Dog Language: Questions Around Food

[@meganstoner2744]

Your videos are super helpful Nigel. I adopted two maltipoos and one of them is very difficult to walk. I'm going to begin walking him only around the house and yard to build up confidence. Thanks again!

[@nigelreed]

Thanks Megan. Best of luck!

[@alisonlouis8606]

Your illustrations are in your video are excellent as learn best by seeing how you do it, how it works. Keep on with the great work..

[@nigelreed]

Thank you very much!

[@iSwanqa]

Awesome videos man! Keep it up. Subscribed!

[@nigelreed]

Awesome, thank you!

[@le_cringe1337]

You are epic, a lot of useful information packed in a short video. Before discovering your channel dog psychology was a mystery to me, now I feel that I have a better understanding of it. Thank you

[@nigelreed]

Glad it was helpful!

[@bt9124]

I agree. He does not waste a single syllable either.

[@bt9124]

I love Rex! My dogs ask a question then ignore the answer too, as if to say, "Hey? Mum?" I can be on the phone/loo/eating/having a politics debate with my teenaged sons. One of the delights of this channel is that the funny side is always there. Being English, i need this; so much more is communicated via humour. When i watched other dog training videos, (before finding this channel) often they were so long that my pup would have been adult by the time i had ploughed through them. Thank you Nigel.

[@cp6666666]

Nigel just Wanted to say great videos - as someone who is hoping to become a dog trainer I have spent a LOT of time trawling through videos , books , trainings etc and I love the balance you strike between explaining the ‘why’ and the ‘how’- really excellent your clips deserve a lot more views ! One on resource guarding would be great please !👍😊

[@nigelreed]

Thanks Chris. Really happy to hear that. Have many videos to make. Will get to resource guarding at some point.

[@KrisandaFitnessWestPerth]

Very useful

[@nigelreed]

Glad to hear that :)

[@janicegreenidge7013]

This is super helpful. I have a dog who is way down on the passive scale. He cleverly had me shopping my way though all kinds of different raw food as I was offering him tastier things to get him to eat. Lol 😆 It took missing 3 meals where I just put the food down for 10 minutes and then take it away for him to realize that won't work anymore. He still does it now and then but now I'm confident in my actions.

[@nigelreed]

Amazing. Well done Janice!!

[@claireball1149]

So glad I discovered you 😊 thank you so much for your well given advice, makes it so much easier to understand why my dog does what he does, can't wait for the next one 😉👍

[@nigelreed]

I'm so glad!

[@huxleylian8853]

I know Im kind of off topic but does anyone know a good site to watch newly released series online?

[@arturoskylar9334]

@Huxley Lian Flixportal

[@huxleylian8853]

@Arturo Skylar Thanks, signed up and it seems like a nice service :D I appreciate it!

[@arturoskylar9334]

@Huxley Lian Happy to help xD

[@LeonBosset]

My dog is a rescue. When we first got her she would NEVER beg. However, my mom (who has a form of Alzheimer's) started to sneak her a bite here and there. Naturally, now she begs. If I tell her no (multiple times) she will stop, but then sulk for a bit.

[@Loogiemistress]

Thanks

[@nigelreed]

Welcome

[@qwertykotchka394]

Wonderful explanation as usual. Thank you. What I haven't clicked to is the connection between the dog's behaviour and who has power over the food? And what are we aiming for? Or is that irreverent? I would suspect that the aggressive behaviour implies that the dog actually feels it doesn't have power over the food and is challenging for it. Or will that all be covered in the further video you mention? My dog is definitely active (he gobbles everything and anything on sight, there's no time for posturing!) and shortly before his mealtime he'll start with the "why do you make me suffer like this" eyes which then escalates into sitting in the corner where he's fed. If that doesn't work he'll go and sulk on his bed.

[@nigelreed]

I am pointing out how dogs use language (behaviour) to see if they can influence the outcome around food - Which is the definition of the dog thinking it has power. This can be achieved in all 4 ways: passively, actively, assertively and aggressively. However a dog asking passively or actively from time to time wouldn't be the dog thinking it has power. Rather it's when the dog is consistently using one of these behaviours. Similarly a child requesting pizza one night isn't either. But a child asking every night hasn't accepted the parents make the decisions around food and so keeps trying to influence the outcome. However a dog being assertive or aggressive does think they have power and so is getting more frustrated the situation is not happening how they want it to, and so, are getting more forceful. What we are aiming for is a dog that doesn't attempt to influence (get power over) our actions around food with undesirable behaviour i.e leaving food, begging, jumping up, barking, stealing, attacking. Because the more areas dogs (and children) are able to influence the more confused they will become. A video on this will be made in the future.

[@qwertykotchka394]

@@nigelreed You're amazing Nigel - thank you for the in-depth and clear explanation. I had assumed that the behaviour and assumption of power was on a linear scale. Thanks for the correction. I think that I'm lucky and that I've got a dog who knows that I have the power as we don't get any of the undesirable behaviours that you mention and inside the home he'll never touch anything (food on the floor, accidentally dropped food or stuff on the coffee table (perfect feeding height!) etc) without the go-ahead. Outdoors though, it's another matter altogether and unfortunately where we live it's a bit of a free buffet on the ground.

[@charliehall8295]

What's your favourite brand of harness? Just a little curious. Mine is definetly Julius K9 ones but in particular the Longwalk series. I'm glad my dog isn't aggressive around food but she is a foodie. She gets rewarded when out on fields in a Clam/lotus ball. Makes it much more exciting for her. She loves it!

[@nigelreed]

I like Julius K9 too.

[@bifkinuk]

My German Shepherd dog has got into the habit of sitting at feet looking at me whilst I work every morning. This sometimes escalates to her barking at me and trying to show me the cupboard where her food is kept. It would helpful to do a video how best to deal with this.

[@nigelreed]

That video is coming in time. First set of videos are explainer videos.

[@patriciabarriga3023]

Hello Nigel. My dog in general has a passive behavior about food, but when he finally decides to eat he likes us to be close to him, not far away. Is that normal? Thank you!

[@nigelreed]

I've seen it before. I would have to see much more context to give an analysis.

[@pattis.1645]

1 fried egg cut up small, and 1 burrito everyday, please. Plus lots of treats. Thanks 😘.

[@nigelreed]

Yum :0

[@tinlidtoo6615]

My dogs were always fine around food, but now my dog got old (14) hes completely focused on food, getting restless way before mealtimes, as much as an hour, and whining in a quiet high pitch while we are eating. Hes deaf, doesnt see well and has a hard time on walks. I cant think of any way to stop him doing this stuff, it would be sure nice if anyone has any suggestions.

[@nigelreed]

Video on that coming in the future.

[@saudch116]

Thanks nigel for the video. I’ve got a question regarding my two and half months old gsd pup. He’s starting to show food aggression whenever he’s getting fed. Mostly I pick up the food bowl away from him and then he sits calmly but when given again he starts growling. How should I correct that? Thanks

[@nigelreed]

Hi, what do you mean when you say you pick it up away from him? Are you saying to take it away whilst he is eating? Best, Nigel

[@saudch116]

Nigel Reed yeah I take it away. Should I do that?

[@nigelreed]

I assume you are trying to desensitise the dog to people being near his food? If so your actions are doing the opposite. Your dog would be happier if either a) you didn't do it. Or b) when you went near his food it was to put more in. Hope that helps. Best, Nigel

[@pvt_mtbl9516]

What age should I train my dog?

[@nigelreed]

Straight away