Finishing Kory’s feeding protocol

At this evening’s dinner we began putting the parts of Kory’s feeding protocol together, specifically,  1) keeping Kory’s nose in his own bowl in the presence of other dogs and,  2) keeping Kory’s nose out of the other dogs’ bowls while they eat.

For dinner tonight I put Kory on lead and tied his leash handle to the door knob inside the basement. The other dogs barely noticed the new kid hanging out by the door and, of course, were so intent on their dinner they didn’t go near him.

When everyone’s bowl was down and all were eating I picked up Kory’s bowl and walked him about 4 feet away from the pack, put his bowl on the floor, had my clicker handy, and my hand on the leash.

Kory glanced at the other dogs and dove into his bowl, never stalling out, never breaking position to visit the other dogs, just intent on his work. I clicked and praised for his workmanlike approach to dinner.

After about 45 seconds I hung his leash across his back. He stayed focused on his bowl without changing position at all.

As he was finishing his meal some of the sharks began circling, so I left his side to shoo them out the door. Kory held his place and continued eating.  More clicks and calm praise from me.

When he finished I gave him huge praise which he was delighted to receive, wiggling and kissing my face. I then put him out the basement door and he calmly walked amongst the rest of the pack. Within 30 seconds I said, “Kory, hurry up!” and he produced”poopage,” which is an accomplishment itself.

I believe this feeding training is going to change both Kory’s behavior in the pack , giving him more self-confidence (he’s been WAY too submissive, especially to a couple of our bitches) and his image of himself as a more mature dog.

Hopefully Bud will read this, curious as to what I’m doing with Kory while he’s away, and be pleased with our progress!

Tags: 2-Minute puppy training, basic dog obedience, Bud Houston, crate training puppies, feeding dogs, Marsha Houston, puppy training