Waiting for food exercise:
1/ crate train your dog and feed in the crate so that he/she is safe/secure and can eat undisturbed once given permission to dig in.
2/ have the dog sit, put the bowl down. If the dog moves towards the food, just pick the bowl straight up. Repeat this until the dog remains sitting and waiting after the bowl is down.
3/ once the dog gives a courteous pause (this only needs to be a few seconds but the dog MUST be committed to waiting patiently for further instructions) then release him/her to eat, I say ‘break’ or ‘go ahead’.
4/ close and latch the crate door and walk away and allow the dog to eat in complete peace.
5/ if after 20 minutes the dog hasn’t touched his/her food, pick up the bowl and reoffer it at the next scheduled meal time (no free feeding).
6/ DO NOT stick your hands in the dogs dish while he/she is eating.
DO NOT do not hover around the dog while he/she is eating
DO NOT allow kids or other pets to bother the dog while he/she is eating
DO NOT harass the dog while he/she is eating… all these bad ideas create conflict and really dangerous behaviour!
7/ once the rules, boundaries, and structure at meal times are established then feed the dog according to the feeding protocol every time.
