[nagdu] annoying behavior

Tue May 25 13:17:27 UTC 2010

Hi Marsha,

I've handled 2 shepherds who were not interested in food.  What I did was to
eliminate 1 feeding time at first. A healthy dog will not refuse food
forever. You could try fasting Emma for 1 day so she should be hungry, then
offering her food in the morning and leaving it down for a specified time
period. They suggest half an hour or so. If she doesn't eat it, put it away,
and try again at the next feeding time. Since cat food has approximately 9
times the calories of dog food, and can cause heart problems, I personally
would take the cat food up during Emma's feeding times, but that's just me.
I have had 3 shepherds so far, and all of them like to eat out of my hand.
The way I handle that is to start the dog eating with 1 or 2 pieces of food
in my hand. When that is gone, and the dog sniffs my hand for more, I take
another few pieces out of the bowl and let the dog eat it. After the dog has
the taste of the food, she will want more. I keep my hand close to the bowl
or even over the bowl as the dog eats. After 3 or so repetitions of this,
the dog sniffs for more and I only have 1 piece in my hand as my hand rests
in the bowl so the dog will transition to getting the food from the bowl. As
far as wanting you to be n the room, I think that is just social behavior.
When my dogs act that way, I have put their food down when    we are fixing
and eating a regular meal so the dog can eat at the same time. (That assumes
you are being consistent about no begging.) Since I eventually discovered
that the food problems were health related, the behaviors were persistant,
but these techniques worked.

If you like, contact me off list at catthrynisfinally at verizon.net.

Best wishes,

Cathryn Bonnette

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Marsha Drenth
Sent: Monday, May 24, 2010 10:13 AM
To: 'NAGDU Mailing List, the National Association of Guide Dog Users'
Subject: [nagdu] annoying behavior

Hi Listers,

Emma is having a bit of annoying behavior, and I am not sure how to solve
this problem, thus why I am writing. 

I feed Emma twice a day, on a pretty regular basis. She gets her food in the
kitchen every single day. So in other words our routine is very normal. I
even put her food in the same spot almost every day. She is a shepard
granted, so maybe this is normal. I am not sure. 

So for the problem. If I am not standing right there with her, she will NOT
eat her food. If I am needing to do work at the sink, or some place in the
kitchen she is fine, but once I walk away, out of the kitchen she stops
eating. And in some cases has gone for the cats food. I have caught her in
those situations, and given her a nice firm Fooyie. I have even offered her
the cats food, and when she goes for it, given her a Fooyie. Its annoying
because, I would like her to eat, and for me to go on with my business of
the day. Not to stand with her and hold her hand while she eats. If she
walks away from the food, I do not give her the chance to go back to it. And
if I am not in the room, and the cat is, she will chase after the cat, and
again not eat. 

I know, I know, shepards aren't that interested in food, but I want her to
eat. Emma definitely falls into the GSD's who do not care about food. 

Any suggestions on this matter. I am more concerned with her not wanting to
eat while I am in the room. The cat food bowl is across the room, not next
to her, so she has to leave her food to get to it. Maybe I am over reacting
in this matter, its just annoying! 

Thanks for any suggestions in advance, 
Marsha and the Emma brat!

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