Meal And Treat Time Insanity...

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Let me begin by saying that I knew Neon was going to be a handful when we fostered him; he was sent to us to learn some manners because he's a big, strong, crazy boy! He is smart, and very trainable. He has some issues that I am having a tough time correcting. He's a mama's boy. He LOVES me, a little too much if that's possible! If I get up off the sofa or my work station, he's all over me. He was nipping me; I had bruises on my arms and chest. I've got him 90% cured of the nipping but he still goes ape frequently when I get up from what I am doing. This behavior is pretty easy to fix; it's the mealtime nutso behavior that is causing me grief. His state of mind is so frenzied over the prospect of food that I can't get him to focus. What I have done so far is to stop moving towards his feeding station until he is still; and give him a command (4 on the floor seems to work) He will settle down but as soon as I get closer to the bowl he's nutso again, so we lather, rinse, repeat ad nauseum and eventually we make it to the feeding station and he gets his meal. It's a slow process and I just don't feel like I am making much headway.

Biskie time is worse; he knows the routine very well and has it figured out after which potty breaks they get a biskie. I have them on a very regular schedule and my smart fellow has it memorized .He does crazy spins; I won't move toward the cookies until he settles, more of the same. Once the biskies are in hand, he's a beast. He tries to steal the girls', I make him wait until they have theirs already started before he gets his because he inhales them and goes for what's left, given the chance. I referee and make sure he behaves. He grabs the treats very aggressively from my hand. Frank did all of this stuff when he was two and had just come home; but on a lesser scale. Neon is a challenge; he is very enthusiastic in his naughtiness!

 

So... any advice on methods to rein this boy in a little? He's very good on the leash; he is a wonderful dog with great potential, when he is tired he does a little better (but not much!) Neon is 4, he came off the track in May I think and into the adoption kennel; we are his first expperience in a home. I brought him home in September, so he has not been here all that long. Thanks for any tips, we've had greyhounds for a good number of years now but there is always more to learn from other people's experiences!

[Sambuca]

I would try to start teaching him sit, down and a few other good behaviors. When he starts going nuts run through his tricks with him and he'll learn that he doesn't get food doing what the crazy stuff, but that he gets it when he does tricks.

[Guest june]

I would try to start teaching him sit, down and a few other good behaviors. When he starts going nuts run through his tricks with him and he'll learn that he doesn't get food doing what the crazy stuff, but that he gets it when he does tricks.

 

Exactly! My dogs all sit before getting a meal or a treat. Keeps things fair, safe and under control.

[dante2zoe]

I have one like that! I do make him sit before any treat or before I place his bowl. Before eating, not only does he sit, but he must stay until released. I vary the time, depending on how much he is drooling and the weather. I feed raw and outside. During feeling times, I also kept him on a 4 foot slip, so he couldn't go after anyone else's food. After he finally caught on, I don't need to use that anymore. He is still closely supervised at mealtime though. Good luck!

[Guest Greyt_dog_lover]

With the treat grabbing, I would try holding the treat firmly in your hand so only a bit of the treat is available to him. He has to work with to get the treat out of your hand, and he does this by gently taking the treat. Realize that for a little while he will bite the crap out of your hand, but you can simply let him know it hurts with a high-pitched "ouch". Maybe that will startle him to backing off, then he can try again. He should get the picture. I had a foster once that would rip your arm off if he heard a squeeky toy. I have one of those teflon cooking gloves with the gauntlet. It goes half way up my arm and is pretty tough. What I did was wear that for the first week I was training my guy to not rip my hand off trying to get the toy.

 

As far as the feeding, I would teach him sit, then use that any time he gets out of control, as others have said.

[Guest snoopycomehome]

We don't really have feeding issues, but Dragon goes crazy when I come home. He jumps up repeatedly and squeals like a pig and I can't get in the door. What has helped is to calm *myself* down first. So I walk into the laundry room and to the kitchen door (where we have a gate to keep them out of the cat food). I set my stuff on the dryer and take a few deep breaths to relax. Then if he is still acting up I turn my back to them and not talk. Sometimes this makes him crazier, but only for about 20 seconds. Then when he calms, I turn around and walk thru the gate. There are times I have to turn around 2-3 times, but then he settles. I ignore him until I get in the groceries or my things in the house and then approach him on my own time before he gets loves/treats/etc.

 

This hasn't necessarily stopped the behavior, but it has decreased it significantly.

[Guest KennelMom]

Biskie time is worse; he knows the routine very well and has it figured out after which potty breaks they get a biskie.

 

I'd change his "biskie time" so he can't predict when it is. If you want calm behavior, that's when the biskie needs to be given out. If he's acting a madman, you're just reinforcing that he's behaving in a desirable way. If he's anticipating when the treat is coming, he's probably already worked by the time you need to try to get him to sit.

[brandimom]

I hear where you are coming from. I have had greys since 1996 and never had a problem with the pack until we adopted the 9.5 y.o greyhound. When we started having issues at feeding time and I mean big issues at feeding time I called a professional dog trainer in to see what I was doing wrong. I was doing plenty wrong and was giving the greyhound mixed signals. Have the trainer watch how you handle the dogs at feeding time.