The easiest dog training method: how “hand feeding” can help your dog!
What is hand feeding?
Hand feeding is exactly what it sounds like. Instead of giving your dog their meals from a bowl, you would give meals by hand instead. While hand feeding is most often suggested for dogs that struggle with food drive or are new to training, and it can also be an excellent bonding activity, provides opportunity to train every day, and is something I recommend integrating forever. With hand feeding, their daily allotment of food takes the place of a majority, if not all, treats.
Here’s how it works: I recommend scooping out their whole day’s worth of food (ie. breakfast AND dinner together) into a treat pouch, and using it throughout the day whenever possible.
Why should you hand feed?
First, the undeniable VALUE it brings to YOU and the value it brings to the food.
All dogs need to eat to survive. A dog may want a treat, but will need food. An abundance and predictability of something will always lower the value of that thing, while a restriction and a limit of something will always increase it. How else would you find yourself buying something you don’t even really need, just because there was a sign saying “30% off SALE: one night only!” Why would your dog ever care about training with you when they’ll get dinner at 6PM, and breakfast at 8AM?
And with an increase in value for the food itself, hand feeding brings about an increase in value with YOU. I had a client whose dog would not listen to her owner at all, UNLESS her owner was holding her food bowl. Even if it was completely empty, just the food bowl being present was enough. Consider how that dog began to show interest in her owner and in training as soon as we taught her that her owner WAS the food bowl.
Additionally, hand feeding can help with ENGAGEMENT. I define engagement as a dog’s likelihood to make the choice to offer attention to their handler. This can look like making eye contact on walks, recalling before being told to, and willingly ignoring distractions. Engagement is the backbone to ALL dog training.
Low engagement = a dog is unlikely to offer attention unprompted.
High engagement = a dog is very likely to offer attention unprompted.
One of the most important aspects of engagement is the simple fact a dog cannot be focused on you and also be focused on their environment. It just isn’t possible.
Higher engagement means commands will become more reliable, and the need for them will be lower. Meaning, your dog will respond to a “sit” command faster, but they’ll also just be less distracted, which might mean they stop doing behaviors that makes you want them to sit anyway.
Next, the idea of FOOD DRIVE is also one you should be familiar with. Does your dog struggle with not eating all of their food? Will they refuse to do a command until you get a treat they like? Will they spit out kibble on walks? Hand feeding can help with that!
Finally, and this goes hand in hand with food drive, MOTIVATION. A dog’s motivation to do anything must come from somewhere. It is not ideal or even constructive for a dog’s only motivation to be avoiding a correction. We want them to want to train, and that can only happen if they are receiving things they actually enjoy.
While I am not against using treats when it makes sense, food is going to be the most efficient and calorie-smart option. There is a time and place for treats, but 90% of the time, you are not in one.
When should you hand feed?
As often as possible!
With your treat pouch full of your dog’s food, get used to strapping it onto you, and immerse it into your daily life.
If you go on a walk, always bring your treat pouch. Feed your dog for responding to their name, ignoring distractions, choosing to come back or look at you.
If you hang out with them at the park or in the backyard, feed them for sticking close, offering eye contact, listening when you talk to them.
If you ever make them sit before exiting the house, putting on a leash, or anything else like that, feed them for following the command!
Basically, if you like what your dog is doing, feed them! It’s that simple.
Questions?
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Happy training!
— The Foundation Canine team
