Have you ever felt overwhelmed with your dog's behavior, but didn't know where to start? Here's a simple solution: Take your dog's "existential food" and hand feed them every day for just a few minutes per day. This means, instead of feeding them out of bowl, you put their regular food in a pouch, bait bag, or even your pockets and simply feed them out of your hand. You can do this while on walks to get engagement and loose-leash walking, or if you have a fenced yard, your dog can follow you around the yard.
Now, to incorporate training, you can do this a couple of different ways. A really easy and straight forward concept is "name training." You say your dog's name and then feed them. This makes their name super positive and lays the groundwork for recall.
1. Say your dog's name while offering food in an open hand.
2. When your dog moves towards you to get the food, give them the food.
3. Do not ask for obedience behaviors just yet.
Easy as One, Two, Three!
If you have already done some obedience work with your dog, a training session can incorporate a sit, sit-stay, place-work, and recall. It might look like this:
Dogs love this type of bonding and many are eager to please, and ready to work. Put your dog to work for at least a few minutes per day and see your relationship grow, communication improve, and your dog's quality of life will sky-rocket!