Generally speaking, dogs like food, and are motivated by it – particularly their favorite tasty treats!
Dog parents everywhere will reach for some of the best dog treats when it’s time for training, or walkies, or their dog’s doing something they don’t want them to. Simply put, treats can come in really useful.
However, not all dogs seem to be motivated by treats – if it looks as though your pup is one of these dogs, what can you do? Fortunately, award-winning trainer Lisa Burton of Listen Dog Training has got some advice to share with us in a recent Instagram post.
Why is my dog not food motivated? If this is a question you’ve ever asked yourself, first of all, Burton recommends opting for treats with strong smells if you want to motivate your dog with food. “Think less about taste and texture and ALL about smell when choosing your treats,” she says, “The smellier the better!”
And remember that the food itself is only part of the reward. It’s important to focus on the delivery, too! Tap into your dog’s natural instincts, and behaviors like chasing, foraging, and eye-stalking, by throwing, scattering, or flicking treats, for example. You can be creative – what might your dog like?
“Abandon the boring dog bowl,” continues Burton, “And start feeding by hand as part of your daily training or use engagement and puzzle feeders. Dogs are contrafreeloading which, put simply, means that the more work involved in obtaining a meal, the more they enjoy eating it!”
Something you can also try is transferring the value your dog gives to one experience or reward onto another. Take your dog’s favorite game as an example – try giving your pup a treat and then playing a quick game. Keep repeating this, and even give your dog the game or toy as a surprise result of being fed a treat. After a while, they’ll give the food-based reward more value as a result, making training dogs with treats much easier and more productive!
And, finally, check if your dog is overstimulated, overexcited, or simply anxious. When your dog is aroused, this will have an effect on his ability to eat. “Either reduce arousal in training scenarios or help him grow his tolerance threshold by practicing ‘thinking in arousal’ games and exercises,” says Burton.
So, while it’s not ideal in many ways to have a dog who’s not motivated by food, there are things you can try. What will you look at doing first?
