific times rather than leaving food out. God forbid you might have a visiting toddler wander into the kitchen and stick a hand into the dog's food dish when you're distracted by guests and not thinking about the dog's attitude. If the dish is picked up between meals, the dog has nothing to guard.

Okay, so I said keep kids away from the dish. Obviously accidents will happen, but they shouldn't happen much when people properly manage their kids with their dogs. Still, in case of accident you will be prepared and your dog won't be super-touchy. When the dog is very good with you walking up to the dish, do the exercise with other adults walking up and adding food, and when you're sure it's safe, have children walking up and adding food. But do not allow children younger than school age to be alone with a dog under this or any other circumstance. Children under school age must always be supervised when they are with a dog, any dog.

Back to a point I didn't finish, though--if you allow other animals to bother your dog while eating, that contributes to this defensive behavior about the food dish. Same goes for when the dog has highly desirable toys like the chew bone. Whenever a dog has these things, the dog needs to be protected from the approach of other dogs, cats, whatever. This is an important way that your management of your dog helps to prevent a dangerous primal instinct (guarding the food) from becoming a safety risk to humans. You just don't want the dog to be triggered into this instinct in the first place.

The Nothing in Life is Free program can be confusing to people. I require my dogs to comply with my commands, but I put a LOT of time into teaching them what I want. Until the dog does understand, I use a leash or crate or closed door or whatever to MANAGE the situation so that the dog realizes I'm the "mommy"! That may seem like a silly, weak word for the person in charge of a dog, but think about a true maternal instinct. I take care of them, and I defend them. That is what a pack leader does. I provide my dogs with what DOGS need, not what human children would need, so in that sense, I'm not pretending they are children. But I'm still "the mommy," and that position is a very big deal. Believe me, my dogs see it that way!

A pack leader will lay down his life to protect the pack. Pack leader is a position of service--it's not just "Boss." When people try to be "Alpha" to their dogs, they very often wind up just challenging the dog over and over, until the dog finally calls their bluff. If you are just using "methods" to show your dog you are the leader, it IS a bluff. Dogs get very wise to this.

Positive training and sensible management and care are the things it takes to be a real leader to a dog. Dogs will do anything for a leader like that.

Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinarypartner.com

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