Eating On Command Issue?

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

I gave my dog a bone this morning and walked away. about 2 minutes later she came to find me.

i was confused so i went to where the bone was and sure enough it was on her bed where i had left it.

then i realised that i hadnt given her the release command (OK) so she didnt eat the bone.

once i gave her the release command she tucked into the bone and is still chewing on it.

this has made me think. Jaxx is very food motivated but i can leave food on the floor or my dinner on a plate on the sofa and she will not touch it.

i have done this for 2 reasons, one i dont want her to eat any baits (or anything else when she is out) and the other is that it is polite for her to wait for her food (TOT and NILF).

but now for the issue, is this a good thing or not? when she is looked after by others they know the command and she always eats the food. but what if there was an emergency, would she starve, is she too conditioned? and if she is how do i train her differently.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Jaxx'sBuddy

[Kavik]

That is impressive and very good work with the training!

However, I doubt she would starve herself in an emergency. While my dogs wait for my command to eat at home, I know they eat fine in kennels when I go away, and I haven't told them my release word. It is a different environment for a start, and dogs don't generalise well, they know the difference. I'm sure hunger would override training unless you were VERY strict with it and used aversives etc and trained with lots of distractions/variables/time.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

That is impressive and very good work with the training!

However, I doubt she would starve herself in an emergency. While my dogs wait for my command to eat at home, I know they eat fine in kennels when I go away, and I haven't told them my release word. It is a different environment for a start, and dogs don't generalise well, they know the difference. I'm sure hunger would override training unless you were VERY strict with it and used aversives etc and trained with lots of distractions/variables/time.

ty Kavik, no aversives were used just leadership and boundaries. i have used time and distraction though. on one hand it did impress me on the other it got me thinking.

i am used to big dogs so she is trained the same way as they were. my vet thinks she is broken because she is so well behaved for a ditzy boston.

glad to know your dogs eat when not at home. i might have to test that she will do this as well. maybe i will ask my daughter to feed her at home then at her place and see what happens.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Jaxx'sBuddy

[angelsun]

We always make our dogs wait and haven't had any issues outside our enviroment. Perhaps it's because we set them up for their wait (crate or lined up outside) and they know the pattern of our actions so they know what's expected of them.

I don't allow my dogs at shows to pick anything off the ground, but I will say, they only behave under those rules when on lead.

Good that you trained your dog the same way as a big dog....I wish more toy/small breed people would realize they are DOGS first and then a specific breed second....it's why we seem to have so many out of control SWF's out there!

[aussielover]

haha yep thats happended to me before. Left the bone in Mindy's crate assuming she would lunge in and be desperate to get it. Walked away to make a coffee and came back to find the dog sitting outside the crate with blobs of drool hanging from mouth and covering floor (lucky i have tiles!)

It is funny because she will only do this (wait) if the food is placed by me, directly in front of her and she know it is "for her"

she will pick things up off the floor- crumbs etc, but if she knows it is actually for her she will always wait???

A healthy dog won't starve itself though.

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

We always make our dogs wait and haven't had any issues outside our enviroment. Perhaps it's because we set them up for their wait (crate or lined up outside) and they know the pattern of our actions so they know what's expected of them.

I don't allow my dogs at shows to pick anything off the ground, but I will say, they only behave under those rules when on lead.

Good that you trained your dog the same way as a big dog....I wish more toy/small breed people would realize they are DOGS first and then a specific breed second....it's why we seem to have so many out of control SWF's out there!

it took me a long time to decide on a small dog because of what i had seen in other dogs. now i know its the training not the breeding.

also, any dog is happier if they dont make the decisions

[Jaxx'sBuddy]

haha yep thats happended to me before. Left the bone in Mindy's crate assuming she would lunge in and be desperate to get it. Walked away to make a coffee and came back to find the dog sitting outside the crate with blobs of drool hanging from mouth and covering floor (lucky i have tiles!)

It is funny because she will only do this (wait) if the food is placed by me, directly in front of her and she know it is "for her"

she will pick things up off the floor- crumbs etc, but if she knows it is actually for her she will always wait???

A healthy dog won't starve itself though.

thats what i am hoping

[julzjc]

haha yep thats happended to me before. Left the bone in Mindy's crate assuming she would lunge in and be desperate to get it. Walked away to make a coffee and came back to find the dog sitting outside the crate with blobs of drool hanging from mouth and covering floor (lucky i have tiles!)

It is funny because she will only do this (wait) if the food is placed by me, directly in front of her and she know it is "for her"

she will pick things up off the floor- crumbs etc, but if she knows it is actually for her she will always wait???

A healthy dog won't starve itself though.

thats what i am hoping :D

Fantastic work on training your boston! Love to see well trained little ones, well done. Indie is the same, even if the kids want to give him food he knows he is not allowed to accecpt it unless I or my OH says its "ok"..ie darling 2yr old has a habit of wanting to share his food with the dogs. Whenever anyone is eating at the table the dogs know they have to go to bed and cant touch any fallen food( makes for a big puddle of stafford drool, eewwww!). Bonnie will gently take treats from strangers/our kids and holds it for a few seconds to see if shes allowed it but Indie flat out refuses unless I hand it to him. There have been a couple times at OUR home when the inlaws have called to ask why the dogs are lying looking at their full bowls after 30min lol("ok" wasnt given).When we are at others homes or kennels they will easily eat out of a BOWL without the "ok" from others feeding them. Indie still wont take treats if I am not there but that is fine by me, I dont want people slipping him food when I have him out at footy matches etc anyways. Bonnie will eat anything anyone gives her if Im not there.

[Tilly]

My boys have a food release command word as well but I find if I get my mum to feed the dogs she will take the bowls out ... the dogs will run to their "spot" and they sit and wait for the bowls to be placed in position. My mum doesn't give them the "release" word but she tells them to "eat your breakfast" ... and they will eat.

If I take their bowls out they do the same (run to their spot and sit and wait) but if I don't give them a release word ... they will sit there for hours drooling over their food.

My youngest will politely take a food treat from someone but won't eat it - he will drop it on the ground ... even something yummy like a cooked sausage ... unless I encourage him to take it.

[spottychick]

Very impressive! Mine arent quite up to this standard but they will now both wait for their dinner with drool pouring out of their mouths until I give them the okay. But I don't think my dinner would be safe if I left it in reach and left the room LOL