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Food Bowl Exercises:
How to make your dog excited to have your hands in his cookie jar!
By Devene Godau, CPDT

There seems to be a great food bowl debate going on among dog lovers. Some say leave the dog alone while he is eating, other advise placing your hand right in his food bowl because he has to get used to it.
Both can lead to dangerous consequences. First we need to take a look at things from the dog's perspective.

Food is a resource. And it's an extremely important resource. If dogs don't eat they won't survive. So guarding their resource is a natural behavior necessary for survival.

We stick our hands in their bowls, and we are relieved that they seem ok with it… or are they? When a dog is new to our home, they may be too unsure with themselves to react. But let's face it, having
someone's hand in your food is annoying. Let's put it in perspective: You go to your boss's house for a business party. As you eat your salad, he places his hand in your bowl. If you don't know your boss
well on a social level, you may overlook this. But the more dinner parties you attend together, the more likely you would be to get fed up and tell him to STOP this annoying behavior.

Now, if we always leave our dogs alone when they eat, we are preventing any guarding behavior from rearing its ugly head. Which is a better alternative, but can you really be sure the dog will always
be protected when he is eating?

The best alternative is to change your dog's perspective of human's around the food bowl. Even if your dog doesn't seem to have a problem (and the body language of annoyance can be very subtle), it is always
better to take it from a neutral experience, and make it a well-loved experience. Remember: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more your dog LOVES you being around his resources, the
less chance he will feel the need to guard them.

Here are some steps you can take to make your dog WANT you to put your hand in their food bowl:

• Place an empty food bowl in front of your dog. He'll probably look up at you expectantly – perhaps a little confused! Pick the bowl up, while praising your dog. (You are conditioning your dog to accept the process of reaching for the bowl even though there's nothing to protect.)
   
• Place a few pieces of kibble in the bowl, put it in front of your dog, and let them finish the food. Pick up the empty bowl and praise enthusiastically.
   
• Repeat this procedure several times in order to teach your dog that good things happen whenever you reach for the bowl. Feed about half of his meal this way.
   
• For the rest of his meal allow your dog to eat as normal, however, while he is eating drop an exceptionally delicious food treat into the bowl. This treat must be something he doesn't normally get, such as cheese or chicken.
   
• Repeat this "gift giving" session several times, moving your hand closer each time.
   
• Now reach down and actually place a scrumptious food treat in the bowl.
   
• Over time, begin to pick up the food bowl and add a particularly loved food treat into the meal and return the bowl to your dog. This procedure will teach your dog that good things happen when you are near his food dish.

Important note: This is a preventative exercise only. If your dog has growled at you around the food bowl, or growls at you while doing these exercises, contact Trainers Academy at 248-616-6500 to talk to a counselor. In the mean time, leave him alone for feeding so he does not have the chance to "practice" his guarding behavior.

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