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Food motivation and training

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12K views 33 replies 13 participants last post by  TAIsMom  
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#1 ·
Hey all,

This is my first post, but I have been reading these forums for months as I prepared for the past six months to get my V, Moose. The posts and answers here have been so helpful and I cannot thank you enough.

My boy has been home since last Friday. He is adjusting well and definitely getting good exercise. And he's finally sleeping in his crate without shrill argument.

However, he is completely unmotivated for food - it also takes a lot to get him just to finish a meal. This makes training impossible, which I hate since I wanted to start right away. I feel like each passing day is a missed opportunity. :-\

Is this normal? Does it subside? Am I expecting too much? Would appreciate your thoughts (and some lotion for my wrists - they are raw from his shark attacks!)

EDIT: To follow proper forum etiquette, I'm including some photos of him and a video I took his second day home. :)

Stair Wars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3mlzDXSoHM
 

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#2 ·
Hi, bayouvizsla, and welcome to the forums! :)

Congratulations on your new pup!! From what I understand, a lot of Vizslas are "discerning diners". I won't go so far as to say "picky", but food isn't their top priority. When you hit upon the right high-value treat, Moose will come around, and you will be able to use it as a training reward. The most important reward you should use in training is just a very positive reaction showing approval, attention, and love. "YAY!! What a GOOD BOY you are!!" etc. This works throughout their lives. :D

But don't forget, your puppy is still just a baby. You should allow him to be a baby and enjoy his puppyhood. First main goal, of course, is just house training.

You're not missing out on any opportunities, really. Dogs can learn new things at any age. (You CAN teach an old dog new tricks!) How about posting some photos of your pup?? ;D ;D

p.s. Maybe some other members will offer you suggestions for training treats. You could try tiny pieces of cut-up hot dogs, tiny pieces of cooked chicken, those little dried liver cubes, etc. Keep them very small.
 
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#3 ·
Hi bayou! Mswhipple is spot on and I had the exact same experience when I brought Nelly home. The little pieces of cut up hot dogs worked a treat and are fairly inexpensive. I remember feeling quite worried that Nelly had no interest in her food but no dog will starve themselves. Our breeder told us that they like variety just as much as us so we gradually switched her food from what she had been on since eating solids. That and (from a suggestion on here) a little tinned salmon, green beans or carrot in with the food encouraged her. Nelly is now on taste of the wild puppy formula and a good little eater.
http://www.vizslaforums.com/index.php/topic,7460.msg57184.html#msg57184
That is the thread I started about Nelly's eating, some wonderful advice.

Congrats on your new puppy! As mswhipple said allow him to be a baby and enjoy him!
 
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#4 ·
Finally, another forum member from Louisiana! I'm here in New Orleans. Welcome aboard. Apparently you didn't get the memo that first posters are required to produce pics of your pup (not really, we're just puppy pic addicts here needing our fix). Do you have any plans for the pup i.e. hunt training/trials/ agility/show?

Don't worry too much about the food issue. Your pup will learn it soon enough. A lot of us here, myself included, use the brand Taste of The Wild. My guy loves it. We switch between the bison/venison flavor and the boar flavor. For treats, I use carrots and dried venison
 
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#5 ·
I had the same problem with my dog when he was younger. All the trainers recommended using regular meal-time kibble as treats for training, but my dog couldn't care less about using that as treats! This was compounded by the fact that they wanted us to bring soft, high-value rewards for class. Once Jasper knew he could get bits of hot dog or cheese for sitting on command, he sure as heck wasn't going to do it for a piece of plain old kibble. Such a snob. :)

I haven't really been able to convince him to do any training for his regular kibble since the first week he was home. I can get him to do them for the random piece of my roommates' dogs' kibble, since it's different. Other things that worked for him are bits of cheese--if you're really good, you can just carry a stick of string cheese, bite off a piece, and spit it at your dog. I saw our trainers do this all the time. If your dog is really good, they can catch it in mid-air! Also hot dog, the soft treats made by Blue Buffalo or Zukes, and his favorite, any treat made with liver. I've done homemade liver bread as well as the freeze-dried liver treats you can buy in buckets at the store. He goes nuts for either one. His eyes get really dilated, drool starts pooling at his feet--he loses his mind for that stuff.

As for regular eating at meals, Jasper's still pretty picky, and will skip a meal occasionally. I didn't worry about it unless he doesn't eat at all for about 24+ hours, is otherwise acting strange (lethargic or mopey, vomiting, etc.), or he seems to be losing weight. Occasionally dropping in a couple of treats, some carrot, or a little cottage cheese would get him to eat better. Also, I've started wetting his food with a little warm water lately, and he hasn't skipped a meal since.
 
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#6 ·
We brought our puppy home about a month ago and went through exactly what you're describing. I think he just needed time to adjust to get his appetite back. It started picking up a little when he had been home a week and after two weeks it was much better, as far as meals go.

For training treats I was worried about giving him a lot of treats when he wasn't interested in his regular meals. A breeder friend suggested putting half a hotdog cut up in little pieces (about pea size) in a ziploc bag with a big handful of kibble from his regular meals and using that as training treats. The kibble ends up smelling/tasting like hotdog and sometimes he gets a real piece of hotdog. It worked really well at first, and by the time he figured it out his appetite had picked up enough that I stopped worrying.

We also took Ian Dunbar's advice and bought a bucket of freeze dried liver for house-training treats. We noticed there was quite a lot of liver dust in the bottom of the bucket. We've started sprinkling a pinch of it over his moistened kibble and he immediately goes for it (he used to just sit there and stare at it, sometimes he ended up eating and sometimes he didn't). The dust probably only amounts to half a treat, maybe less, but it gets him to eat his whole meal.

Good luck! I wouldn't worry about him too much, it sounds like something lots of people go through and get past.
 
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#8 ·
Good grief cheese, bacon all of it worse then a early death for all of them

processed death and hotdogs? please Really? ::)

F me what breeder does this?? He is a Moron and tell him I said so ;D

them arteries plug real great with this mess ;)

high protein treats can post 100 better then this garbage can

anyone eats a hot dog hit the slaughter house dig in""

maybe we could think some for are mates :eek: :)
 

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#10 ·
Rudy said:
Good grief cheese, bacon all of it worse then a early death for all of them

processed death and hotdogs? please Really? ::)

F me what breeder does this?? He is a Moron and tell him I said so ;D

them arteries plug real great with this mess ;)

high protein treats can post 100 better then this garbage can

anyone eats a hot dog hit the slaughter house dig in""

maybe we could think some for are mates :eek: :)
Click to expand...
Just like with humans everything is ok once in awhile. We were willing to try a little bit of bacon before shelling out hundreds of dollars for an E collar (which we just did because treats didn't work), and I would let him splurge a bit with a less than healthy treat rather than risk him getting bitten by a snake or slashed with barbed wire. We are talking about a quarter of a hot dog for an entire hike.... nobody ever has a cupcake or handful of chips around here? That's not good for us either.
 
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#11 ·
;D :-*
 

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#13 ·
Nope never a Choice not a Chance junk is junk and a terrible choice as is wally world jerry springers lololo

duck, elk, moose back straps , buffalo, venison combos sweet potatoes ;D

salmon in truck loads deer liver chicken breast with Flax 8)

chicken with Glucosamine and Chondrotin ;)

Rudy loves fresh ling cod and halibut as well :D

this is so weak it hurts my worn out size 22 skull

lol

Lets eat some hot dogs PEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW :eek:
 

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#15 ·
I remember it all know clearly pre war Hey Coach Yelling ;D where my hot dogs, bacon, cheese , chips pepsi and TWINKIES ::)

LMAO

nope that was a NIGHTMARE :-*
 

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#16 ·
Rudy said:
Good grief cheese, bacon all of it worse then a early death for all of them

processed death and hotdogs? please Really? ::)

F me what breeder does this?? He is a Moron and tell him I said so ;D

them arteries plug real great with this mess ;)

high protein treats can post 100 better then this garbage can

anyone eats a hot dog hit the slaughter house dig in""

maybe we could think some for are mates :eek: :)
Click to expand...
I wasn't specific enough. The breeder said make sure to get the organic chicken or turkey hot dogs, nothing in there but chicken breasts, thighs, and garlic, onion and paprika. Still not as good as a raw chicken back, but we're not too worried about him.
 
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#19 ·
datacan said:
paprika??? organic chicken??? BARF?

Fonix, you'll be bankrupt by the time he's two..
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Haha, it's not so bad. I can pay a quarter a day for the duration of treat training. We don't use them too much anymore, I think he's more attention motivated than anything else.

If I had fish like Rudy's I don't think I'd want to share. ;D
Maybe if I had that much.....
 
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#22 ·
Maybe you like the 95lb Kinger ;D the other a little lad came in at 80lbs

I love Scotts lol ;)
 

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#23 ·
Don't get stuck on using food only as a reward or motivator. Verbal praise, Physical touch and Toys can be the answer too. Find a toy he really likes and get him really interested in it, act like you are having so much fun with it, let him play with you and with the toy and then hide it away. Bring it out several times a week and go bananas with him and the toy. Always hide it away. Now you have a toy specific motivational object. Thanks to Susan Garrett for that method.

Some dogs are just content with verbal, physical praise or toys and not food. Find out what he likes.

Titan LOVES LOVE LOVES cardboard, toilet paper rolls even more specifically. I will save a few up and use them as rewards. Whatever works :D
 
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#25 ·
lmao Silvers ::) maybe KINGS ;) YA THINK :eek:

COHO SILVERS 20 LBS MAX BRO THEM ARE 80 AND 90LBERS ;D

NONE FROM THE LAST FRONTIER AND GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH ;D

ALASKA ;)

THIS IS A 20LB COHO SLIVER BRO"" ;)
 

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#26 ·
Rudy said:
lmao Silvers ::) maybe KINGS ;) YA THINK :eek:

COHO SILVERS 20 LBS MAX BRO THEM ARE 80 AND 90LBERS ;D

NONE FROM THE LAST FRONTIER AND GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH ;D

ALASKA ;)

THIS IS A 20LB COHO SLIVER BRO"" ;)
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Haha, thx for educating me Rudy! Guess its been a while since AK, great looking fish non-the-less!!!
 
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