Dog Training Tips from Cooper City to Help Your Dog Eat His Food

Ideas to get Your Dog to Eat His Food

I was out at a Dog Training revisit this morning in Cooper City for a Coonhound that we haven’t seen for over seven years.  The dog had been doing great for a very long time until recently when a few things had changed in the family dynamics.  We took care of that pretty quickly (and that can be the topic of a future article).  The client then mentioned, “I just dont get it.  I spend more money on Mystie’s "holistic/good for you food" than I spend on myself.  I put the food down and she really isn’t interested in it.  I dont want to feed her the junkie food with all the additives, but I don’t want her to starve.  What can I do to get her to eat the healthy food?”

So many times we can relate our current experiences with things we have lived through in the past.  Lets think about our childhood and our mom serving us green beans.  If you are like me, there was no way I was going to take my fork and eat those green beans sitting on that plate.  But you know what?  If I mixed the beans in with some mashed potatoes and then put some melted butter on the top, I would eat them all day long.  I am not saying that we need to cover Mystie’s food in mashed potatoes and butter, but there is a way to enhance the food to make it more desirable.  There are things that we can add to Mystie’s food as “side dishes” that are healthy and will enhance the desirability of the entire eating experience.  Here is what Robin, my wife, adds to our dogs food and they just love:

• PUMPKIN PASTE.  Pumpkin is very healthy for dogs and is a great additive to the dry food.  It is a little hard to mix with the dry kibble, but a great, tasty treat for our dogs.
• LOW SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH.  Chicken is a healthy and light meat and the low sodium minimizes any additional salt added to their diet.  The moisture gives a pleasing smell to the dry food that our dogs love.
• COTTAGE CHEESE.  The wonderful aspect about cottage cheese is that it is so easy to mix up with the dry food.  The moisture that it adds helps take away the “dryness” of the kibble.  It is healthy and good for the dogs and what dog doesnt love cheese?  It is a true winner that we have been using for years for all six of our dogs.
• FREEZE DRIED RAW DOG FOOD.  Many experts are proponents of feeding dogs natural, raw food.  Although very healthy and rich with minerals and vitamins, it is just a pain to actually do.  You can now buy raw dog food in freeze dried form in many of the better dog food stores.  Put a few teaspoons of the food into a bowl, add a little water, and wait for about twenty minutes.  You now have a great, healthy treat that you can add to your dog’s food and he will love it.

Again, these are just some simple ideas to spice up your dog’s healthy diet.  The one thing that I want to emphasize is to not add wet dog food to your dog’s diet.  Although there are many good and healthy wet dog foods on the market, they all require you to brush your dogs teeth regularly.  Most of us just dont do that.  Our dogs teeth will then rot out early, causing health issues in their later years.

Try one or more of these options and I am sure you will find that your dog can’t wait for meal time.  As always, check with your vet regarding all your dog’s health and nutritional needs.  For more information about this or any dog training issues, please contact us at (954) 424-0170 or our web site at The Best Dog Trainers in Cooper City and South Florida.

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What Does the Word STAY Mean to You

For my students, who know that pointing your finger at your dog to make him stay as you back away repeating the command only proves that your dog doesnt know how to stay ...

Stay

I pulled into the crowded parking lot at the local shopping center and rolled down the car windows to make sure my Labrador Retriever Pup had fresh air. She was stretched full-out on the back seat, and I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there.

I walked to the curb backward, pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically,

Now you stay. Do you hear me?

Stay! Stay!

The driver of a nearby car, a pretty blonde young lady, gave me a strange look and said,

Why dont you just put it in PARK?

Disclaimer: Dont leave your dog in alone in a car on a hot day! Dont leave the windows open with a large enough opening that your dog could escape from the car if he broke his stay.

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Quick Tips on Doggie Allergies

Wolfie was scratching and chewing himself and I knew it wasnt fleas.  A friend of ours  mentioned that he might have some skin allergies and suggested to feed him grain-free food.  I gave it a shot and he is still scratching.  What next?

I first want to make it quite clear that I am not as qualified as my Veterinarian to diagnose solutions for skin allergies and the like.  I simply want to pass on some information that my Vet told me to "try first".  

The "quick and dirty" and inexpensive solution for canine skin allergies is to switch to a grain-free food.  Many times this will solve the problem and wont incur large medical expenses.  The one thing we forget when we switch to a grain-free food is the "hidden grain" that might still remain.  A local natural dog food supplier recently provided us with an epiphany that makes perfect sense.  

When you switch to a grain-free dog food, make sure that chicken is not the meat in the food.  For most chickens, their main food is corn.  So when you have chicken in your dog food, you are also adding corn.  Pick another meat such as lamb, duck, salmon, etc. as the main meat ingredient and you will eliminate that "hidden source of grain".

As always, talk to your Vet concerning any health issues with your dog.  This is the advise given to us by our Vet and natural dog food supplier.   For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Ideas to get Wolfie to Eat His Food

I just dont get it.  I spend more money on Wolfies "holistic/good for you food" than I spend on myself.  I put the food down and he toys with it, eats a few bites, and then walks away.  I dont want to feed him junk food.  But, what do I do to get him to eat the "its good for you" food?

Lets think about our childhood and our mom serving us green beans.  There was no way that we were going to eat them.  But when we mixed them with mashed potatoes and maybe a little butter... Yum...yum...yum.  Now, I am not advocating giving Wolfie mashed potatoes and butter with his food, but I do have some ideas on adding some healthy goodies to make his food a little more interesting.  Here is what Robin, my wife, adds to our dogs food and they just love:

1. LOW SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH.  Chicken is a healthy meat and the low sodium minimizes any additional salt added to their diet.  The moisture gives a pleasing smell to the dry food that our dogs love.
2. PUMPKIN PASTE.  Pumpkin is naturally good for the dogs and is a great additive to the dry food.  It is a little hard to mix with the dry kibble, but a winning, healthy treat for our dogs.
3. COTTAGE CHEESE.  The great thing about cottage cheese is that it is so easy to mix up with the dry food.  It has some moisture that helps alleviate the boredom of dry kibble.  It is healthy and good for the dogs and what dog doesnt love cheese?  It is a true winner that we have been using for years for all four of our dogs.

Again, these are just some simple ideas to spice up Wolfies healthy diet.  The one thing that I want to implore you not to do is to add wet dog food to your dogs diet.  Although there are many good and healthy wet dog foods on the market, they all require you to brush your dogs teeth regularly.  Most of us just dont do that.  Our dogs teeth will then rot out early, causing health issues in their later years.

So, lets keep with options 1, 2, or 3 above.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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