Guide to Hand Feeding Part 1

1. Withhold food from your pet for 24 hours, or until he is hungry enough to eat food from your hand.
2. Measure the amount of food your pet will consume daily and place it in a bowl out of his reach.
3. Place a few kernels of food in your hand, holding your hand close to your body. When your pet is not paying attention, bend down and call him to you. Dogs are very aware of body posture both in other dogs and in humans. The manner in which you do the hand feeding is very important
4. When he comes to you and starts eating out of your hand, pet him over the top of the head. This is not an insignificant pet; we are stroking the “mother dominant” area of the dog’s head. By using dominant body posture and mannerism, we are in fact communicating our leadership over the puppy.
5. When your pet finishes the few (1-2) kernels of food from your hand, you then turn and walk away. This again reinforces your control over the food. You and the food come and go as you deem necessary.
6. Repeat these feedings 20 times each day or whatever is necessary to finish your pet’s regular daily feeding. It is not the size of the portion that is important in this process, it is the number of times you feed the puppy from your hand.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAND FEED YOUR DOG FOR THREE WEEKS, THEN ONCE A DAY OR ONCE A WEEK AS NEEDED.

With the hand feeding we are communicating with the dog on a mental level. Now we will add in some physical control techniques. The first is called the TWO-MINUTE PUPPY HOLD. This hold tells the puppy two things; first, it is “ok” to be held close to a person. A real strong, independent puppy does not like to be restrained or held close. Second, you, as the alpha are in control; you put the dog in this hold and they will remain in the hold until you release them. This hold should be done at least once a cay or more if needed.

The second control hold is called the THIRTY MINUTE DOWN. This hold is similar to the puppy hold in that it communicates the same ideas. First, it is ok to be close to someone, and second you as alpha are in control.

Alpha controls the food, security and the leadership within a pack. Alpha also controls the affection. Dogs are very good at getting our attention if they want something, especially if they think they are alpha. Just like with the food, we must also control the affection and attention. This does not mean that we give them any less love or affection. It means that we do it when we want and not when it is demanded from us. For example, if the dog jumps in your lap and wants to be petted without being called we must gently push them off. I know this sounds horribly cruel but if you look at it from the dog’s view, if they can demand something from us and get it then who exactly is serving who? Now when the puppy walks away or loses interest in us, we can call them back to us, put them on our lap and love them all we want. This time the difference is that alpha initiated the affection and not the puppy. This is a difficult concept but one that is very important to the positive reinforcement program. It will be confusing to the dog if you can control some aspects of their lives but not others.

Click here to continue with the Guide to hand feeding Part 2.

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