Doggy dining on cat food

Dear Fisher,

I have two very important questions about my eating habits. The first is, my owner tries to feed me in the morning but for some reason I don’t want to eat. If my beloved owner coaxes me into eating then I eventually eat. Sometimes my beloved owner will try to make me hungry by not feeding me to see if I’ll eat on my own but I’ll just sneak some of the cat’s food, hehe.

Secondly, my owner will give me a chewy treat that I really cherish. When he tries to touch me or get the treat from me I will growl at him and sometimes bite him. I don’t bite too hard so he won’t get mad at me.

What can I do; why am I this way? Please help you are my only hope!

Bubs

Dear Bubs,

First on my list of to do’s is for your owner to make sure you have a healthy check up at the vet clinic to determine if there are any underlying health reasons for your refusal to eat. Having cleared all that let us analyze your behavior a little further to determine if your refusal to eat has anything to do with your love for some extra attention. Are you just finicky, or are you focused on receiving an extra treat to compensate for not eating your breakfast? If that is the case, your owner can help change your refusal to eat by deciding you are just not hungry, and ignoring you. Probably not the result you are looking for.

Another take on your behavior, other than vying for attention, is that you are engaging in “the hunt”. As a direct descendent of wolves living in the wild, you are calling up the need to forage for food. By your actions, you are first refusing to eat food put in front of you for the greater adventure of stealing some of the cat’s food. Since cat food is not very satisfying, and the cat could give a you-know-what, your adventure moves on to finding food that you have to work for. Working to get that beloved treat is much more satisfying to you than simply munching on dog food lovingly put in your food bowl – which could be mundane and pretty darn hard to make you feel good about your “catch”.

The hunt becomes successful when your owner offers up the treat. You play out your role as foraging wild critter by growling and biting anyone who comes near your conquest. Very clever and self entertaining! But, as a domesticated canine, you really are more interested in making your owner happy.

To make your owner happy, let him “train” you. By all means, make sure he thinks it is his idea. A few simple strategies from the Sacramento SPCA are:

1. Positive Attention: Give praise when you eat breakfast out of your bowl, or when you quit munching on the cat food.
2. Interrupt and Redirect: Give a shout like “hey!” and a possibly a loud hand clap when you growl at him for touching you while you are eating on your chewy treat.
3. Ignore: If your owner ignores you, you just lost the purpose for your behavior.
4. Negative Attention: Your owner must try not to give negative attention because it is still, after all, attention.
Just remember that if your happy car ride with your beloved owner stops in front of the vet clinic, it was you who made it happen!

Your friend,

Fisher

published in tbt Tampa Bay Out There weekend edition