Hand feeding ?

3305 Views 16 Replies 8 Participants Last post by Patch, Dec 4, 2006

Treyfeezy

Discussion Starter · Nov 30, 2006

I was just wondering because I see talk here and there about handfeeding dogs. What is really the point of it? Do the dogs benefit in any way or is it just a way to bond? Just curious.

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Lisa

· #2 · Nov 30, 2006

It is a way to bond, a way to get your dog to respect you (because YOU are providing its neccesity of life, not a bowl) and it teaches the dog to focus on you, the owner, which is imperative if you want an obedient dog, especially if you are training for competetion. Without having your dogs focus, it is extremely difficult to do ob. Good ob starts with good focus. Without focus, forget it and with bulldogs who were historically never bred to work hand in hand with their owners like a GSD was, this type of approach can prove to be even more beneficial.

With the female in my banner I hand fed her for about the first 4 or 5 months I had her. I started by bringing a pocket ful of rollover to the airport and made sure the breeder sent her "hungry", rahter than with a full belly. After that 4 or 5 month period, I slowly started introducing a bowl. I think it is unrealistic for most people to continue hand feeding throughout the whole duration of a dogs life. However, with my dogs if I notice them becoming a little too independent in their thinking and behaviour, I don't hesitate to revert back to handfeeding for a short while. I also think handfeeding can be good with adult dogs who have had no or bad training or when a a person recieves a new dog that is already an adult, especially one that is dominant. . Good way to bond and teach the dog who to respect.

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i love remy

· #3 · Nov 30, 2006

I've been handfeeding Norris his evening meals. It's a nice bonding experience, I think. I give him a few pieces of kibble every time he makes eye contact with me, and he's getting to the point where he won't even take his eyes off of me to chew his food. I think this little guy is going to do really well in obedience training. He is incredibly food motivated!

fishdu07

· #4 · Nov 30, 2006

Leeann.Bella.Remy said:
I've been handfeeding Norris his evening meals. It's a nice bonding experience, I think. I give him a few pieces of kibble every time he makes eye contact with me, and he's getting to the point where he won't even take his eyes off of me to chew his food. I think this little guy is going to do really well in obedience training. He is incredibly food motivated!

leann - when norris makes eye contact do you praise him vocally and then give him a few pieces of kibble or are you just giving him the kibble?

i love remy

· #5 · Nov 30, 2006

fishdu07 said:
Leeann.Bella.Remy said:

I've been handfeeding Norris his evening meals. It's a nice bonding experience, I think. I give him a few pieces of kibble every time he makes eye contact with me, and he's getting to the point where he won't even take his eyes off of me to chew his food. I think this little guy is going to do really well in obedience training. He is incredibly food motivated!

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leann - when norris makes eye contact do you praise him vocally and then give him a few pieces of kibble or are you just giving him the kibble?

I usually say "Good!" (his marker word) and then give him a few pieces of kibble. Sometimes I get tired of listening to myself say "Good" every few seconds, though! :lol:

tycosales

· #6 · Nov 30, 2006

Leeann.Bella.Remy said:
I've been handfeeding Norris his evening meals. It's a nice bonding experience, I think. I give him a few pieces of kibble every time he makes eye contact with me, and he's getting to the point where he won't even take his eyes off of me to chew his food. I think this little guy is going to do really well in obedience training. He is incredibly food motivated!

I sometimes feed Sassy her evening kibble by hand too, not necessarily all of it. Mainly for bonding. I think I could feed her sand from my hand, LOL.

Treyfeezy

Discussion Starter · #7 · Nov 30, 2006

Thanks everyone. I might give this a shot with Sasha at least her evening meals

Patch

· #8 · Dec 1, 2006

Patch is getting really picky with his food and often sniffs the bowl and walks away.

Lately i've been trying hand feeding and he eats the food right out of my hand, no questions asked!

The same food he sniffs and walks away from when in a bowl!

Lisa

· #9 · Dec 1, 2006

Patch said:
Patch is getting really picky with his food and often sniffs the bowl and walks away.

Lately i've been trying hand feeding and he eats the food right out of my hand, no questions asked!

The same food he sniffs and walks away from when in a bowl!

What do you do when Patch walks away from his food bowl?

Bogart

· #10 · Dec 3, 2006

I hand fed Bogart when he was younger. I have no idea if it is concidence or if it really did help, but he has absolutely no food aggression now. You can take food from his mouth, etc and he just looks at you like, "ok, you can have it." This means a lot since Bogart lives to eat. So, anyway, hand feeding may help reduce food aggression.

OrsonDogge

· #11 · Dec 3, 2006

Definatly ward off food aggression with humans.
I just have a problem with Orson and food aggression with the cats.
They love to scavenge his food bowl when he's done, but sometimes they come around too early and he snaps at them.
Wonder if i should feed him while holding a cat?? :? :lol:

Patch

· #12 · Dec 4, 2006

Lisa said:
Patch said:

Patch is getting really picky with his food and often sniffs the bowl and walks away.

Lately i've been trying hand feeding and he eats the food right out of my hand, no questions asked!

The same food he sniffs and walks away from when in a bowl!

Click to expand...

What do you do when Patch walks away from his food bowl?

i just say 'c'mon, eat!' and point to his bowl.

should i be doing more?

Lisa

· #13 · Dec 4, 2006

i just say 'c'mon, eat!' and point to his bowl.

should i be doing more?

Well, first of all, your dog does not know what you are trying to communicate. Dogs have the intelligence of an average 3 yr old so their vocabulary is very limited. They are also very opportunistic and can learn if taught with this in mind.

What you need to do is put his food down. The minute he walks away you must pick it up and put it away until the next meal. Believe me, your dog will more than likely go without food for a few days. But, do not worry, your dog will not purposely starve itself. No dog would. Eventually he will get the picture and learn that he is to eat when you allow him to. The key is to never allow your dog to walk away from its food bowl. By doing this you are teaching it that it can chose when it eats rather than you.

Like I said, handfeeding can be very helpful, but if you can not commit to handfeeding all his meals then the method above will work if you can stick to it.

Tough Love.

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Patch

· #14 · Dec 4, 2006

Lisa said:
i just say 'c'mon, eat!' and point to his bowl.

should i be doing more?

Click to expand...

Well, first of all, your dog does not know what you are trying to communicate. Dogs have the intelligence of an average 3 yr old so their vocabulary is very limited. They are also very opportunistic and can learn if taught with this in mind.

What you need to do is put his food down. The minute he walks away you must pick it up and put it away until the next meal. Believe me, your dog will more than likely go without food for a few days. But, do not worry, your dog will not purposely starve itself. No dog would. Eventually he will get the picture and learn that he is to eat when you allow him to. The key is to never allow your dog to walk away from its food bowl. By doing this you are teaching it that it can chose when it eats rather than you.

Like I said, handfeeding can be very helpful, but if you can not commit to handfeeding all his meals then the method above will work if you can stick to it.

Tough Love.

Thanks for your advice.
the past few days i've been putting his food down for 20 mins then i put away any uneaten portion.
he will eat a bit... then walk away.... so i take away his food after 20 mins.
i feel horrible doing this like he is going to go hungry....... he still walks away after a short time though.
when should he get the drift?

Lisa

· #15 · Dec 4, 2006

Patch, what you are doing is an improvement over people who free feed. Good for you for taking that step. However, I would take it a step further than you. If I had the dog I would not allow 20 minutes. To me that is much too long. My dogs all eat their meals immediately. They bury their heads and unless there is a MAJOR distraction they finish their food without lifting their heads. Rosco takes under 2 minutes. Smooch under 5 minutes and Maddie somewhere in between. If Patch was my dog I would lift that bowl up the very first time he walks away from it. Even if it was only a matter of seconds. He will learn much quicker this way. No beating around the bush, right to the point. Black and white.

Good luck.

tycosales

· #16 · Dec 4, 2006

I feed Sassy her first meal around 7 AM just before leaving for work. It's a little less than 1/2 of her daily food. I can't wait around so if she woofs it down or nibbles till noon I wouldn't know. When I get home around 5, her bowl is empty and that's her second meal time. This meal she woofs down.

Here's another opinion, well explained: http://www.lucythewonderdog.com/free-feeding.htm

Patch

· #17 · Dec 4, 2006

Lisa said:
Patch, what you are doing is an improvement over people who free feed. Good for you for taking that step. However, I would take it a step further than you. If I had the dog I would not allow 20 minutes. To me that is much too long. My dogs all eat their meals immediately. They bury their heads and unless there is a MAJOR distraction they finish their food without lifting their heads. Rosco takes under 2 minutes. Smooch under 5 minutes and Maddie somewhere in between. If Patch was my dog I would lift that bowl up the very first time he walks away from it. Even if it was only a matter of seconds. He will learn much quicker this way. No beating around the bush, right to the point. Black and white.

Good luck.

hey... i've only been doing it literally for 2 days
and the reason is that the birds keep coming to eat patch's food.... and we're getting ants now!
so i dont want to leave his food outside all day.

thats the main reason im doing it...

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