How to Help a Reactive Dog Relax Around Food
Get to know your reactive dog’s body language., Stand close to your dog while it eats., Approach your dog while it eats.After your reactive dog has had 10 meals during which it did not engage in reactive behavior, begin incorporating some movement...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Get to know your reactive dog’s body language.
The body language of a reactive dog can be difficult to discern.
But generally, a happy dog will wag its tail, perk up its ears, and raise its head.
An agitated or aggressive dog will growl, stand stiffly, snarl, snap or bite, and lower its head to line up with its spine.
Watch your dog’s head, tail, and mouth closely for signs that indicate its mood.A reactive dog is one that growls, lunges, or bites when eating.
A reactive dog guards its food because it believes that another pet or person will take it.
If you notice your dog growling, lunging, or biting other pets or people who come near it during meal times, your dog is reactive around food.
Pay attention to your reactive dog when it seems to be happy.
For instance, when your dog is taking a walk with your or sitting on the couch while you watch TV, what does your reactive dog do? Write the dog’s behavior down in a small notepad so you can refer to it later.
Conversely, take note of your reactive dog’s behavior when it is being reactive.
Does it gulp food greedily, stare at you or other potential food thieves, or engage in some other reactive behavior? -
Step 2: Stand close to your dog while it eats.
If you notice reactive behavior at any point during your early attempts to help your reactive dog relax around food, you will need to engage in a counterconditioning program to break it of its bad behavior.
While your reactive dog is eating kibble from its bowl, move to within five or six feet (about two meters) of it.Say, “Wow, that looks good” in a gentle and reassuring way.
Toss a treat toward the bowl when you start speaking.
Do not move closer to your reactive dog, but continue to speak to your dog and administer treats every 20 seconds or so until your dog has finished eating.
If your dog moves toward you to obtain more treats, ignore it.
Continue the training when it has resumed eating. , While your reactive dog is eating from its dog food bowl, situate yourself at the same distance you were previously at.
Say, “Wow, that looks good” in a friendly way.
While speaking, take one small step forward and toss a treat in your dog’s dish.
Step back immediately.
Repeat every 20 seconds or so until your reactive dog has completed its meal.Continue getting a few steps closer to your dog’s bowl each day while tossing a treat in. , Situate yourself next to your dog’s food dish and drop a treat into it.
While dropping the treat into the bowl, say “Wow, that looks good” in a calm and reassuring way.Then, immediately walk away.
Come back after 20 seconds and repeat.
Stop approaching the bowl and dropping treats in it when your dog is done eating. , When you’ve successfully approached your dog’s bowl as it eats and dropped a treat in it 10 times, your dog could be ready to eat from your hand.
Approach your dog as it is eating and say. “Wow, that looks good” in a reassuring and friendly tone.
Hold a treat in your hand and let it dangle at your side.
Walk away and collect another treat.Return to your reactive dog as it is eating about 20 seconds later with another treat in hand.
Repeat the reassuring mantra and allow your dog to pluck the treat from your hand.
Gradually lower yourself to the dog’s level when you offer it to take the treat from your hand.
For instance, the first four times you offer your dog to take the treat from your hand, stand upright.
The fifth and six times, bend slightly at the knees.
During the seventh and eight passes, bend even further.
Eventually, you should be on one knee next to your dog as it eats when feeding it a dog treat. , Once your reactive dog has consumed a treat directly from your hand while you kneel next to its bowl during 10 consecutive meals, you’re ready for the final step.
For the final stage of counterconditioning, do exactly what you did in the previous step, but while your dog eats a treat from your hand, touch your dog’s food bowl., After 10 meals in which you were able to successfully touch the reactive dog’s bowl, add a new twist.
Instead of just touching the bowl, start lifting the bowl from the ground and dropping a tasty treat in it, then returning it to its rightful spot in front of the reactive dog.
After three or four meals, raise the bowl off the ground to a greater elevation.
After six or seven meals, raise it higher still.By the time you get to your reactive dog’s tenth meal, you should be able to pick up the dish, walk a few meters away with it, then return it to where you originally picked it up.
Remember to drop a treat in the bowl each time you raise it. , If at any point during the counterconditioning your dog exhibits reactive behavior, revert back to the previous stage.
For instance, if your dog starts growling or snapping during the stage in which you stand directly over its bowl and drop treats into it, remove yourself to a distance of about two feet and toss a treat toward the dish., When you do counterconditioning with your dog, your reactive dog doesn’t really become conditioned to relax around food.
Instead, it becomes conditioned to relax around you when food is present.
For the dog to remain calm around food when the other members of your family are present, each of them will have to undertake these same counterconditioning exercises.Nobody under the age of 18 should attempt these exercises unless properly supervised. , If you find that your dog is very reactive around food, or you doubt your ability to condition your dog to relax around food, get a professional involved.Professional dog trainers can help your reactive dog to relax around food.
Find a trainer at a puppy kindergarten or obedience school.Ask your vet for a recommendation or use your yellow pages to look up pet trainers or obedience schools.
The best trainer will be a certified applied animal behaviorist, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, or a certified dog professional.
Ask the certified dog professional if they have experience treating reactive dogs who cannot relax around food, since this might not be part of their repertoire.
Explain your problem to the trainers and ask it they can help.
For instance, you might say, “My reactive dog will not relax around food.
Can you help?” You might also be able to obtain guidance from a DVD or book.
Check your public library for books and DVDs with information about how to train reactive dogs to relax around food. , This will only agitate and upset your reactive dog even more.Yelling at your reactive dog or scaring it could make it even more reactive and less calm around food. -
Step 3: Approach your dog while it eats.After your reactive dog has had 10 meals during which it did not engage in reactive behavior
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Step 4: begin incorporating some movement into your feeding routine.
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Step 5: Move closer to the reactive dog.After your dog has had 10 meals without reactive behaviors and you are within two feet of your dog’s dish before stepping back
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Step 6: your reactive dog is ready for the next stage.
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Step 7: Encourage your dog to eat from your hand.
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Step 8: Touch your dog’s bowl.
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Step 9: Begin lifting your dog’s bowl.
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Step 10: Proceed with caution.
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Step 11: Have everyone in your family engage in counterconditioning.
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Step 12: Get professional help.
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Step 13: Do not punish your reactive dog for not relaxing around food.Do not tie your dog up by its leash in a dark room
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Step 14: yell at the dog
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Step 15: or yank at the dog’s leash.
Detailed Guide
The body language of a reactive dog can be difficult to discern.
But generally, a happy dog will wag its tail, perk up its ears, and raise its head.
An agitated or aggressive dog will growl, stand stiffly, snarl, snap or bite, and lower its head to line up with its spine.
Watch your dog’s head, tail, and mouth closely for signs that indicate its mood.A reactive dog is one that growls, lunges, or bites when eating.
A reactive dog guards its food because it believes that another pet or person will take it.
If you notice your dog growling, lunging, or biting other pets or people who come near it during meal times, your dog is reactive around food.
Pay attention to your reactive dog when it seems to be happy.
For instance, when your dog is taking a walk with your or sitting on the couch while you watch TV, what does your reactive dog do? Write the dog’s behavior down in a small notepad so you can refer to it later.
Conversely, take note of your reactive dog’s behavior when it is being reactive.
Does it gulp food greedily, stare at you or other potential food thieves, or engage in some other reactive behavior?
If you notice reactive behavior at any point during your early attempts to help your reactive dog relax around food, you will need to engage in a counterconditioning program to break it of its bad behavior.
While your reactive dog is eating kibble from its bowl, move to within five or six feet (about two meters) of it.Say, “Wow, that looks good” in a gentle and reassuring way.
Toss a treat toward the bowl when you start speaking.
Do not move closer to your reactive dog, but continue to speak to your dog and administer treats every 20 seconds or so until your dog has finished eating.
If your dog moves toward you to obtain more treats, ignore it.
Continue the training when it has resumed eating. , While your reactive dog is eating from its dog food bowl, situate yourself at the same distance you were previously at.
Say, “Wow, that looks good” in a friendly way.
While speaking, take one small step forward and toss a treat in your dog’s dish.
Step back immediately.
Repeat every 20 seconds or so until your reactive dog has completed its meal.Continue getting a few steps closer to your dog’s bowl each day while tossing a treat in. , Situate yourself next to your dog’s food dish and drop a treat into it.
While dropping the treat into the bowl, say “Wow, that looks good” in a calm and reassuring way.Then, immediately walk away.
Come back after 20 seconds and repeat.
Stop approaching the bowl and dropping treats in it when your dog is done eating. , When you’ve successfully approached your dog’s bowl as it eats and dropped a treat in it 10 times, your dog could be ready to eat from your hand.
Approach your dog as it is eating and say. “Wow, that looks good” in a reassuring and friendly tone.
Hold a treat in your hand and let it dangle at your side.
Walk away and collect another treat.Return to your reactive dog as it is eating about 20 seconds later with another treat in hand.
Repeat the reassuring mantra and allow your dog to pluck the treat from your hand.
Gradually lower yourself to the dog’s level when you offer it to take the treat from your hand.
For instance, the first four times you offer your dog to take the treat from your hand, stand upright.
The fifth and six times, bend slightly at the knees.
During the seventh and eight passes, bend even further.
Eventually, you should be on one knee next to your dog as it eats when feeding it a dog treat. , Once your reactive dog has consumed a treat directly from your hand while you kneel next to its bowl during 10 consecutive meals, you’re ready for the final step.
For the final stage of counterconditioning, do exactly what you did in the previous step, but while your dog eats a treat from your hand, touch your dog’s food bowl., After 10 meals in which you were able to successfully touch the reactive dog’s bowl, add a new twist.
Instead of just touching the bowl, start lifting the bowl from the ground and dropping a tasty treat in it, then returning it to its rightful spot in front of the reactive dog.
After three or four meals, raise the bowl off the ground to a greater elevation.
After six or seven meals, raise it higher still.By the time you get to your reactive dog’s tenth meal, you should be able to pick up the dish, walk a few meters away with it, then return it to where you originally picked it up.
Remember to drop a treat in the bowl each time you raise it. , If at any point during the counterconditioning your dog exhibits reactive behavior, revert back to the previous stage.
For instance, if your dog starts growling or snapping during the stage in which you stand directly over its bowl and drop treats into it, remove yourself to a distance of about two feet and toss a treat toward the dish., When you do counterconditioning with your dog, your reactive dog doesn’t really become conditioned to relax around food.
Instead, it becomes conditioned to relax around you when food is present.
For the dog to remain calm around food when the other members of your family are present, each of them will have to undertake these same counterconditioning exercises.Nobody under the age of 18 should attempt these exercises unless properly supervised. , If you find that your dog is very reactive around food, or you doubt your ability to condition your dog to relax around food, get a professional involved.Professional dog trainers can help your reactive dog to relax around food.
Find a trainer at a puppy kindergarten or obedience school.Ask your vet for a recommendation or use your yellow pages to look up pet trainers or obedience schools.
The best trainer will be a certified applied animal behaviorist, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist, or a certified dog professional.
Ask the certified dog professional if they have experience treating reactive dogs who cannot relax around food, since this might not be part of their repertoire.
Explain your problem to the trainers and ask it they can help.
For instance, you might say, “My reactive dog will not relax around food.
Can you help?” You might also be able to obtain guidance from a DVD or book.
Check your public library for books and DVDs with information about how to train reactive dogs to relax around food. , This will only agitate and upset your reactive dog even more.Yelling at your reactive dog or scaring it could make it even more reactive and less calm around food.
About the Author
Sandra Smith
Committed to making DIY projects accessible and understandable for everyone.
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