Dogs
and Food
I get lots of calls about food related issues
ranging from “my dog won’t eat” to “my
dog bites me when it eats”. Both of these can be very
dramatic and upsetting, not to mention injuries caused by
dogs guarding their food. Cats can be fussy eaters too although
I’ve never seen a cat that was aggressive being approached
when eating!
Always feed your dog the best quality food
that you can. Dog food is one of the few things where you
get what you pay for. Cheap bags are a false economy. They
contain poor quality and sometimes hard to digest ingredients
and you have to feed much greater amounts to keep any condition
on the dog. Because of the ingredients you also get a lot
more waste from the other end of your dog. Good joints and
bone quality throughout life can be directly attributed to
the food the dog eats.
Food aggression is a common problem. There
are several reasons for this. Puppies from puppy farms or
back yard breeders are poorly fed and socialised. During those
crucial first few weeks food is just thrown at them and they
have to fight the other puppies to survive. They never have
people near them or handling them and so once in a new home
think food is a scarce resource that need protecting. This
results in a dog happy until the food is down then it stands
growling and snarling until you go away. Approaching within
a certain limit causes the dog to actually bite you. Often
these dogs are just as bad over items that they feel are trophies
such as bones and chews.
Some food aggression is created by owners.
Sharing your food with your dog, always giving it something
when you eat, even making sure it has a biscuit when you have
your cup of tea is not a good idea. Dogs do not share their
food with other dogs, they keep it for themselves. I have
treated a lot of dogs who became food aggressive because their
owners spoiled them and made them think they were more important
than them. Give them a good quality dry food like Burns and
the occasional treat in their bowl, no hand feeding or always
having something when you do. Don’t let them sit drooling
at you either, no other dog would allow that, they would get
chased away.
If your dog is food aggressive, get help.
Too many people work round it until they get bitten. It is
usually treatable, there is no need to live like that. Do
not feed trophy food to an aggressive dog, this makes it worse.
Training plans which involve the dog learning that approaching
their bowl brings rewards is the best route.
Behaviour problems in dogs can be exacerbated
by artificial additives, colours and preservatives, Burns
foods have none of these. In the same way that children can
have ADHD from the same products, so can dogs. Although these
cannot create a problem, diet changes for dogs with certain
types of hyperactivity and aggression can be successful in
reducing the problem.
The pieces of good quality dry complete foods
can be put into toys and cubes to give your dog some mental
exercise working out how to get the food back out. Don’t
worry about varieties, find a food your dog likes and stick
to it. Wolves do not let a deer run past because they are
“bored” and run off to find rabbits instead!
If your dog is fussy, don’t pander to
it. Put the food down without fuss and walk away. Don’t
keep looking at the bowl, pretending to eat it or looking
sadly at the dog imagining it is going to faint at any moment.
It isn’t. It will though continue to not eat as long
as the behaviour gets attention. If the dog goes near the
bowl, say “good dog” in a happy voice but if that
causes the dog to walk away, stop talking and leave.
I once had a dog staying with me whose owner
said they had tried for 2 years to get the dog to eat dry
food with no success. In 3 days with me it was eating so well
I had to start to teach it not to snatch the food from me!
It was simple, no attention for not eating, praise for going
to the bowl. I was very casual about the whole process, acted
like I didn’t care and so the tables were turned. Not
eating got no response at all, eating did. Problem solved.
Your dog won’t eat its food if it full of treats either,
so cut those out.
Modern foods can help your dog lead a long
and healthy life. If you have any problems, get professional
help
Debbie Connolly
Debbie can be contacted on www.safepets.co.uk |
