Feeding your dog

Although this may seem like a no brainer, I find that most people make great mistakes on this topic.  Let me address some points of proper feeding here.

** first off I will stress that any idiot who feeds a dog and then sticks his hand into the food bowl to test for dog aggression, deserves to be bit.  When the food goes down, leave it down and don't bother your dog.

One of the strongest drives for a dog is his food drive.  In nature it is the quintessential drive that keeps him alive.  Dogs eat in pack order, that means the alpha / leader eats first and when he is finished the rest of the pack eats.  To properly mimic this be sure that your dog observes you eating before he is fed.  Also, you may ask your dog to sit and wait while you put the bowl down and then give him an ok command to eat.  Dogs are not permitted to jump up to the food bowl as it is put down.  I'll stress again here, do NOT put the bowl down and then pick it back up.  You are doing something that is out of the nature of the dog and is very unfair to the dog.

Food stays down for 15 minutes whether or not the dog has eaten or finished the food.  If he has not touched it, pick it up and put it back down at the next feeding.  Once the dog walks away from the food, you may assume he is done.

I recommend feeding your dog 2-3 times a day.  Feeding once a day is generally not a good habit and may lead to weight problems.  Morning and evenings are best, morning, afternoons and evenings are best.  Dogs do not eat before or during human meal times, dogs eat after human are done eating.  Also, I do not allow dogs to beg at the table.  If your dog begs at the table he has either not been trained or has been poorly trained.  If a dog begs at the table he is ignored.  If you start giving in you will forever have a poorly trained dog.  Eat, then feed your dog.  IF....  and this is a big if, your dog is perfectly trained, the dogs food may be put down once you start to eat.  However, I would stress for the most part to avoid this unless you know 100% that your dog understands pack structure.  Your dog will NOT see you as being mean or unfair if you eat in front of him and he has to wait.  This is a human emotion and goes against every instinct in your dogs body.  If you eat and your dog waits, he sees you as his leader and will feel safer and more secure around you.  Anyone who tells you any different does not understand a dogs instinct.

For feeding I recommend you research carefully what you will be feeding him.  I don't make any recommendations, but will tell you not to listen to the guy who works at the local pet store or the vet.  Most of these people are getting bonuses or commissions on the foods they sell.  Research and do your homework.  I feed my dog and all natural dry kibble, but do opt for an all natural real food diet often.  I do feed my dog natural raw marrow bones.  I do NOT cook them, as when you cook them you change the structure and the bone can splinter and kill your dog.  Dogs in the wild do NOT cook their food and rarely die of a bone splinter.  

If you give your dog treats, I recommend that you carefully research what it is you are feeding him.  If it comes from someplace you don't know, or includes ingredients that you don't know, I would not feed it to my dog.  You are your dogs only link to proper nutrition, take this responsibility seriously.  Proper nutrition will be the best way to ensure your dogs health and longevity.

Leash Aggression - Leash Fear

This last weekend I was asked to work with two dogs with quite opposite problems. The first one was leash aggressive, the other was leash fearful. The owners were puzzled as they loved both dogs, both were rescues and both had a wonderful life. The owners a middle aged couple were very confused, they knew for certain that the one dog was fearful on the leash because she had gotten away and was attacked by coyotes.

After a short time evaluating the dogs the problem had little if anything to do with what other trainers or the owners thought. First off, since the dog that was fearful on the leash was not on a leash when it was attacked, I disregarded that and started at the basics. I put the dogs on a leash, one by one, and took them outside to two waiting dogs, both chows ( I would not recommend using chow chows to get a small dog over leash issue). The first dog I took was the one with leash aggression. The most important thing for a walk is how the walk starts. I put the leash on the dog, waited for the dog to calm down and then took the dog for a walk. Please read that part again, "I took the dog for a walk." Most people let the dog take them for a walk. The dog exhibited some issues, but obviously much less than previously. I worked with the dog for about 5-10 minutes and the dog was able to meet and sniff the chow chow.

The key thing to overcoming leash issues with a dog is to make the dog understand that the person at the other end of the leash is in control. The dog may combat this at first, but once the situation is established and you are the leader, the dog will have much less aggression or fear on a leash. Leash aggression generally is attributed to a few things:
1. the dog does not respect the person walking them
2. the dog does not trust the person walking them
3. the dog was attacked previously on a leash
4. the dog was able to bite another dog previously while on a leash

These issues will make a dog have strong issues on a leash. The leash binds you and your dog into a pack. The structure of that pack needs a strong leader. If its not you, its gonna be your dog. There is no middle ground here. Either you are the leader, or your dog is.

In the case of fear on a leash, the same 4 rules from above apply with the exception of #4. If a dog is 100% confident with the person walking them, they will enjoy the walk and not act crazy. This role is established from the minute the leash is put on. How the dog acts once the collar and leash is on, who walks in and out of the door first, the communication between man and dog and how the person controls the leash. If you want your dog to get over his fear, then show him that he has nothing to fear by introducing him to dogs that are calm. Let your dog see you push a dog away from him or pull him away from a dog. Have your dog sit before people meet him. Don't let everyone pet your dog. I decide who pets my dog, I decide what dogs my dog meets, I decide everything for my dog... and because I always protect him, he trusts me. My dog looks to me for leadership and therefor does not make stupid decisions.

If you want your dog to live a happy life, structure is the number one gift you can give him. Structure to a dog is like love to a human. The most common mistake people make with dogs is to place love over structure in their interaction with their dog. But this is a struggle that continues and will be a stumbling block for many dog owners and in-experienced dog trainers. The thing people hear is that they need to be rough with their dog or be mean to their dogs. There can be nothing further from the truth. The structure you give your dog is the gift of love.

Separation Anxiety

This is a subject I've been asked much about, so I'd like to address it here.

Separation anxiety is caused in dogs for several reasons, most of which involve human error.  Dogs that panic when they are left alone can exhibit destructive behavior to themselves (licking, biting, stress, etc) as well as destructive behavior to their environment.  Dogs that are over-babied, coddled, an/or given more love then structure are prime candidates for separation anxiety.  Bottom line is if you make it a big deal that you are leaving, it will be a big deal to your dog.  The reason dogs panic when they are left alone is because one of three reasons: 1. they feel that bad things will happen if they are alone, 2. they are dominant and don't want to be left alone or 3. they feel they are made to feel its a big deal to be left alone.  

Many people have a ritual of leaving the house and baby talking to their dogs, "Mommy's leaving now, but don't worry baby, she'll be back."  As they are walking to the door, a slight look from the door brings the human down to their knees to pat the dog, kiss him, hold him and all the while baby talking.  Dogs who are treated like this panic when they are alone because they lack structure.  The do not know what its like to be alone and act out.  I strongly suggest not making any issue of leaving a dog alone.  I start out leaving them alone to go and check my mailbox, then I work up to longer and longer times.  Doing spontaneous periods of time, sometimes 5 minutes, then 20 minutes, then 8 minutes....  mix it up.

There are several pieces of advice here.  

1. Don't make it a big deal when you leave - just leave

2. Don't make it a big deal when you come back - just come back in

3. Leave the dog something to occupy his time - there are plenty of toys you can hide treats in, toys that are safe can be left with them

4. Leave some music on

5. Contain the dog in a smaller area.  Dogs are den animals, they will not see it as a bad thing.  Too much freedom can overwhelm a dog.

If your dog starts acting up before you leave, do not scold him and then leave.  You should leave on good terms.  It is NEVER a good idea to yell at your dog.  Yelling is a human characteristic that does not fair well with dogs.  Yelling at a dog only makes the condition worse.  To get the message through to a dog, you need to be firm and  calm.

Training your dog to be alone for periods of time will be a valuable lesson for him.  Dogs are pack animals and function best in groups, with dogs or humans, however dogs that have major behavioral or emotional issues from being left alone need to be addressed.  Do your dog a favor and make it ok in your dogs mind to be alone.  Once they learn that being alone is not a bad thing they will be stronger happier and more stable beings.