May 20, 2011
How do I use raw food for training with the Michael Ellis food DVD?
Full Question:
Hi Cindy.I got the Michael Ellis training with food DVD last week and have started watching it - thank you for recommending it, it's SO good! In the first chapter where he talks about the food, he says that in the beginning you will have to be giving a lot of food, so if he trains 3 times a day he'll just use their food for the day and then not feed them their meals. If we are using a lot of food in the beginning, and Kasey is raw fed (I feed chicken parts, hamburger, a gross slop of organs, liver, veggies, eggs), then I don't know what to use for the training food so that he is still getting fed right. He has a somewhat sensitive stomach (one of the reasons I switched to raw when he was 1 yr old - even the high quality kibbles on your website caused gas, the runs, etc.). If I cook the muscle meat and use that, will his nutrition be compromised? or do you have any other suggestions? I have found you can go through a lot of food with this kind of training! even if you give small pieces like Ed instructs.
Thank you Cindy, for your help with this. I really want to use this method of training, I just have to figure out the food part!
PS Thank you so much for all you do with these videos and articles, etc. to help us not only learn to train our dogs, but to have such a better relationship with them!! You guys are awesome!
Cindy's Answer:
You can cook the muscle meat for training so it's not so messy to handle.
I actually purchase Natures Variety raw Beef patties (they hold together the best in my experience) and wear thin latex gloves and use that for a session or two a day. You just need to be creative. Once you get past the preliminary training where you are using so much food, it will be easier.
I actually am using this method for Rush right now, to work out some little snags in a few exercises we are stuck on. He's getting all of his food in training right now, as we are getting ready for a trial in a couple of months. I want his motivation to be very high.
Don't worry about balancing his diet precisely every day, it's not that big a deal as long as it's balanced over time.
I actually purchase Natures Variety raw Beef patties (they hold together the best in my experience) and wear thin latex gloves and use that for a session or two a day. You just need to be creative. Once you get past the preliminary training where you are using so much food, it will be easier.
I actually am using this method for Rush right now, to work out some little snags in a few exercises we are stuck on. He's getting all of his food in training right now, as we are getting ready for a trial in a couple of months. I want his motivation to be very high.
Don't worry about balancing his diet precisely every day, it's not that big a deal as long as it's balanced over time.
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