How To Feed Your Dog As Part Of Daily Training

In the animal kingdom, animals usually have to wait before they eat. Often times there are other animals higher up in the hierarchy or maybe they had an unsuccessful hunt. In the domestic world, you should make your dog wait before they eat as well. A domestic animal doesn't have to kill its prey to eat, but it should still have to do some sort of exercise or work before you feed them. This is imperative for normal pack psyche.

A typical rule of thumb, if you have multiple animals, is to feed the ones with calm tendencies first. Do not feed aggressive or otherwise bad behaving animals until they calm down. This corresponds directly to the animal kingdom where a mother or a pack leader would not feed an aggressive animal until they show they are subordinates.

You want to make your dog work for food. By work, I mean taking them on a walk or asking them to perform several obedience routines. Working is a form of waiting, and this will not only exercise your animal, mentally and physically, but will help create a healthy and well balanced dog.

A typical routine would be to take your dog for a walk or other exercise routine and then when you get home, you may prepare their food. Ask your dog to sit or lay down while you make their food bowl. If they sit quietly and don't display aggressive or other negative behaviors then you may give them their food. If your dog acts aggressive or will not sit or stay while you prepare their food, then you should wait until they do before feeding them. Remember this is how nature intended it to be.

It is important not to reinforce negative behaviors when feeding. Feeding a dog when its aggressive, tense or nervous is not natural. The pack leader would never let a dog eat that had these tendencies and will require the dog to be very calm and submissive before receiving any food. Be sure your dog is calm and submissive before you give them food and this will help in many areas of their life. In fact, if you feed them while they are aggressive or while they are nervous, tense or excited than I can guarantee you that the next time you feed them they will act the same manner. Remember dogs learn by association. Associate negative behaviors with food and you will get negative behaviors in return.

Remember that feeding your dog is a critical part of training your animal. If you are able to have the discipline to only feed your pet when they submit the correct behaviors than your dog will live a happy well-balanced life.