The Considerate Canine: Food Thieves

The Problem: Any tips on how to break my dog of constantly searching for food? She is a rescue and had a really rough life before being taken to Pet Helpers. She eats very quickly and will try to get to any food with in her reach. Makes visiting friends and family uncomfortable. She is not starving by any means, the Vet considers her over weight. Any advice would be appreciated! -Jennifer Johnson

The Solution:

Hi Jennifer, dogs are opportunists and many try to get food whenever it appears to be available. It doesn’t mean that she is hungry or she did not have enough food before coming to you. But she can learn to control her impulses and listen to you when food is involved.

Like many issues, management is the first step. Be sure that she is never unsupervised when food is within her reach, which may include the counter tops or tables. A baby gate can be a temporary solution while working on the problem. You may also want to investigate ways to slow your dog down at meal time. A great way is to moisten her food with a little water or stuff her meal into a Kong, a good way to have her work for her meal

Teach your dog an off cue and reward her for having all feet on the floor. This works well if her feet are already on the counter, table, sofa or person. Simply toss a treat onto the floor, she is self rewarding as she eats and you can praise her as well, a win-win situation for your dog. In addition to using the off cue, reward your dog handsomely for having four feet on the floor at all times, unless invited to do otherwise. Once she is off the the counter or table, ask for a sit, another rewardable behavior. The more she is rewarded for having her four feet on the floor or sitting, the more she will offer these behaviors. Remember, what you reward is what you teach.

Leave it is a great skill for any dog, regardless of the reason you teach it. It creates great self control and allows you to decide what is appropriate for your dog. There are many layers to this skill, which really means look but don’t touch. In the beginning, you will use a small food treat on your open palm. Make sure that she knows it is there. If she moves to take the treat, close your hand over it and wait until she stops mugging your hand. Then reopen your hand and repeat until she takes her nose away for just a second or two. Mark the behavior with a clicker or say yes and immediately give her another yummy treat.

Two key points:

• she never get the food you are using as bait
• hold your hand as still as possible

If you are moving your hand she will be tracking the movement, making it more difficult. Repeat this until she begins to look away from the food as soon as it is presented, Now you can add a verbal cue for the behavior.

The next steps will be to place the food on the coffee table, floor, counters, wherever you need to work. Then you start to play the game with real things. The end result is a dog who understands it is her job to move away from whatever the thing is upon hearing the cue.

Happy Training!

Cindy Carter, CPDT-KA
Mindful Manners Dog Training
843-906-9997
www.mindfulmanners.net