Help! My Dog Isn’t Food Motivated!

So what if you have a dog not taking food rewards?

It’s important first to know that there are many reasons why your dog may not be taking food so take time looking into these and discovering what’s going on for your dog then you can rule out any issues.

 

It’s important to explore all possibilities and if necessary get a vet check or consult a dog trainer to get the right help if you need it.

 

If your dog really is not taking food to train it’s important to know that just like us, there are a variety of reasons dogs might refuse to eat. These include:

 

1. A health issue. Decreased appetite is often a sign of your dog being unwell, particularly if you notice any other symptoms. Although a loss of appetite in dogs doesn’t necessarily indicate serious disease, prompt veterinary attention is important because it could be a sign of significant illness, including cancer, various systemic infections, pain, liver problems, and kidney failure. So do get your dog checked out if you are at all worried

 

2. Have you looked in your dog’s mouth recently? Your dog may not want to eat because something in his mouth is causing pain. Check for broken teeth, gum disease and there may even be something in the gum that cannot be seen like an abscess

 

3. Recent changes: have you been away and your dog in kennels for example or has he had a recent vaccination or worming treatment- these can all cause temporary loss of appetite

 

4. Going on holiday & staying somewhere different can affect your dog’s appetite, particularly if he has anxiety. Car Travel can cause feelings of nausea too.

 

5. Picky dog? Some dogs can appear to just be picky, but this can be caused by feeding them in situations where they aren’t comfortable, such as in close proximity to another dog that bothers them, or from a bowl at an uncomfortable height. Because a decreased appetite in dogs may be caused by illness, never assume that your dog is picky without investigating other possibilities first

 

6. We must absolutely take into account Environmental and Behavioral Factors too. Dogs who can take food indoors but not on a walk will be suffering from fear, overstimulation or frustration & stress. A dog’s environment & whether or not he feels safe will play a significant role in his willingness to eat. If they are feeling overwhelmed or anxious, they will be much less interested in food and often won’t take it at all.

 

7. Free feeding: If a dog is constantly provided with access to food, they will lose interest in taking food as a reward. Avoid leaving a bowl down to enable your dog to “free feed”. He will be “food full” all of the time so why would he then take food from you?

 

* Lack of hunger: A dog who is not hungry may not be interested in treats, especially if they have been overfed or given free access to food throughout the day.

 

* Preference for other rewards: Some dogs may prefer other types of rewards, such as toys or other reinforcers

 

* Associated & Learned behaviour. This is a biggy! If a dog has learned that food is given to lure him into situations he doesn’t like for example a Bath or nail clipping, then we can indeed build into him a negative association with taking treats. He’s learned that food is not always a predictor of fun and he may have fear associated around it now.

 

1. First of all : stop with the bowl down for him to graze. In fact stop using a bowl full stop!!

 

2. Measure out his food allowance each day & get started on engaging him With his food in different more productive & exciting ways.

 

3. Dogs are natural predators & scavengers so being more creative & imaginative about how we deliver food to him us the first step. A dog who isn’t interested in his bowl for example is often more motivated if he can chase food artfully bowled or sniff it out in grass thus using his hard wired hunting/scavenging skills to eat.

 

4. What about a nice obstacle course of cardboard boxes, upturned wheelbarrows or garden chairs and sprinkle some of his daily food allowance around for him to find – or bowl some of it across your patio for him to chase & catch

 

5. These simple ideas are a great way to get your dog more interested in taking food when he’s previously shown no interest

 

6. Try different treats: Experiment with various flavors, textures, and types of treats to see if you can find something your dog enjoys.

 

7. Start training in a positive training environment: Ensure your dog feels safe, comfortable, and secure during training sessions: start at home & play fun food games

 

8. Consider using a variety of rewards, including toys, enthusiasm from you and make training fun – using pattern games & other ingenious engaging easy focus training to start with

 

9. Feed him daily from your pocket as you walk along together in the house or garden

 

10. You can also teach your dog to take food – if he really really wants to go thru the gate for example then offer him a piece of food and when he takes it the gate opens, likewise if he wants to go sniff a particular spot – offer him a piece of food and he can go sniff when he takes it. Or to get the high value sausage, he needs to take a piece of kibble, then two pieces, then 3 etc.

 

We can build on & grow these small habits and certainly if we include a lot of fun “no pressure” food games as mentioned above into our new daily “feeding” routine then we will have a dog who takes food & we will see his focus on us grow at the same time!

 

MIGHTY OAKS GROW FROM SMALL SEEDLINGS

 

Change, start, build, grow & nurture !

 

If you want to know more about our training & education for owners, then why not book onto one of our professional training programmes- we have many to choose from to suit all dogs from puppies to those with behavioural issues so get in touch : Dobercademy@gmail.com