The Dog Diary

The following are just some of the strategies that Paul Connolly of Wolfspeak taught me to put in place. I can promise you, they work! However, as with anything, you must stick at it, as the most important things with dogs are repetition and consistency and these strategies are all in dog language.

Feeding

Don’t leave the dog’s food down for him all day. Alter the feeding times within an hour and a half slot each day. Preferably, feed him after you’ve eaten, but do it like this….Prepare his food as normal, but ignore him while you’re doing it, don’t talk to him. When the food is prepared, YOU pretend to eat it, again saying nothing. Hide it, guard it, pretend to eat it yourself, even munch a cookie or something to make him think you’re eating it. When you’ve ‘finished’, put the bowl down for him, then walk away, again not talking to him - this makes him think you are Pack Leader and you are eating first, giving him leftovers. If, after about 15 minutes, he hasn’t eaten it, PICK IT UP and don’t give him a second chance. He can starve until next mealtime as he’s missed his chance!

Another tip, once every 7 days or so, go through the same sequence again, but put down an EMPTY bowl to him. This will make him think you have eaten everything, as is the Pack Leader’s prerogative, and there is nothing left for him. The other benefit of this feeding process is that it gives his tummy a chance to clear out which, in an adult dog, is a good thing. Don’t do this part with puppies as they need their food to grow! Remember not to talk to your dog while all this is going on, no matter how puzzled he looks!

Toys & Playtime

Do you leave the latest line in dog toys lying scattered all around your house? If so, put them away in the cupboard or the dog chest. YOU decide when dog playtime happens and what the game is. If he likes ‘tug’ which is Dexter’s favourite game, you as Pack Leader decide when the game commences, then play with him, let him win sometimes and make sure that you win other times. Make sure you put all the dog’s toys away at all times when dog playtime finishes and you decide when the games begin and end.

Space

Does your dog lie in the middle of the floor or by the stairs and instinctively, you step over him? Instead of stepping over him, invade his space and shuffle into him, forcing him to move out of your path and out of the way. Even at times when he’s lying comfortably snoozing in his bed, go over now and again and shift him out of his bed. Again, this is you being Pack Leader and you will decide what space he has, not him. Do this fairly often.

All this sounds cruel and is in total contradiction of how we humans respond to each other, but this is DOG LANGUAGE! Yes, it’s difficult to do, especially with cute puppies like Dexter, and no-one knows that better than me, but it’s good for them, as they are ill-equipped to take on the role as Pack Leaders and we are actually relieving their stress by taking their responsibility away and establishing ourselves as Pack Leaders.

Dexter & His Favourite Tug Toy

So, where to start in feeding our dogs the healthy way? There is much research one can do and there are lots of arguments for and against various feeding regimes such as the BARF (Bones And Raw Food) Diet, to mention a prime example.

I wanted to give you an example of an easy and extremely economical way to feed your dog some natural treats. I use these all the time and honestly, you’ll find that not only will your own dog be begging you for commands in order to show you his repertois of skills to earn some of these little beauties, but you’ll also feel like the Pied Piper on your dog walks, as all the surrounding dogs will be after these….

Liver Treats

Ingredients:- Ox Liver - as much as you want to cook!

Take slices of the liver and fry it off gently in a non-stick, dry frying pan.

Once fried, cut the slices into small cubes, small enough to use as training treats, large enough so as not to disappear during cooking!

Spread the cubes out onto baking sheets, in single layers.

Cook in a warm oven, around 150 degrees Celsius, for anywhere between an hour and an hour and a half, turning occasionally.

Once cooled, portion the treats in small bags and freeze for future use. They will keep in the freezer for a few months and should be used within a few days once thawed.

Word of warning…your kitchen may stink while cooking this….best to cook a lot of it at once so you don’t have to do it too often!

A word about liver….Liver is a highly nutritious food to feed your dog but, when raw, should only be fed in very small quantities as is a very rich food and may cause a temporary stomach upset. When liver is cooked by the method above, because it is dried as it cooks, a larger quantity may be fed. As with all food though, don’t overfeed!

To follow on from this recipe, which I absolutely swear by, please click here and be introduced into a whole new world of home made food to keep your dog healthy.

These are my thoughts on dog nutrition. Now, I’m no qualified expert, but I’ve done a lot of reading and research over the few years I’ve owned dogs, a fair amount of trial and error and I have a few theories.

There is far, far more to feeding our beloved pets than opening a tin of the most well advertised dog food which is spookily placed at eye level on the shelves of your favourite supermarket.

Take a closer look at the ingredients……any tin or packet or bag of food that you see with the words ‘meat or animal derivatives’ on the ingredients panel….my advice is this….put it back on the shelf and stay well clear! You will probably see words similar to ‘minimum meat content 4%’. Ask yourself this…what on earth makes up the other 96%? The answer is this - waste products from slaughterhouses, feathers, entrails, ground up hooves and bones….the list goes on. Do you really want to feed this stuff to your dog? Not me! Some of these dog food companies are very clever, mixing all this stuff up and adding a specially concocted blend of EEC permitted flavourings, colours and preservatives to make it smell nice and look good.

Now, not all companies are the same, and there are those companies out there who actually look at the quality of ingredients they put into their dog food and adopt a more ‘holistic’ approach, including such things as high grade chicken, chicken fats, glucosamine, minerals, brown rice and herbs in their food. You might think that it’s enormously expensive to feed your dog in this way. I’ve worked it out and believe you me, it’s comparative, if not cheaper per day to feed your dog a good diet.

I personally believe that sub-grade dog food contributes to many illnesses, including cancers, which our canine friends suffer from and it’s well worth a little careful thought with regard to what to feed your dog.

Check out this nutrition report - it speaks for itself!