Food & Treat Behavior

[majeep15]

So curious if any of you run into this problem with your pup.

Theo is now 12 weeks and is an awesome pup (for most of the time). Lol

We have encountered him arguing with his food inside a ceramic bowl. We are being forced to place the kibble on the floor as he circles it like a shark and then eats. Lol

Another thing is that I am trying to train him but I have gone through 5 or 6 different treat bags and he doesn't like any of it. Any suggestions?

 

[Nik]

Which treats/flavors have you tried? Some of my dogs' favorite treats are real food: carrots, cheddar cheese, string cheese, blue berries, peas, pieces of plain boiled chicken.
My pickiest dog ever loved anything peanut butter flavored. The chicken liver treats that come in huge buckets is usually another favorite for flavor.

 

[Smokeycat]

The one thing I could count on with Kryten was an apple. He will do anything to try a get a single piece. Sometimes it can take a while to find what truly motivates them. My other dog loves treats but if distracted they do nothing, the sight of a ball however gets immediate attention from him.

 

[Hector]

Get him a boot tray and put spread the kibble in there. You just have to experiment around with treats. Dogs usually go for anything freeze dried. Try teasing him with the treat and making it more interactive to receive. My first choice is cooked meat like cooked hamburger meat as store bought treats are expensive and a lot of it gives my dogs allergies one form or another. You can also look at dog food rolls and you can get a lot for a good price and but it up, but again it has a lot of ingredients in those kinds of things that I wouldn't want to feed a lot to my dog.

 

[Hector]

What breed is he? He doesn't look like a giant breed?

 

[Boxergirl]

The boot tray is a good idea as are all the treat suggestions. I don't mean to be a buttinsky, but I was wondering if you've had your baby in for his vet check since you brought him home? If I remember correctly, he's a Corso. I don't mean to cause undo worry, but he looks hydrocephalic to me. I just thought I'd bring it up as maybe something to ask your vet about. Hopefully it's just the angle of the picture.

 

[lexinrose]

Why not use his puppy food that he's eating as treats to.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[DennasMom]

Will he work for a game of tug or a squeaky toy instead of treats?
If he's truly not food-motivated, you might have to find something else to keep his interest.

The one treat that is always a winner at our house are the single-ingredient freeze-dried foods... i.e. freeze dried chicken, lamb, liver (but you don't want to over-feed liver... it can lead to loose poops).

I have also been known to cook up a chicken breast and chop it into tidbits for training treats before... our rescue dog needed some MAJOR motivation to stay interested in learning anything new.

 

[Vantage]

What a Cute Puppy! <3

For the Food "arguing" you Can Teach him how to eat out of his bowl with good Etiquette. Check out this video and see if it helps any (also he is using Raw food, which is a little different from kibble).

For the Treat issue, for a 12Week Puppy, no interest in treats??? Keep trying higher value food rewards (Cheese? Chicken? Fish? Steak?) If he is still not interested, maybe try skipping a meal or feeding him less - Or Do not Train after he Eats. Remember to make note of when you train and when he eats.

Also as Hector mentioned, Move the food reward, make it come ALIVE! (as frankenstein's creator would say AAA-LL-III-VVV-EEEEE!) This creates more drive for the dog, and he will be much more active in your interactions.