02/02/2025
A new toaster for us means a new challenge for Rodger!
Rodger is a typical poodle, and would be super fussy given the chance. Here, he is eating some of his daily kibble portion from the empty toaster box, with the cardboard frames adding to the challenge. If i put this portion of kibble in his bowl and put it down to him, it would be 50/50 whether he would eat it. Given his meal like this, or during training( which i often do and its why he seems to get tonnes of reward if i share training videos!) he will pretty much always eat it all. He actively prefers to work for his food rather than have it just put in front of him. This is great for me, because poodles and many other deep chested breeds are prone to a dangerous disorder called bloat. It can be linked to vigorous exercise close to feeding times, so getting him to eat at appropriate times is vital. Feeding him this way, i know hes eating appropriately and he enjoys it.
Crucially, because Rodger is not a real foodie dog, he doesn't find it frustrating. Some dogs, however, do find food puzzles and things like slow feeders frustrating when they are hungry. If you have a dog who eats like they've never seen food before, giving them a puzzle to eat from can be a real trial to them. Better to give most of a meal and use a small portion to train with, or give a food puzzle only when your dog is mostly satiated. Imagine you were starving hungry, drooling at the thought of whatever your favourite meal is, and someone made you do the Times crossword first! Fun? No! Annoying? Yes! Would you be able to give that crossword your best focus and attention? Definitely not.
I feel this is another area where social media has ingrained that we need to make our dogs work for every single piece of food they get. In some cases, its great! In others, it can cause unnecessary stress and build worry around food.
As in so many things dog training, it depends on the dog. For some dogs, food challenges are great. For others, not so much.
