Hi all,

Glad to see that this thread has turned into a fun one. Also, want to thank all of you (again) for great advice. Now, we no longer care about our eating order and have to rush to finish our meals. We have taught her to wait patiently and she has learned really fast that jumping around and going crazy will do her no good and that there is a benefit of looking at my (smiley) face for a period of time after the food is put down

Pat

Pat, excellent news! Good work, and thanks for the update. I always like knowing how things turn out.

Hi all,

Just want to give an update 4 months after my last post. She is now 9 months old and still is as much a chowhound as she has been.

We are very proud of her for being able to wait with her bowl being a couple of inches from her nose and us disappearing into another room for 2 mins until we come out and tell her "OK".

It is probably a simple thing for most of your doggies. But, for us, it wasn't something we thought she would be able to do 4-5 months ago. We have learned to train her by gradually raising the bar (time and distance in this case).

I think this gives us a good comfort that she respects and trusts us to a good degree and wouldn't likely become dominant. Tanks again for all great advice.

Pat, sounds like you have a nice dog. And good work.

I have to say that I certainly don't do this much work around food with my pooches. I prepare their food, while they run to their crates without being told and stand in there drooling until I come and put their food in and close the door.

Going to their crates is all I currently expect from them. (However, this would change if I ever had any issues with feeding time.)

How is she while you are eating? Well-behaved now?

I'm sorry,but this is silly, I can't imagine putting my dogs' food down & making them wait while I ran into the other room & waited for 2 minutes & then come back & tell them to eat. I think that this is WAY over the top, especially for a young dog. My dogs have a meal schedule that may or may not coincide with my meals. It doesn't matter, dogs have 'sense of time' (another discussion) & they 'know' about when it is time to have their meals. I put their bowls down in front of them, tell them to 'watch me', I wait a couple 5-15 seconds & then release them to eat their meals in peace. Point made. The food comes from me, I tell them when they can eat. I don't have to go to extremes to proove that point. Only in cases of extreme domanince would you need to address food & toy possession etc with a harder line. Pack structure is made evident in allot more ways then making your dog sit in front of a food dish for extended times to prove that point. My dogs go lay down away from my table when I have my meals. I don't allow hovering near or under my table. Just the rules in MY house. My dogs are basically raised in the NILIF style. JMO

It is good to hear another perspective. It can very well be silly. But, I might have forgotten to add that I ask her to "leave it" before walking away. Is it not a good training practice for that command?

We do not mind her hanging out around the table while we eat. And, she seems to know her place and does not bug us to get food. Actually, she would prefer to wander away from the table. But, we like to keep her around in sight.

I should have also mentioned that I call her to 'come' and mark 'yes' when she gets to me. I am thinking that that way she would associate the command with a very good thing. Is my logic off base?

 Quote: Pat Khan

I should have also mentioned that I call her to 'come' and mark 'yes' when she gets to me. I am thinking that that way she would associate the command with a very good thing. Is my logic off base?

You are right on the mark! In fact, you should recall and mark for every good thing that you can (car rides, playing w/ a favorite toy, etc), to strengthen the positive association with your recall word.

 Quote: alyssa myracle

Adverb.
Word describing a verb. The verb was crossdressing. Adverb was describing your crossdressing, in that it was closeted.

I know the thread is old but I can't resist grammar. In "closet crossdresser:" "closet" is used as an adjective modifying, or describing, the noun "crossdresser." The verb is the word "is" used as a linking verb between Steve and crossdresser, or Steve equals crossdresser. Noun equal another noun.
Sorry.

Helen