Category Archives: Food

Food

Stop Dog Food Aggression – Training a Dog With Food Aggression Problems

One of the more serious issues a dog owner can experience is dog food aggression. When a canine is food aggressive, they will become aggressive towards any humans or other animals in the household that get near their food. This aggressiveness can, in some instances, lead to the animal attacking and biting those that violate it food space. As an owner, you will need to deal with this issue immediately, before it escalates.

What causes a dog to become food aggressive? In most cases, Rover feels that he is the Alpha Dog, or the leader of the pack. You are not only threatening his food, but also his status as the alpha. He naturally reacts to this by becoming aggressive. If you wish to coexist peacefully with your dog, you will need to take him down a notch or two in the household pecking order. Simply put: You will need to teach him who’s boss.

What can you do about dog food aggression?

Before we get into that, let’s look at the reasons your canine seems to have food aggression, and what is going through his head:

1. Food is one of the greatest pleasures in a dog’s life, and they are basically scavengers, so his instinct may be taking over and telling him that he may not get another meal. His instinct tells him to make sure that he gets all of this one. Alphas don’t share their meals.

2. He is confused about who the leader in the household is. As I stated above, he believes that he is the alpha, and he believes that the humans in the household are subordinate.

3. You’re the person who is always taking the “good stuff” away, and he may have stopped looking at you as the food provider.

What are the Dog Food Aggression Training techniques?

Before I list the training techniques for dog food aggression, please remember that if you feel physically threatened by your dog, you should call a professional trainer to help you with this.

Here is a list of training techniques which should help your dog overcome her food aggression problem. You can do these in any order, all of them, or only one or two of them. Your goal here is to recondition your dog. You only need to use what works for you and your dog.

1. find the distance from his bowl that your dog is comfortable with, then gradually reduce this distance. Toss a few treats near him as you slowly reduce the distance.

2. When your dog is eating, call him over, and when he gets to you reward him. Make it worth his while then let him go back to the food bowl.

3. Drop a few of your dog’s favorite treats into her bowl each time you walk past it. After a while of doing this she will welcome the sight of you approaching the bowl.

4. Hand feed your dog. Eventually you should even be able to stick your hands into your his bowl while he is eating without any sign of aggression.

5. Stroke and pet her while she is eating and at the same time talk to her in a calming tone. All you are doing at this point is showing your dog that it is a good thing for you to be around.

6. Put your dogs bowl down empty. After the initial shock, she will be begging for you to fill it.

Using some, or all of these techniques should cure any dog food aggression problem that your canine may have. As stated above, it is important to enlist the help of professional trainer if you feel physically threatened.

Food

The Beginner’s Guide to Dog Food Recipes

Dog food recipes have become an important alternative to dog nutrition in recent years, due in part to the pet food recalls that we experience every few years. Nobody wants to worry about when the next one will come. What dog owner wants to keep putting their dogs’ lives at risk?

If you want to switch to homemade food for your dog, consult with your veterinarian about the ingredients you should use. Not all foods are good for dogs. There are many that are harmful to them or have no nutritional value. The goal is to give your dog the best and safest nutrition available, so be sure to get a clear understanding before you begin looking for dog food recipes.

One of the best things about dog food recipes is that you get to choose which ones to use. That means you are in complete control over the foods to include. Furthermore, the meals can be tailored to suit a dog’s breed, health condition, or allergy. This is a huge advantage over the store brand varieties. Instead of switching to a more expensive, special type of food, you just substitute an ingredient or two so your dog can handle it.

I know that it’s a lot easier, quicker, and more convenient to open a bag or can of store brand food, but the health advantages of dog food recipes to prepare his meals at home make it worthwhile. And what about price? The truth is, the cheaper the food, the less healthy and lower quality it is. It’s much better to buy healthy ingredients that are on sale at the store than to settle for a cheap brand of pet food. The health and well-being of our beloved dogs are worth every penny. I’m sure nobody wants their dog to be a victim of the next tainted pet food incident.

So where do you find these dog food recipes? They are all over the internet. That’s a good place to start. Just be careful because some might not be very good. They may contain ingredients that are not good for dogs. So remember your veterinarian’s advice when picking your recipes.

When you see the improved health, increased energy, and happiness of your dog, you will know that using dog food recipes was the right decision. Homemade meals will not only make him healthier, but he will live longer too.