# Food Refusal



## Neil Zive (Oct 12, 2008)

I have a problem with my dog stealing food. How does one correct this and how do you teach food refusal.


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## Pia Porko (Oct 8, 2008)

My former dog would constantly steel food. What I did was put a sandwich on the table, tied a string around it and the other end of the string to a kettle. I filled the kettle with spoons and other kitchen stuff that would make ahorrible noice but wouldn't be for a danger for the dog since I didn't want him to cut himself on anything. He stole the sandwich and along came down the kettle with all it's accessories. That was the last time he would steel anything from the table but later on he did learn how to open kitchen cupboards and eat the food right from the shelves.. :mrgreen:


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## Neil Zive (Oct 12, 2008)

Thanks for that tip. I have done a few excercises today using an electric collar. I placed some biltong (beef jerky) around the house and then let the dog in. He went to the first lot and as his nose touched it I gave him a correction. The result was pretty good as he did not touch any of the biltong that I placed around the house. I did however give him some slices, after he refused the placed food, as a reward.


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## Michele McAtee (Apr 10, 2006)

Just as additional information, here is an article and an opinion about how to go about training food refusal. It is written as "poison proofing".

http://leerburg.com/poison.htm


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Neil,

I would first teach the dog the behavior of refusing food before correcting the dog for not refusing it.

I put some bland food in reach (cheerios) and prevent the dog from getting it. When the dog looks at me, I reward with a high-value food (meat). 

I can set this up so when I drop food, the dog sits and looks at me. Or when the dog comes across food on the ground, the dog ignores it.

Once the dog understands, THEN I add correction. If you don't do this, some dogs will eat the food anyway. Then the dog learns that "sure, it hurts, but it was worth it." At that point, you have a BIG problem. Or you could end up with a dog that won't track. Or a dog that won't eat from it's dish.

Avoid the BIG problems and teach your dog what you expect of it before using correction.


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## Chris Michalek (Feb 13, 2008)

I have a rescuse Rott that was terrible with counter surfing and stealing food in general.

Habenero pepper sauce on planted food fixed the issue after two sessions.


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## Ian Forbes (Oct 13, 2006)

Nothing much to add on the methods of food refusal training, but having lived in Africa for many years I would say that the 'poison proofing' would be well worth doing. Many people lost dogs in Kenya to 'baited' meat.


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Corrections in this case work better if the dog doesn't know they are coming from you. Still, teaching food refusal with corrections, you will find out how food-motivated, smart, or independent the dog is. Some just learn ways to get around it, figure out when the e-collar is not on, when your finger isn't on the button, when you are not watching. They learn situations where hey can get away with it... Also poison proofing is not something to 100% rely on. Sure the dog may know not to take bait, or not to take bait when you are around. It still doesn't mean the dog 100% will NOT eat any piece of food when left alone long enough to really think about it...

I found teaching attention, "watch-me" behaviors and a release to eat, just as helpful.


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## Neil Zive (Oct 12, 2008)

Anne Vaini said:


> Neil,
> 
> I would first teach the dog the behavior of refusing food before correcting the dog for not refusing it.
> 
> ...


 

Thanks for this post. I was thinking about the tracking conflict and you have described to me how I should teach this. Thanks


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## liz shulman (Aug 28, 2008)

Anna Kasho said:


> Some just learn ways to get around it, figure out when the e-collar is not on, when your finger isn't on the button, when you are not watching. They learn situations where hey can get away with it...


Mine learned to eat faster


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## Hank Springer (Nov 17, 2008)

liz shulman said:


> Mine learned to eat faster


Any time I begin poison proofing, or food refusal, I am dealing with a dog I have already established communication with. I allow someone to place food within range of the dog and I offer correction when he attempts to approach the food. Usually I begin with a tap on the muzzle and a correction of "Phooie."
I continue this two or three times a day until I have made my point. 
When I finish a protection dog, or guard dog, he will eat only from his own dish. He won't take a t-bone steak from the hand.
This is just the way I do it.


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

I used two methods. One was where I put the dog in a sit next to me, and someone offers the dog his hand with a plastic bottlecap. I wait for the dog to look back at me, since there is nothing there, and I reward the dog.

pretty soon, the dog does not look at the offered hand.

Then I go to the down, and do the same with a person throwing bottle caps.

When the dog gets to the point where he doesn't pay attention again, I go back to the sit, and the person is offering food, but in a closed hand. At this point, they are really close and trying to get the dogs attention. If the dog is ignoring them, then I reward.

Then I go to the food being thrown, but not right by the dog, then I go to dinking the dog in the head with the food.

It worked really well with Buko, as I don't train it, and he doesn't loose points for eating or sniffing the food.

For PP dogs, I do something similar, but I used to add in the dog gets to bite someone offering food. Works well for getting them to ignore food.


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## Hank Springer (Nov 17, 2008)

Of course we must follow the normal regimen of reward and correction. I don't believe in rewarding with treats, but some people get good results that way.


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## Anne Vaini (Mar 15, 2007)

Jeff,

I totally love your idea of using bottlecaps. (Nevermind I have a dog dumb enough to each a bottlecap). Literally. I was using glass pebbles in a training class to teach the new handlers clicker training. Moments later, I'm fishing a glass pebble out of my dog's thoat. I was holding a scotch-brite pad while talking to my brother. In conversation, I said yes and moved my hand. The dog leapt up and nearly inhaled the scotch-brite pad. Yup that is the dog the recently had surgery for an obstruction.

Anyway - my point is - I trained a food refusal, but I never separated the hand movements associated with treats. So she refuses food, but fawns on my hands IF I am holding them in the way I hold treats.

I'm gonna use the bottlecaps idea and not screw this up on the next dog! :lol:


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## Jeff Oehlsen (Apr 7, 2006)

Not my idea, but the idea is to get the dog to just pay attention to you and ignore the food/bottlecaps. All he has to do is look at you and you pay him. They start ignoring the person pretty quick.


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