Weekly Wag #15: Just Say No to Food Aggression!

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© All Things Dog Blog
Three Dogs Can
Wait Permission to Eat

Well I sure did open a can of worms last week. You guys nailed me. Not in the comments, but in my email. Apparently there are a few of you out there that have concerns over food aggression with your Fidos. Say no more. This is a great topic for our Weekly Wag feature that focuses on bonding with your dog.


When I spoke about shared food last week, I neglected to do my duty with a disclaimer. Obviously, if your dog has displayed any amount of food aggression, sharing is not a good idea. Let's talk about the steps involved in assuring that your dog gets the message about food aggression, and learns that this is not acceptable nor necessary in your home.

• Start with rule #1: never leave food out all day, even if you only have one dog. 
• In the case of multiple dogs in your home, please separate them during feeding time.
• Teach your dog that you are in control of the food and that he earns it from you with his behavior. Don't ask for it; require it. Sit. Stay. Leave it, until you give permission.
• Offer your release command and then allow your dog to eat. Praise him when he successfully waits for permission.
• When handing out treats, use the same strategy. Allow your dog to earn it from you, the owner of the treat. Ask for any behavior your choose. When you get it, offer the treat as a reward.
• With practice this will become routine and the message will be clear. You own the food and you share it because you have a bond with this pet that gives you the same respect in exchange.
• Need more help? Check out this article: Who Owns the Dog Food at Your House?

© All Things Dog Blog
Proof Positive: No Food Aggression

Introducing a New Feature: All Things Dog Blog's Weekly Wag

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
Scentwork: Great Fun for Fido!

It's almost the New Year and I'm ready to add something to my repertoire. One of my favorite ways to interact with dog owners is by sharing fun activities to keep Fido's mental and physical muscles working. My new feature will do just that. 


Each Saturday you'll find another way to add some puppy punch to your weekend. Sometimes I'll show you how to work the brain indoors on a rainy day. Other posts will offer tips on variety for active play. 


From walking on leash to games for wide open spaces, I'll have something fun for you to share with your dog each and every Saturday. Join me. You won't regret it. Your dog will love you for the time you spend with her. Bonding will happen for both of you.


We'll start at the beginning, with Fido's first sense--SMELL! Scentwork is so basic to a dog's nature that you'll hardly have to offer instruction or reward. The game will be its own incentive. Let's get started:

• Grab a rag and rub some peanut butter on it. 
• Leave your dog behind and choose a contained location to hide the rag--a fenced back yard, gated area, or even an indoor location where you can hide the rag without staining any furniture.
• Allow your dog to smell the peanut butter jar, or sniff a dab from your finger, and then send him off to "Find".
• Offer plenty of praise and encouragement as Fido grows warmer. Throw a "party" when she locates the rag, offering treats and praise and plenty of warm hugs.
• Keep the game easy at first, gradually building the difficulty of the hiding locations. 
• Stop the game before Fido tires of the challenge; it should always end on a high note. A few minutes of Find will go a long way to tiring your dog's mind and assuring a great night's sleep.
• Change up the smells--cheese, steak, chicken, broth, your own body oil, and many more will work. Also use different items to locate. Many dogs will enjoy a game of "find the toy." Be sure to allow your pup to smell the toy before hiding it.
• Most of all, remember to keep it fun.

See you next week for a new idea to add to your weekly wag.

Our Pet Food Pantry--A Little History

by Carrie Boyko, CEB

© Carrie Boyko
Xena's Favorite Dog Food?
You'll Learn Soon

Since research shows that pets help us live longer, healthier lives, we need to Paw it Forward. We should be repaying our furry friends for their services. But how?


At All Things Dog Blog, we committed to this very effort in 2007, in a unique way. We cleaned our pantry and our pet food containers and hit the road to find the best organic food sources. Both Xena, our senior Retriever girl, and Carrie, yours truly, had been diagnosed with cancer. No one was going to tell us we were done!


Finding our new organic pet food was part and parcel to Xena’s treatment. With liver cancer, she needed a diet that would put little strain on her already overworked organ. Organic was the key to this goal, with no added artificial ingredients for the liver to process. She would be given a chance to outlive her slow-growing tumor that specialists told us could not be removed without serious danger to her survival.


I investigated every organic food I could find, searching the big pet superstores, as well as the small, pet specialty boutiques. Many questions and answers later I made my choice, based on quality ingredients, company history, a U.S.-based production, and one final, very important criteria: consistent availability. 


I was appalled to learn from many pet owners that had to make several switches along the way. I quickly came to the realization that I needed a company large enough to assure availability, yet small enough to get closer to its roots—healthy food sources.


If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you probably already know I feed my dogs organic food. Yet there is one little kibble of information that I have kept close to the cuff—my chosen brand.


I’ve been waiting to unveil this very special choice. “For what?,” you may ask. It’s rather silly, I suppose, but I’ve had a goal since I started writing this blog. I always knew somewhere deep inside of me, that if this blog took off, I’d want to thank my pet food company for what they gave Xena—another 3 years of life.


That’s right; Xena lived to within days of her 14th birthday, a good life for a Retriever, to be sure. Our chosen dog food supplier will be unveiled here soon with a grand review and a big thank you.


Stay tuned as I will soon be bringing you the source of Xena’s long life. We’ll begin Wednesday with a little mini-lesson on some of the benefits of an organic diet. Join me? I hope so.


To get the fun rolling, be sure to check out our countdown site, where you can take a guess at our photo shoot wardrobe difficulties. Can you guess what went wrong? Comments, jokes and jabs are all welcome here on the blog! And don't miss our surprise announcement on the countdown site.


Just to make sure you don't miss a single segment of this series, be sure to stop by my sidebar and grab yourself a free subscription. Or you can use the dog house below. There's nothing like the ease of opening your inbox to find my posts just waiting on you. And better yet, you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you'll never miss an important post.  Happy tails!

Lest we forget, it's the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop. Please do peruse the list and have some fun bouncing. And while you're out and about, stop in at our hosts to pay your respects with a thank you: Life with Dogs, Confessions of the Plume and Two Little Cavaliers. Happy hopping.

Full disclosure: All Things Dog Blog has not been compensated to provide the upcoming dog food review.  We have not been paid to provide our opinion of this product, and the opinion provided is our own.
While we are linked up to the Saturday Pet Blogger Hop, we are also linking up to Hoppin Weekend for some extra exposure. If the code for the Pet Blogger hop does not appear, you may acquire it from the host's site at Life with Dogs. It seems to be misbehaving tonight!