Avoid This Big Mistake When Feeding Your Dog #92

There is one difference between very successful dog trainers and the average pet owner in the way they feed their dogs. That one thing is responsible for a better relationship with your dog and the dog being easier to train, having a long life, and fewer health problems. That one thing is easily achievable by everyone and will also help with a dog’s picky eating.

In the episode you'll hear:
• The ways people feed their dogs.
• What free choice feeding or graze feeding looks like for dogs.
• The problems that can be created for dogs with free feeding.
• Why regular meals help with potty training.
• How free choice feeding could result in a dog being a picky eater.
• The health benefits of regular meals for dogs.
• About the issue of obesity in dogs.
• Why free choice feeding makes training difficult.
• How to use your dog's meals as a training opportunity.
• The risks of missing health issues with free feeding.
• How planning your dog's exercise is easier with regular meals.
• Why to know what your dog should weigh.
• How I feed a high percentage of my dog's meal in training.
• A plan to help dogs who are picky eaters.
• When to check with your Veterinarian.

Resources:

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Dogs That is brought to you by Susan Garrett and the Say Yes Dog Training Team.

Susan Garrett’s interest in animal behaviour started at the University of Guelph where she earned a Bachelor of Science majoring in Animal Science. Since then she has developed into a preeminent dog trainer and canine sports instructor and competitor. Susan is one of the most successful agility competitors of the last three decades. She has won multiple Gold Medals at National or World Championship events with every dog she has ever owned over the past 30 years.

A natural teacher and an entertaining speaker, Susan is world renowned as a leading educator of dog trainers. Her understanding of how to apply science-based learning principles to both competitive and family pet dog training has been pivotal in changing how dogs are trained.

Susan is now helping many thousands of dog owners in 132 countries have the best relationship possible with their dogs. The real joy for her comes from bringing confidence to dogs and their owner through playful interactions and relationship building games that are grounded firmly in the science of how animals learn.
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[camillehatton]

1+1= big fat dog! LOL! I nearly fell out of my chair laughing. This episode is true!

[DannyboyUpstate]

My last puppy was a Basset Hound 15 years ago. He free-fed because I was trying to train him that food was always available, and he didn’t need to wolf it down or get all anxious about more food. It did work! Even for a propensity for obesity breed like a basset, he hovered around 50-55lbs his whole life. We always got compliments on how healthy he was. HOWEVER, he did always have trouble going in the house his entire life, and we didn’t have that locked on training relationship all dog owners crave. I always chalked up to being a hound. After seeing this I can see the relationship between those behaviors and the free feeding. We are getting a new Golden Retriever puppy in a month and we will NOT be free-feeding the Golden. Thanks for all the help.

[annettefry]

I really needed this podcast. I refer my clients to Susan's podcasts repeatedly. Thank you.

[HavenGlass-]

My biggest issue with my chow-husky rescue is that she is such a picky eater she refuses food. It helped me to put her on a 1-2x a day food schedule which is recommended for her larger breed type.

But trying to find treats she likes to train her is difficult. Tried SO many recommendations for the breed types. And so far she will only eat her wet food meal 1-2x a day if that.

Found ONE treat she likes which is homemade dehydrated salmon but I can't afford to give that too often. Especially not 50-75% of her meals by hand.

[ej]

Yay! For once I’m actually doing something right 😀.
I divide my dogs food between training, scatter feeding and food toys. I rarely need to use actual treats, because her normal food has value.
I had recently been wondering if I was being mean not letting her have free choice feeding, so thanks for another really helpful and informative video 🙏 🐾

[ItsJust_Havii]

Thank you for going in depth about this

[sterrettstudios]

Thanks, Susan! What you say is SO TRUE about building relationships with your dog(s) at meal time. (True for humans, too, tho in a different way.) At our house, mealtime comes with "mini-trainings" & a sense of ritual. My husband has often mused, "I'm not sure which they like better: the food or the build up to the food." 🤣

[kellinachbar]

Great information as always Susan! Thank you for taking the time to share this with people!

[BeautifulTinySavages]

Love your channel thank you for sharing your time and knowledge 🙏😇🐾😊✨💫🦋🦋

[uteweyer]

Thanks, this is so helpful. I have a very complicated eater (she was abused over food before we had her too) and your advice is brilliant.

[grannysouthafrica]

Love this thank you. Shared to all my adopted Bouviers families ❤

[anthonybly]

Thanks Susan. Great information as always.

[equinn]

Great podcast. So simple yet so profound c

[azogal]

Supa good Susan! A little extra time and effort to feed properly has big payoffs! Good nutrition and healthy habits make such a difference. 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

[hildaaiwazian]

I love your teaching Suzan, your are the best . I am learning a lot from you

[sharonbroadway]

Thanks as always for great information! I have never free fed my dogs but I am sharing with a friend who does.

[jillconnolly]

. We recently switched our GSD over to home cooked meals. He was a picky eater before (preferring to guard it instead). I think something in the food was making him sick. I agree with all of the behavioral aspects of this video, but I think there needs to be a part 2 about signs that the food itself is not right . GSD would eventually eat but he felt like crap and was grumpy because of it. He would skip meals to the point where I believed he didn’t want to eat every day. Now he just eats twice a day without all of the drama. He didn’t like to be touched, yet now he is 100x more affectionate. I think at some point the dog has to be trusted. He knows something isn’t right with the numerous types of kibble we tried ❤. Thank you for all you do!

[hope]

First of all, thank you Susan and team for putting these videos out for free! We love and appreciate them ❤ Second, I have an issue. I've never been a free feeder and my dog used to be a pretty good eater. However, as he ages I've noticed he wants to eat less and less things. Most recently he is turning his nose away from ground meat (forgot to mention he eats raw) he only wants to eat pieces. That is an issue because I used to mix his supplements in the ground meat. Does Susan have any suggestions?

[nancyhooper]

I feed only once and do use metal bowl and wash Everytime, Had to change feeding at night because they wouldn't eat in the morning. Never was a free feeder. Great podcast and watched on new Google Home ❤️❤️❤️❤️⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[LoneLupine]

I've never free-fed any of my dogs or animals! My ex's dad would free feed his cats and they got super duper obese. My German shepherd is 70lbs and the veterinarian always compliments his healthy weight