Are You Listening? The REAL reason your dog isn’t food motivated

If you didn’t know this already…

Every year we host this crazy, epic, VIP Training Retreat here in my neck of the woods. The event runs for four days, and I’ll be honest…

Those four days are some of my favorite of the year. 

But they can also be a little stressful…

I mean, undoubtedly, I’ll run around like a chicken with my head cut off…

Making sure we are prepared…

Managing the event…

Prepping for my lectures…

And then, actually teaching.

And most days I depart for the event at 7:30am, and don’t return until well after 10pm.

Here’s the thing…

We JUST wrapped up the retreat. 

And throughout the entire event (which was fully catered with amazing food)…

I didn’t eat. 

I mean, the first day, I grabbed a slice of cheesecake because it’s my favorite…

And I ate it with my hands while I watched dogs work and coached their handlers…

But that was all I had. 

And the next day…same story. I grabbed some lasagna at the end of the day because I knew I HAD to eat…

But I couldn’t finish it.

My stomach was butterflies and the thought of eating wasn’t in my wheelhouse. 

Why am I telling you all of this? 

Because our dogs…

They do the same thing. 

When they are stressed…

When they feel too much pressure…

Either from you…

Or from the environment…

(And just like my time at the retreat, pressure doesn’t always have to equal afraid) 

Eating not only becomes something they don’t think about…

Getting food down is the last thing they want to do. 

Now, here’s the other thing I want to mention…

I use food in my training to reward my dog. 

I use food for every…single…dog that comes to me. 

And I’m not shy about my use of treats. The dogs get plenty while we are working together. 

But inevitably, I get trainer after trainer, and handler after handler telling me their dog isn’t “food motivated”…

That they can’t use food in their training because their dog doesn’t “like it”. 

Sure, there are other reasons your dog might not be into food.

Perhaps they are full because they’ve had a big meal…

In which case taking those treats you have is pretty low on the priority list. 

But the truth is, if your dog “should” be hungry but isn’t…

It’s likely that they are feeling stressed or pressured.

In fact, one of the reasons that I LOVE using food in my training is it acts as a beautiful temperature gauge as to how my dog is feeling in any given environment. 

It allows me to LISTEN to my dog and ask them “What do you need from me?” rather than making them do what I want them to do when they are feeling uncomfortable.

So if your dog is not food motivated, I’d encourage you to ask yourself WHY, rather than jumping to the conclusion that using treats in training won’t work for you. 

And then, make adjustments to alleviate some of the pressure, to better set your dog up for success

Ask yourself these questions, to determine why your dog isn’t food motivated. 

Does food have value? 

If your dog has access to food 24/7, or gets treats often for no reason, food will start to lose it’s value. Here are some adjustments you can make to ensure food remains a valuable tool inside of your training. 

• Structure your meals – Structure twice daily mealtimes and pick the bowl up if your dog doesn’t eat within 10 minutes. You can give it back to them at the next scheduled mealtime. 
• Train when they are hungry – By training at mealtimes or before, your dog will be more motivated to eat than if you train after they just ate a big meal.
• Quit bowl feeding – If you are feeling really adventurous, portion out your dog’s daily feeding and use it in your training sessions. At the end of the day, after your last training session, you can give them whatever is left over in the bowl as reward for a job well done. 

Are YOU pressuring your dog? 

Look at HOW you deliver food rewards. Because the truth is, we love to SHOVE food at our dog. We thrust our hand towards them when we offer a treat, pushing it in their face for them to eat. But this can be uncomfortable for our dogs. I don’t know about you, but if someone (even someone I love) tried to push food in my face, I’d be a little defensive (and knowing me, I’d most likely smack their hand!). 

When presenting food rewards to your dog, do this:

• Take away the pressure – Keep your hand at your side, lean back a little and present the food in a flat hand. Let your dog come take their reward, rather than reaching out to hand it to them. 
• Drop it on the ground – For dogs that are really reluctant to come into your space, you can give them a simple “Get it!” Cue and drop your treat on the ground for them to access instead.

Is the Environment Pressuring your dog? 

The environment can be tricky to compete with. If your dog stops taking food, it’s typically a sign that your training isn’t ready for that much stimulation just yet. In order to get your dog’s motivation back on track, remove some of the environmental pressure.

Here are some ideas that might help. 

• Open spaces are easier – Wide open spaces with good visibility offer less pressure than closed in spaces. Narrow trails shrouded in trees can put insecure dogs on hyper alert. Get your training solid in wide open spaces before really challenging your dog. 
• Movement is tricky – More often than not, dogs will struggle with lots of movement in the environment, more than they will struggle with things that are sitting still. If your dog doesn’t take food around other dogs for example, try to practice your training around dogs that are sitting still or walking slowly, rather than practicing outside of the dog park where dogs are running and playing. 
• Distance is your friend – When things in the environment steal your dog’s attention, and they stop taking food, try taking distance away from whatever caught your dog’s eye, and get your dog refocused and back on track before slowly moving closer. The further away you are (in most cases) the less pressure the distraction will put on your dog. 
• Grass is HARD – Grass harbors all kinds of smells whereas concrete…not so much. So practice on harder surfaces at the start, and slowly work your way up to the tough stuff. 

And one more thing I want to mention. Sometimes, when our dogs build stress, moving can help them blow off some steam. If my dog gets too distracted to take food, I tend to remove a little pressure, and then walk a few brisk circles to help them unwind. A little bit of quick movement can go a long way to getting your dog to relax. 

Listen, I’m not saying avoid challenging environments forever and coddle your dog inside of their comfort zone. 

I’m saying, give your dog positive experiences in easy environments before you go throwing them to the wolves. Teach them what you want and give them lots of successes before adding a ton of pressure to the mix.

And if your dog doesn’t take food, put on the detective hat and ask yourself why, rather than ditching food altogether. 

Because EVERY dog is food motivated. And if your dog isn’t taking food, they are telling you an important piece of information you can use to make your training even better. By paying attention to the messages your dog is sending you, and by making adjustments as needed, you can set your dog up for success, rather than forcing them into failure. 

Isn’t it time we start listening to our dogs?