[Day 12] Feeding - rituals for stress-free and healthy Eat
Basic obedience: Day 12 of 56
This video and training is part of the Grunge Obedience Concept, a structured programme to promote obedience and the bond between humans and dogs. The concept is carefully didactic and methodical to ensure that each exercise builds on the previous one for maximum effectiveness. It is crucial that you carry out the training in the intended order to achieve the best possible results for your dog.
Do you sometimes get the feeling that your dog is restless when Eat or even defends its food? Feeding is not only a daily necessity, but also an important resource that often triggers stress in dogs. This makes it all the more important to turn feeding into a ritual that offers your dog security and relaxation. Rituals are not only a practical way of structuring your dog's everyday life, but also help him to understand that he can trust you - especially when it comes to food.
In this blog, we'll show you how to ritualise feeding for your dog, reduce aggression and stress and at the same time train impulse control and self-control. Sounds good? Then let's get started right away!
Aim: To give the dog security and structure through ritualised feeding situations, to avoid aggression and food stress and at the same time to promote impulse control and frustration tolerance.
Equipment: Basic equipment
Place: At home
Duration: daily
Why are rituals so important for dogs?
Everyday rituals are very important for your dog. They offer him security, structure and orientation in a world that is often unpredictable. Rituals are repetitive, fixed sequences of actions that help your dog to understand what will happen next. Through these clear procedures, your dog knows how to behave in certain situations, which reduces his susceptibility to stress and at the same time improves his frustration tolerance.
Dogs are creatures of habit by nature. This means that they feel more comfortable in familiar routines and are therefore more relaxed. A structured daily routine with rituals ensures that your dog is less likely to overreact to external stimuli because he can rely on the fixed elements of his everyday life. These rituals show him that he can rely on you as a dependable partner. They improve communication between you and your dog and make everyday life easier for both of you.
If we build up ritualised behaviour patterns, they will eventually become automatic. Rituals are important signposts for our dogs as to what they can expect and how they should behave. Through constant repetition, your dog can master everyday situations more easily and they no longer require much patience because they are almost automatic.
Lining
Food is one of the most important, if not the most important resource for our dogs. Resources determine the survival of a living being. No wonder that food aggression is a fairly common problem behaviour in dogs. Many dog owners complain that their dog displays strong aggression when being fed or a general food defence. There can be many reasons for this and food aggression is not primarily to be understood as a dominance problem against the dog owner, but can also be attributed to fear and stress or other previous experiences. It is not surprising that the weak puppies in the litter in particular tend to miss out on food and may later perceive anything near the bowl as a threat. Foreign dogs display similar problem behaviour. This behaviour is due to the fact that they perceive food as a vital resource and must first learn that it is not life-threatening for them in their new home to allow humans or other animals to reach their food. As always, this cannot be generalised and, as always, exceptions determine the rule.
It is important to convey that the proximity of humans or your hand at the food bowl does not mean stress for the dog, but something good and always has a positive effect: Food. In our opinion, it is absolutely counterproductive to take the dog's food away immediately at the slightest attempt to threaten it, thereby increasing its fear. This makes it all the more important to ritualise trustworthy, calm and reliable feeding for your dog.
ℹ Info
If children live in the household, they should not be present during feeding so that no uncontrolled and highly stressful situations arise for the dog. This is primarily for the child's safety. A dog should always be allowed to eat calmly.
If your dog asks you for food, you should ignore him at first. With regular feeding, Training Treats and no other veterinary findings, there is no reason for the dog to beg for food. This is where the "To your place!" blanket training pays off and you can offer your dog an alternative behaviour for the demanding behaviour and guide him to his place. A pushy dog is an unfriendly dog and should therefore not be encouraged in its behaviour. Dogs quickly learn where their boundaries are or are not and are happy to exploit them.
ℹ Info
Status aggression goes hand in hand with resource aggression when it comes to food. People who allow their dog too much space and resources (food, toys, etc.) risk over-interpreting their own status with the dog.
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Feeding ritualisation
Unless otherwise prescribed by your vet, your adult dog should be fed twice a day. If possible, you should deduct the Training Treats from the food ration so that your dog does not tend to become overweight. Obesity is a serious issue for our dogs today and must therefore always be kept in mind. The way we feed our dogs is a luxury and luxury is known to lead to spoiling and that is exactly how most dogs behave these days when it comes to food: spoilt. Every feeding should follow a certain pattern, a ritual.
No food at free disposal
You have already learnt from the measures taken at home that the resource of food must never be available at all times. The dog's constant stress of having to defend its resource is transferred not only to the home but also to the outside area and is anything but conducive to socialising.
As soon as your dog stops Eat and leaves the bowl, you should put the bowl out of the dog's reach. If something is left in the bowl, this is by no means a reason to panic. If you are particularly concerned, you can offer the leftover food again a few hours later. If your dog leaves the food again, put the bowl away again. Make sure that it doesn't become a game of back and forth. If your dog doesn't eat the second time you put it down, it will have to wait until the next meal. A healthy dog can easily cope with missing two or three meals. If the problem occurs more frequently, you can ask yourself whether the choice of food is the right one and make a check-up appointment with your vet to make sure that your dog is healthy. Unlike food, fresh drinking water should always be available.
Feeding times
You decide when you feed your dog. Our dogs have an excellent sense of timing and will quickly demand their food at the same time again and again. Our advice is to stick to regular feeding times, but not to schedule a fixed time. On the one hand, it gives you a certain amount of flexibility in everyday life, as you may not be at home at the same time every day, and on the other hand, your dog won't have too many expectations. Expectations are known to lead to stress if they are not met. A clear division into morning and evening, for example, means that your dog gets food regularly, but not at such a limited time that it stresses you and your dog. A regular meal also leads to a balanced production of stomach acid in the dog's stomach and counteracts stomach pain or other stomach problems. If your dog begs, send him to his place and ignore him until he calms down. You can then prepare the food.
Controlled feeding
It happens again and again that a person puts food out for their dog and then there is no interaction or anything similar. Feeding is such an important part of a dog's life and should not be underestimated. A dog that learns that not everything that is freely available can be eaten will not steal anything from the coffee table or take food from the kitchen counter. Controlled feeding is also an important part of anti-poison bait training. A dog must understand that not everything it finds can be eaten. Two factors play a role here: regular feeding (reliability) and the allocation of resources by humans (leadership/status).
ℹ Info
Self-control has its limits. Don't expect your dog to perform any tricks in front of the bowl, just incorporate a short controlled sequence. If you overdo the impulse control at the food bowl, your dog will have an empty battery for the rest of the day.
If you place the bowl in front of your dog, your dog should not eat directly, but wait for your permission first. Controlled feeding can be ideally practised as a combination of impulse control and eye contact. If your dog is particularly impatient, you can hold your hand over the bowl like a lid so that your dog cannot reach the food. With a little patience, your dog will look at you sooner or later. Reward the eye contact with the release to the food with a "take". The more often you do this exercise, the more patiently your dog will wait for the release without you having to hold your hand over the bowl. Repeat this procedure for the next 2 weeks. If your dog tries to reach the food despite your hand, you can correct him backwards with the flat of your hand.
ℹ Info
Please never interrupt a feeding. Build up impulse control before feeding, but allow your dog to eat without stress.
After feeding
Feeding is a social event. Dogs should not be active for at least 30 minutes after feeding. Dogs with a deep chest and a narrow waist are particularly affected by stomach torsion. However, stomach torsion can happen to any dog. In the worst case scenario, a stomach torsion can be fatal for a dog.
Use the time directly after feeding for a cuddle session together. The hormone oxytocin plays an important role in relaxation. Touch activates different fibres in the skin that distinguish a good touch (stroking) from a bad touch (biting). This information is passed on to the brain and more oxytocin is released when the touch is good. The increase in oxytocin has a relaxing effect. Cuddling is a form of social communication and so-called contact cuddling promotes a mutual relationship. After feeding, you can sit on the floor and call your dog to you. Cuddle together intensively for a few minutes. Both you and your dog can then end the situation if you no longer feel like cuddling.
Summary
Rituals and fixed routines play an important role in your dog's everyday life. Especially when it comes to feeding, rituals provide structure and security that help your dog to avoid stress and food aggression. In this lesson, you will learn how to establish clear rituals around feeding to promote your dog's impulse control and establish relaxed feeding behaviour. Regular feeding times, fixed feeding places and clear signals will help your dog to improve its frustration tolerance and build trust in you as a reliable partner
This video and training is part of the Grunge Obedience Concept, a structured programme to promote obedience and the bond between humans and dogs. The concept is carefully didactic and methodical to ensure that each exercise builds on the previous one for maximum effectiveness. It is crucial that you carry out the training in the intended order to achieve the best possible results for your dog.
The authors: Paulina & Lui
Paulina and Lui are the heart and soul behind Vitomalia [Dogstraining & Store]. Her journey in dog training began with the adoption of her first list dog, Vito. This experience sparked her deep interest in teaching other dog owners about dog behaviour and training. Initially this was just a hobby, but with the adoption of the American Pitbull Amalia, who had been relinquished several times due to severe behavioural problems, her passion developed into a true vocation. Amalia's particular behavioural challenges intensified her interest in dog training and behavioural therapy. This turning point led Paulina and Lui to leave their original career paths, undergo intensive further training and dedicate themselves entirely to the subject of dog training. Their work with human-dog teams also revealed a gap in the dog market: there was a lack of safe, high-quality dog accessories specifically for medium-sized and large breeds.
From this realisation, Vitomalia [Dogstraining & Store] was born, a combination of their commitment to professional dog training and the need for quality dog accessories. Paulina and Lui bring their personal experience, extensive knowledge and passion for dogs to every product to help human-dog teams live together.