10 creative ways to give food to your dog

Giving food doesn’t have to always look the same. Actually, changing the way you deliver it can make the food more valuable to your dog. It’s a very useful trick if your dog can only eat a few types of food or if they have just done something amazing and you only have kibble on you.

straight from your hand

This is the simplest way of delivering treats, but simple doesn’t mean bad. Giving treats in the same place (for example in front of you or by your leg) and with the same speed creates a predictable pattern and it can help keep the arousal level down. Well-planned reward delivery can make training faster and more precise.

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10 reasons to use food on walks

Food is just so very useful! You can use it to…

…figure out how stressed your dog is

If the dog is refusing food they are probably quite stressed! Get out of that situation and rethink your options! (Tip: can you increase the distance from the trigger, lower its intensity or shorten the exposure time?)

…calm them down

Sniffing for food is as natural an activity as it gets (dogs are scavengers first and hunters by necessity!). It provides information about the environment and has an overall calming effect on dogs. Looking for treats also helps them boost their confidence, they find them all on their own 🙂 If your dog is new to this, remember to start with larger, more smelly treats.

If your dog is too nervous to sniff, you can try giving them a chew toy. Chewing also calms them down.

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