Tips For Training A Food Obsessed Dog?

[*kirty*]

My foster Pug is OBSESSED with food and loses the plot whenever food is around. I want to teach him a few cute tricks and thought this would work in my favour, but so far it has been an epic fail! He can sit, and we have just mastered wait (before he eats). But when I try guiding him or encouraging him to do anything else (eg drop or shake), he is so focused on the treats that he wriggles and leaps around like a mad thing... I'm sure I'm probably doing it all wrong, but can anyone give me some tips or ideas?

[minimax]

When training pugs best to make sure they Can't see the food, otherwise you have no hope of getting them to do anything!

I taught my girl easy tricks first such as spin and stand from a sit so she learnt what I wanted her to do with those weird hand movements. Once She learnt doing what I guided her to do got her food, the other things like drop became a little easier (though drop for a pug is often the hardest).

Have you thought about clicker training?

Oh, when my girl reaaally wants something she will run though her whole bag of tricks to see which one will get her the food, it's pretty cute :laugh:

Edited December 21, 2013 by minimax

[*kirty*]

Haha our previous clinic dog would do that! You'd say sit and he would go SITSHAKELEFTSHAKERIGHTDROPROLL hahaha!

Thank you, I will try keeping the food out of sight. He is such a guts - spends most of his time hoovering the carpet for crumbs lol! With two kids here, there are a fair few crumbs...

[The Spotted Devil]

Kirty I would be working on impulse control games. I had a pug in my tricks class and she was just as you describe :) Funniest and best little dog and the owner said she couldn't do stays etc - 10 min of impulse control games and she really progressed - one of my favourite dogs ever.

[*kirty*]

Where do you teach tricks classes Sal? I will google some impulse control games. :) Teaching him to wait for his meal involved much squealing, snorting and fidgeting haha!

[The Spotted Devil]

Will PM you - it's fun!

[fuzzy82]

Work on

with him. It makes food obsessed dogs a bit more thoughtful around food.

If he just throws every trick in the book at you while you're trying to train, I would wait him out until he calms down, then try to train. If you speed up in an attempt to match your dog's energy, your dog will only get faster and more frantic.

[aussielover]

Clicker training?

I found this helped with both my lab and my border. They are both food obsessed, actually the lab is more food obsessed but the border had more difficulty actually focusing on training around the food. I just use a marker word now with my lab as she knows when we are training. I'm still using the clicker with my border though as it helps focus her on the task.

[huski]

Timing and using clear markers are so important! I would start by teaching him how the game works, so if you use a clicker make sure he understands how he can earn rewards from it. It will help extend his ability to hold position too. I find dogs driven like this 1000x easier and faster to train than dogs that aren't as easily motivated, you just need the right approach.

[huski]

One thing I find that helps heaps with dogs that offer a lot of behaviors is clear markers. I use a marker which tells the dog you've got it right and the reward is coming (I use the word good). This really helps you mark correct behavior and extend it. This is different to the release word (which for me is yes)

ETA: I also use markers etc a lot because I don't personally ever want the dog to be calm in an active training session. I want a lot of drive, excitement and engagement. I would not use classical conditioning in a training session, but obviously it depends on your goals too.

Edited December 22, 2013 by huski

[megan_]

Huski do you also use yes as a reward marker (and release)? Or is it release only (so you're always saying good ?)

[fuzzy82]

Maybe "calm" was the wrong word. A dog can be excited and in drive without throwing every behaviour under the sun at you, and I wouldn't personally try to rush in with a click to try to catch the right behaviour in a dog who is just being frantic. I wouldn't ever want to reward "frantic", but I definitely want a dog who is excited and in drive.

[huski]

Huski do you also use yes as a reward marker (and release)? Or is it release only (so you're always saying good ?)

Yep the release word also marks behaviour. I use a trigger word to put the dog in drive; then I give a command such as sit. If the dog is only just learning I would say yes as soon as the dog complied which releases the dog to the reward (I don't reward in position, I would use yes or good to mark the position).

Once I want to extend the position I would say ready (my trigger word) command (sit) marker (goooood) and then after x time I would give the release word (yes).

Eventually I would fade out 'good' once the behavior was durable and I would randomly use 'yes' to reward the dog unpredictably.

Edited December 22, 2013 by huski

[*kirty*]

He doesn't offer any behaviours at the moment! I was hoping he would try things to get the treat, but he doesn't - he just gets more frantic lol. Even when he sits, his little bum is wriggling and his feet are tapping!

My only goal is to teach him a fw cute tricks. I thought it would fun for potential adopters to see him shake, speak, etc. :)

Thank you all for the ideas, I will check out that link and try a clicker. :)

[huski]

Maybe "calm" was the wrong word. A dog can be excited and in drive without throwing every behaviour under the sun at you, and I wouldn't personally try to rush in with a click to try to catch the right behaviour in a dog who is just being frantic. I wouldn't ever want to reward "frantic", but I definitely want a dog who is excited and in drive.

A dog in drive isn't calm. I wouldn't wait out a dog until it lost drive; I would tell it what I wanted it to do and mark the correct behavior. If you have a good communication system the dog won't throw lots of behaviors at you unless you aren't giving any feedback or haven't given a command.

If I said to any of my dogs now "ready" and stood there doing nothing they would both throw lots of behaviors at me to work out what I wanted and how to gain reward.

The dog needs to understand the basics of the game and how to earn reward before you can progress, if you were training the dog in drive, the first several training sessions I would reward purely for the dog responding to a trigger command and building his understanding of the markers and release command.

ETA: this is just for the sake of discussion though, you could use a clicker and/or classical conditioning too, this is just how I would do it

Edited December 22, 2013 by huski

[*kirty*]

Ok, I just spent 5 minutes practising sit, saying 'yes' and treating, and asking for his paw. He gave me his paw 5 or 6 times so I stopped while ahead! I got him to give me his paw by holding my hand out and wiggling or clicking my fingers. I didn't use the word 'shake' yet but I'm happy with with his effort so far. I watched the video and will definitely work on that stuff too. :)

I realised that his other problem though is that he is convinced I have dropped treats everywhere and its hard to kerp his focus on me. He sniffs the ground constantly all around me, trying to find the non existant dropped food... Will 'its yer choice' help wuth that too? I'm being super careful not to actually drop anything because obviously I don't want him to find anything!

[Kavik]

I was initially sceptical of Its Yer Choice but it has really been great with my puppy! He is good at shaping and will offer behaviours but also knows that mugging the hand or bowl with the treats is not going to get him what he wants. I can shape or tug with treats in a bowl on the ground now and he won't go and try to steal them.

[The Spotted Devil]

I have not had Its Yer Choice games fail yet.....countless puppies, adult dogs and adopted dogs. 2 food game is also great for dogs that scavenge - gets them focused on you as the source of food rather than the ground.

[raineth]

Ok, I just spent 5 minutes practising sit, saying 'yes' and treating, and asking for his paw. He gave me his paw 5 or 6 times so I stopped while ahead! I got him to give me his paw by holding my hand out and wiggling or clicking my fingers. I didn't use the word 'shake' yet but I'm happy with with his effort so far. I watched the video and will definitely work on that stuff too. :)

I realised that his other problem though is that he is convinced I have dropped treats everywhere and its hard to kerp his focus on me. He sniffs the ground constantly all around me, trying to find the non existant dropped food... Will 'its yer choice' help wuth that too? I'm being super careful not to actually drop anything because obviously I don't want him to find anything!

hmmm...are you sure he's convinced you've dropped treats? Because it kind of sounds like he could be sniffing coz he's a bit stressed? Just a thought :)

[*kirty*]

No he is definitely looking for food - he snorts and snuffles and tries to push my legs out of the way to search. He does it constantly - hoovering the carpet for crumbs etc. He is a little piggy! Today I was eating a bowl of icecream and when he realised I wasn't going to share, he had a tantrum - squealing and grumbling and taking his frustration out on my doona lol.