Dog Won’t Eat Without Hand Feeding?
Should you avoid feeding your dog by hand?
Should you avoid giving your dog table scraps? Only when I feed him from my hand will my sick dog eat. The only way my elderly dog will eat is if I feed it myself. The dog needs to be hand-fed or it won’t eat. These are all regular complaints from pet owners whose canines make them uncomfortable when it’s time to eat. Some pet owners will have mixed experiences with their dogs’ eating habits: sometimes their dogs may eat just fine from the bowl, and then they may start demanding to be fed by hand.
It’s not horrible to feed a dog by hand on its own. Hand-feeding a dog is a common practise among dog owners and trainers because of how easily it may capture the animal’s attention. But what occurs if the handfeeding becomes uncontrollable? Worse yet, what if your dog suddenly loses interest in eating from a bowl? If your dog won’t eat except when you feed it, you should investigate why.
Is there a reason my dog won’t eat until I feed him by hand?
Tolerance and patience are necessary traits for a dog owner. When a dog is born, it has no idea how to respond to commands. Instead of assuming that dogs can read our minds, humans should learn how to communicate with their canine friends. Dogs, however, are very unconditional in their conduct, unlike people.
Dogs are great mirrors because they reflect the owners’ personalities and behaviour toward others. Though it may be comforting to believe that there are some aspects of canine behaviour that we just cannot change, the fact remains that, as pack leaders, we have tremendous sway over our dogs’ lives.
Indicators of the undesirable conduct are listed below.
There’s a chance your dog is worried about the other animals in the house. In a household with multiple pets, the problem dog is more likely to be a submissive one who holds a lower position in the pack hierarchy.
When there are other dogs present, the problem is exacerbated since the dog becomes so submissive that its food is easily stolen by the dominant pack.
Negative conditioning occurs when a subservient dog is fed by hand. The practise of hand-feeding your subservient dog fosters the impression that it will only accept food from a human’s hand. Additionally, your dog may feel more secure knowing that you are the one supplying its food. Absolutely no one enjoys having to constantly resort to laborious hand-feeding their canine companion. The dog must eat on its own, but little snacks can be given by hand. The subservient dog, in short, needs to learn to stake its position with respect to the other canine members of the family. A person’s natural surroundings could also play a role in cultivating feelings of terror. Is there always someone staying at your place? Do you have a dog who spends all day exposed to loud, strange noises? These factors could also be at play here.
The timing of the feeding is the second most common source of anxiety during mealtimes. Many pet owners rush through feeding their dogs in the morning before they head off to the office because they simply don’t have the time to do it any other time. Therefore, after being fed, the dog mostly thinks about being left alone.
If we draw the logical conclusion that all of these things are related, then food takes on the symbolic meaning of isolation and being left behind. In spite of their lack of language and the consequent impossibility of forming coherent thoughts, dogs are surprisingly capable of drawing intricate connections between seemingly unrelated occurrences. Eventually, these connections open the door to new behaviours, most of which are undesirable.
Your dog may want to eat out of your hand because it feels a sense of duty to protect you, your family, or both. Your dog’s need to be in close proximity to you is understandable given that dogs have innate herding and protective instincts. The best course of action is to reassure your dog that it is safe for you to eat from its bowl. It could use some gentle persuasion. Eventually, your pet will pick up on your instructions.
Can It Be Harmful to Hand-Feed Your Dog?
It’s not necessary harmful to hand-feed your dog if you want to utilise it as a training and attentional tool. Did you know this technique can be used to curb “mouthing” or “play biting” in dogs? Puppy mouthing is usually corrected early on, but what if you get your new dog before it has been properly socialised and conditioned by its mother? You’ll need to do the biting inhibition training on your own.
Because humans can’t always play rough with their babies like dogs can, hand-feeding is one of the few ways to start shaping your dog’s behaviour around you. When nipping at you gets too frequent and the pressure of the bites keeps growing, it may no longer be considered playful.
How Can I Break This Pattern?
To modify your dog’s behaviour, you should first identify the pattern and then alter the chain of causes and effects that produce the undesirable behaviour. For instance, if you share your home with other animals, such as dogs and cats, you must keep an eye on all of them. You may want to examine your dog’s pack position if he or she is very submissive.
Considering how your other dogs behave with the troublemaker could be useful. If you have to leave for work right after feeding your dog, you might want to consider delaying mealtime so you have more time to bond with your pet in the morning. After feeding your dog, don’t abandon it suddenly.
Keep in mind that lack of socialisation is the most common issue with dogs, and that dogs desire to bond with their owners very much. More time with your dog will quickly remedy this situation.