At 11 years of age, Nataley is the youngest agility student at Courteous Canine. Natalie runs her Jack Russell Terrier Eddie over agility courses and spends time practicing in her yard every week. Natalie also sometimes runs a Papillion named Bella. Nataley says, “She likes that agility involves animals and exercising and finally getting weave poles. She says the hardest thing about agility is training the weave poles. And finally she says that she loves that her dog Eddie is “hyper and gets all excited when we pull in and that tells me he really enjoys agility. He and I are a lot alike.”
Dixie cupsCheck out this short fun video featuring a nicely trained rescue dog looking for a home and one of our staff’s dogs!
Jill Baker and her fast Golden Retriever Snitch competed in the Regional Purina Incredible Dog Challenge. Jill says, “We had a clean run on Saturday which is all I wanted given the caliber of dogs we were running with. We placed 6 out of 6 large dogs, lol. 4 very fast Border Collies and a Belgian Malinois handled by a man in a wheelchair that was amazing. Under 39 seconds on a standard course with 2 sets of 12 weave poles. They were all running fast. Here’s a pic from the Purina site… Snitch cheated on the 60 weave poles, but that’s another story.”
Take a look at your dog’s day: waking up, going outside to relieve himself and possibly chase the wayward opossum that has wandered too close to the property, back inside for Mealtime, and then watching as you pack up and head off to work. For the eight to ten hours, your dog will sleep, bark at the postal person, sleep, bark at the neighbors passing by with their dogs, sleep, and begin the vigilant watch for your return home. Then the excitement begins – you walk in and take him outside to relieve himself and Voila! – Mealtime again! Considering that this scenario is your dog’s life at least five days a week, is it any wonder that next to being with you, Mealtime is the best part of the day?
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to take a day in which you were unencumbered by work, chores, and other responsibilities, you may recognize that food crosses your mind pretty often. Imagine how that little four-legged food processor must feel day in and day out. Not only is mealtime important for him both physically and mentally, it’s a daily event you can put to good use.
Let’s start with the physical aspect: feeding your pup an appropriate diet in the right amount can maximize his good health. There are many, many books available on proper diets for your dog. A quick check of Dogwise.com resulted in 47 matches, Amazon.com showed 334 results. The Whole Dog Journal has been a respected source of information regarding dog foods for many years. I recommend readers review the information at www.dogaware.com and www.dogfoodadvisor.com to educate themselves regarding nutrition and their dogs.
A side note: I am continually amazed at the number of people who swear a dog will beg at the table if he is fed “people food.” Please, your dog will beg at the table if you feed him at the table, otherwise, he has no clue about the difference between foods made for people vs. food made for dogs. Healthy people food can be excellent for your pup and a source of high value treats for training.
How much you feed your dog is as important as what you feed him. A new organization, The Association for Pet Obsesity Prevention (http://www.petobesityprevention.com/), has begun a campaign to work with veterinarians and other pet professionals to bring awareness of the pet obesity epidemic now occurring. Some of their startling statistics include “53% of adult dogs classified as overweight or obese”; “55% of adult cats classified as overweight or obese “; “Only 8% of dog owners and 9% of cat owners classified their pet as obese in the online study. That’s less than half the actual figures determined by survey veterinarians.” Some of the health risks they link to obesity in pets include arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, and decreased life expectancy.
Not only is mealtime an important time to address your pet’s physical needs, but his mental needs, too. Breakfast and dinner provide excellent opportunities to work on those behaviors you’ve been training. Ask the dog to sit and stay before placing the food bowl on the ground. If Fido starts to get up before the bowl reaches the floor, simply raise it back up and wait for him to sit again. Please do not repeat the cue as dogs need to respond on the first cue. Saying “sit” repeatedly will teach the dog that the first cue means nothing. Just have patience while your dog figures out what you are asking of him. You can also ask for other behaviors – down, spin or twist, shake, speak – whatever it is you are trying to train the dog to do. The meal is the reinforcement.
Remember that daily routine I mentioned in the beginning? Well, it’s pretty boring. Dogs are intelligent creatures who love to use their brains. Mealtime provides some great opportunities to let your dog think while enjoying the food. Start simply – scatter the food on the floor, the porch, or the yard and let your dog scavenge for it. He will have to engage his brain, his nose, and his body to find his meal.
Stuffed frozen Kongs are another way to provide a meal and mental stimulation simultaneously. Simply use a marshmallow to plug the small hole at one end, stuff the Kong with either canned food or kibble mixed with water or broth, cover the large hole with peanut butter or cream cheese, and place it in the freezer. When mealtime arrives, hand your dog the frozen Kong and watch him dig in!
Try dividing Fido’s kibble into the individual cups of a muffin tin, then cover each hole or every other hole with a tennis ball. Watch Fido have fun figuring out how to get his meal! There are also food toys on the market such as the Kong Wobbler, the Buster Cube, and the Green Feeder Dog Food Foraging Toy.
Don’t forget that bonding with your dog is the most important aspect of living with him. Far too often hands are associated with collar grabs or punishment of some type. An occasional handfed meal allows Fido to recognize that your hands as good things. Far better your dog think that hands reaching for him mean something wonderful is about to happen!
Bone Appetit!
Jan Casey, MS, DipCBST – Companion Animal Sciences Institute
Senior Behavior Consultant – Courteous Canine, Inc/The DogSmith of Tampa
Pet Professional Guild Charter Member
Association of Animal Behavior Professionals
Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
www.courteouscanine.com
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