Existential Feeding is where you use only the dog’s daily caloric intake for training. In other words whatever their daily meal is, whether it is kibble, wet food, raw or cooked food, that is what you will use as a positive reinforcer for training. This removes the need for treats or higher value food rewards. - You may be thinking “my dog doesn’t have enough food drive for this”.. This will not be a problem when you start Existential Feeding. Assuming the dog is healthy, I can assure you it has food drive. It must eat to live and no healthy dog will starve itself to death. Chances are a dog with “no food drive” has just never been hungry! - By feeding a dog from a bowl twice a day on a regular schedule we lose a lot of power in our training. When we try to train a dog with treats, we are then just really offering them dessert. Sure, dessert is great, but I can go without it. No one NEEDS dessert! - Here’s how it works… Using kibble as an example, if your dog eats 3 cups per day, you will measure out 3 cups. Give your dog several opportunities to earn their meals throughout the day and if they refuse it, simply stop the training session, put them up, and try again later! It’s important that you do not leave food lying around for them to eat freely. - Hand-Feeding Vs. Free-Feeding Hand-Feeding: Builds Food Drive Builds Relationship Mental Stimulation Avoid Bloat (GDV) Train With Meals Instead Of Treats Aids To Elimination Of Resource Guarding - Free-Feeding: Diminishes Food Drive May Not Notice Signs Of Illness Possible Bloat & Weight Gain Due To Gorging Possible Weight Loss Due To Diminished Food Drive - When do you feed your dog? Do they earn their meals? Do they eat out of a bowl ALL the time? - #DogTrainer #DogTraining #LocalDogTrainer #LocalDogWalker #DogPsychology #DogsOfIndiana #Marion #MarionIN #MarionIndiana #GrantCounty #IndianaDogTrainer #PackWalk #PackLife #BalancedDogTraining #RelationshipbasedDogTraining #DogPsychologyBeforeDogTraining #PrivateLessons #BehaviorModification #Rehabilitation #BoardandTrain #BasicObedience #OffLeash #Aggression #Reactivity #BiteWork #PersonalProtectionDog #ProtectionDogTraining #ExistentialFeeding (at Marion, Indiana) https://www.instagram.com/p/Clhk6YJtOZL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
