Does your dog eat happily at home, then turn their head away from every treat the second you step outside? Even somewhere quiet, with nothing much going on?
What you'll learn in this edition: why you shouldn't push the food, and how to reward your dog when food is off the table.
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Zero treats
Every walk spent pushing food on a dog who won't eat is a walk that teaches your dog the food is part of the problem.
I have a video of a full training session with Azuki, my Shiba Inu. Quiet spot. Not much going on.
He doesn't take a single treat. The entire session.
And we still trained.
Quick pause before we get into the why. Today's issue is brought to you by 1440, and their whole idea will sound familiar if you've been here a while: skip the noise and keep the part that matters
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When your dog won't take food outside
If your dog won't eat outside, the most likely reason is that they're over threshold: too worried or too wound up to think about food. When your dog is in fight or flight mode, their appetite drops. A worried dog won't eat.
Sometimes moving farther from the scary thing is enough, and your dog starts eating again. Try that first.
But some dogs, like Azuki, won't eat even when there's barely anything around.
You can still train. The training just looks different.
Why pushing the food backfires
Forcing it. Shoving the treat under their nose or waiting them out until they eat can make the food itself feel bad. Your dog starts connecting food with that worried feeling.
Making the worry a big deal. Stopping, fussing, and staring at the thing with your dog tells them it's worth worrying about.
Both keep your dog standing still and stuck in their head. Moving helps them let it go.
Keep moving, and pay a different way
First, find out whether there's a food that does work outside. Bring the top 3 or 4 items from your dog's price list (from the reward hierarchy issue) on a walk. Some dogs ignore kibble outside and still go for cheese or chicken.
If nothing is good enough, pay with the other things your dog wants:
Play
Toys
Access to the environment (getting to go sniff that bush or go potty)
Movement
Pets
Praise
Movement is the one owners overlook. Sometimes just walking with you lets off enough stress to feel good. So keep going, stay relaxed, and act like the scary thing is boring. Because it is.
One thing to try this week 👇🏻
On your next walk, watch your dog instead of the scenery. The moment your dog looks worried or stares a beat too long at something (another dog, a person, a trash can), turn and walk the other way. Turn before the leash goes tight, which means catching the very first moment your dog looks worried, unsure, or locked on.
Keep walking until your dog stops looking back at it. Then head back toward it and do it again, as many times as you need, until your dog can glance at it and check back in with you.
Pick up the pace, or even break into a little run, so your dog gets to chase you. Moving faster burns off the worry.
Then pay. Offer food first. Won't take it? Pay with something else: release your dog to go potty or sniff, or give them pets and praise.
If your dog won't take food, you can still train. You just pay a different way.
Good dog of the week 🐶
Barley, the little dog that could.
How stylish is this dog?
Want your dog here? Reply with a photo, their name, and one line about what makes them a good dog.
Some ways I can help
Send me a video, I'll give you feedback for free.
Reply to any newsletter with a 30 to 60 second clip or a description of what's going on: a bad walk, a behavior you can't figure out, a sport skill you're stuck on. I pick 2 readers a week and answer them properly.
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Work with me one on one.
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👉🏻 If we've worked together before, just email me at [email protected] and we'll get something in the books.
That's all for today folks! 🫶🏻
Let's go train some Good Dogs 🐶
P.S. Hit reply and tell me what your dog will work for outside when the treats don't cut it. A sniff? A good scratch? Being allowed to finally pee on that one tree? I read every single email!