I mentioned earlier that Willie has re-injured his shoulder. He’s going in for a consult with my “sport medicine vet” on Wednesday, but meanwhile I am playing the not-always-so-fun game of keeping him quiet and not stressing his shoulder. Our two most challenging times are when he is waiting for his dinner and when he is greeting someone he loves. Otherwise it’s not too difficult. Leash walks outside? Trivial. Around the house? Harder, but very doable, (though not so good for my getting things done, but I sure have caught up on a lot of television lately!) I lie down on the living floor and rub Willie’s belly for several hours every evening (when we would normally be playing with toys in the house, after our walk or sheep work outside.) Otherwise he’s chomping on food out of a hollow toy or bored silly in his crate. Not fun, but not too difficult. But meal times and greetings are more of a challenge. Here’s one of the things we are doing now to keep him from straining his shoulder (and me from going bonkers).
At dinner time, Willie normally copes with his excited anticipation by grabbing a toy, shaking it with enough vigor to put life INTO something initially inanimate (I’m thinking Toy Story 4 here), and then tossing it up into the air before leaping up to catch it. I think of it as Willie’s “I can play fetch by myself” game, and it normally works well for both ofย us. He plays in the living room while I fix his meal in the kitchen. But of course, now he needs to stay quiet and not stress his shoulder, so it’s either put him in the crate, where he is spending way too much time already, give him a stuffed toy (which he is getting lots of already) or take a handful of kibble and sling it across the kitchen floor. Ha ha! I call it Trisha’s little helper. .. who cares if the floor is clean after he licks up the food? It works perfectly: he spends 5 minutes finding and each eating piece, while I finish the rest of his dinner. His dinner is usually a mix of high quality kibble (normally not very much) and the rest canned and home cooked, but I’m happy to increase the percentage of kibble now when I need it.
This is also a great method for dogs when they are outside if you need to slow them down, get their attention, or take their attention off something else. I first learned to use it from Trish King, who uses it to distract problematic dogs who run up to you and bother your own dog, and have found it super useful in a variety of situations. Of course, it won’t work if the other stimulus is more powerful than the food, but you gotta love how long it takes a puppy to find small pieces of food scattered in the grass.
I’ve always been amused at trainers who label a relatively simplistic (and oft used) method as their own, but perhaps it’s time for me to join the bandwagon? Maybe we should call this the “McConnell Method?” Should get it trademarked? Throwing food on the floor?ย Kidding aside, I’d love to hear if you’ve used this yourself, and if so, in what context. I suspect it might help quite a few of our readers who have their own challenges. By the way, I’m going to try this too when Willie is saying hello to me or Jim. He doesn’t jump up (Willie, not Jim), but is ecstatic and spins in tight circles, throws himself on the ground for belly rubs, and basically moves his body in every possible way except up to your face. Picture a four-month old Golden Retriever in a tuxedo. We bend down to him and he washes our faces, then he dashes off and gets a toy, which he tosses and shakes… you get the idea. I’m not sure it will be as successful in this context, I’m working on other alternatives now. I’ll keep you posted. FYI, his leg is indeed getting better (no visible limp when walking once he’s taken a few strides), but this is most likely an old injury that keeps coming back.ย (Partial tear of biceptal or supraspinatus tendon?) If he does have surgery I’m going to have to find ways to keep him really, really quiet. But then, maybe we’ll decide surgery is not the best option? Paws crossed.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: I need to get out to the barn and start cleaning it up, in preparation for lambing. The first lamb is due in 3 1/2 short weeks (first due date is actually March 25th, from Rosebud). This Saturday we are welcoming students from the Small Ruminant Club of the UW Vet School to learn how to do ultrasound pregnancy checks from Repro Specialist Dr. Harry Momont. The shearer will also be coming, so the ewes will first be sheared and hoof trimmed, and then be vaccinated to jump start the lamb’s immune system. We’ll move them to another pen where they’ll get a quick ultrasound. They are far enough along that we’ll probably know just by looking at them once they’re sheared if they are bred, but the ultrasound will be great practice for the vet students. Then we all retire to the farmhouse for chili and home made pie. I’ll be baking most of Friday night, but what could be more fun? I love meeting the vet students… so smart and inquisitive and dedicated to helping animals.
Here’s Mr. Will gobbling up kibble from the kitchen floor. Of course, I had to throw more out when I made his dinner (instead of taking a photo)… He thought that was just fine.
Mandy says
I would so love to help you with farm work for chili and homemade pie. Yummy. I’m curious – what kind of sheep do you raise?
Frances says
Hunt the biscuits is one of my dogs favourite wet weather games – but I not only scatter it over the floor but hide it on chairs and under cushions. We used to call it the human equivalent the Smartie Game when we were children – I suppose that would be M&Ms in the States?!
Marcy says
I use this all the time for bored dogs! We call it “hunting” for their food. I especially like it when it’s raining and they don’t get enough exercise. I’ve also used it outside when I have to work late.
I know that some competition trainers are concerned about teaching the dog to sniff, but they already know how to sniff. I also train my dogs to track, it’s another high mental/low physical exercise (well at least at the beginning!)
mungobrick says
I think you have to have a food-motivated dog for this to work! Now, if you have a squirrel-motivated dog, it’s a little trickier.
Fortunately Daisy is the most quiet, calm dog we’ve ever had. Yes, she’s a nervous wreck with tall men or if we go downtown or anything else scary, but with us at home – laid back to a fault. (except for squirrels.)
Very clever idea, though – it may seem simple, but that’s because it occurred to you. I’d never have thought of it, myself!
I’d still like to know what Jim’s greeting ritual towards you and Willie is, LOL.
Eileen Kerrigan says
“I
Casey Lomonaco says
Hi Patricia,
I’ve used food on the floor a few different ways:
* manufacture calming signal – if a dog is sniffing on the ground for treats, built in calming signal!
* distance from off leash dogs – would love to hear more about how Trish used this, as occasionally it’s backfired and I’ve been followed for treats
* jumpers – sometimes, the sound of a doorknob turning can be a cue for a dog to jump. While I’d like to just be able to open the door and capture sit, down, or four on the floor (“stand”), occasionally it’s too late – the door opens and the front feet are already off the ground. I do occasionally practice just opening the door and throwing food on the ground to teach the dog reinforcement will come on the floor – this then buys me “clickable moments” where I can capture those desirable behaviors.
* kibble hunt – I feed mostly raw, but occasionally I like to do kibble hunts with my dogs and I recommend my clients do as well. It may take a dog 20 seconds to empty a food bowl, but if the food is hidden throughout the house and/or yard and they have to “track” each piece with their nose, it can take 15-20 minutes+ for them to find it all, providing valuable mental exercise.
Dee says
My mini Aussie loves to search for her dinner in the lawn. I don’t do it during the winter. But in good weather it is an everyday thing.
Charlotte says
Yes! I’ve used the food-on-the-floor method. It doesn’t work as well to keep Wilbur (shepherd/golden/setter mix)calm and busy as the “sterilized bone stuffed with food and frozen” method or the “kong stuffed with penutbutter” method.
Hope Willie is better soon. It’s no fun to sit on your paws and do nothing!
Kitt says
Fun! I shoot kibble pieces across the hardwood floor to one of my standard poodles just because it’s a fun game for him. A piece at a time, but rapid-fire, so he has to hustle, with the added interest of ricochets off walls and furniture legs. He thinks it’s awesome, and it amuses me with little effort.
Judi says
I’ve used the throw the food out in the backyard for times when I need to get something done and I have a young dog who wants her walk or play session. A cup of kibble spread over a 50’x50′ area keeps a food-motivated dog busy for a pretty long time!
Kat says
All paws crossed for Willie that he continue to improve and that surgery isn’t necessary.
We often toss kibble in the yard when we’re going to gone longer than usual so Ranger has something to do while we’re gone. I’ve also tossed kibble in his enclosure when he was driving folks crazy because he hadn’t had enough exercise during the day and we were all tired. I’ll often hide a few gold standard treats as well as the kibble. The kibble is just loose in the grass but the gold standard treats are really hidden, like under an overturned flower pot or buried in the lithadora or … We haven’t had to keep Ranger quiet but there have been a few time when I’ve been laid up and needed to be creative to keep him entertained. That’s where the name game originated. I also taught Ranger to distinguish between his gee (right) paw and his haw (left) paw. And we play peekaboo with a cloth of some sort over my head (where’s Mom) or over his head (where’s Ranger). He seems to think that one is pretty funny rather like a toddler.
Laurie says
I do this often with my guys. Specifically when they are wound up outside I scatter a 1/4 cup of food off in a few directions and let them focus their energy. Does great at using up some of their wigginess. More recently, we have had a family medical situation where for three weeks, with more to come, we have been home very little. The Aussies are doing well for being a bit neglected. They don’t like to go out without a human and the humans when home have lots to do. A scoop of food scattered across the crust on the snow keeps them happily engaged for a satisfying time.
JW says
I’m so happy to hear you use this “method.” I always feel like a failure when I use it to keep my dogs busy when I just don’t have time to deal with them that moment.
For example, if I get home from work late and don’t have time for a walk or training before dinner and the dogs are going nuts from under stimulation, I make dinner a “kibble night” and toss one dog’s ration all over the back patio and the other dog’s all over the living room, being sure that they are well-scattered. It takes them 15 minutes or so to find every bit, but the pay off longer than those 15 minutes because they’re also using up a little brain energy doing the hunting and are less edgy while they wait for walks.
Karla Wilson says
The food toss…Yes, on walks with “Mr. Not Social” to disarm and delay the unleased approachers..learned that at one of your seminars! Also, when I leave the house. Each of the two dogs are told to sit and stay at least 10 ft. apart. I put a scattering of tiny treats in front of them, and right before I close the door on my way out, I release them. Otherwise, they go ballistic, jump each other bash the door,etc. I can’t use treat dispensers because one dog will destroy and eat them. They are not destructive while I’m gone, it’ s just the door-closing part….hurray for the McConnell Treat Toss!
TheRedQueen says
I play this game when it’s just my dogs (no boarders or fosters around)…they all have learned that scattered food can’t be guarded (they’re allowed to guard their own bowls, within reason).
So if I have leftover veggies, pasta, rice, or sometimes just kibble…I toss it all over the floor. I’ve also been using this method for one of the dogs, who has become highly reactive to me coming and going from the house (he’s my boyfriend’s Service Dog…so he stays home when I leave).
We call it “FOOD THUNDERDOME”…and I announce it to the dogs as such and then tell them that SEVEN DOGS ENTER…ONE DOG LEAVES! They all gather ’round, and wait for the scattering! lol
ABandMM says
Hey, that is our “Find It” game! I’ll use it on some evenings when we can’t get go on our evening walk, just throw dinner on the floor. I also have a felt cube that I’ll put the kibble in, and stuff the holes with balls and other toys. Abby pushes the ball around with her nose to get the kibble to fall out a little bit at a time. “Find It” is also helpful when I’m cooking and drop something on the floor, a cue for my dog to get her butt off the couch and clean up my mess :).
Jo Cook says
I use it for greetings with dogs who are jumpy when they greet people. I approach and toss food on the ground. After the dog eats and looks up she is over the initial greeting excitement and I can ask for a known behavior such as sit. Eventually dogs start glancing down when someone approaches which helps reduce likelihood of jumping.
Laurel says
hhmm… doesn’t everyone do this?? :):) ..yep … mostly to have them eat more slowly by not gulping what is in front of them… throwing into grass is great – snow is good also.. the deck, the porch…. it’s endless. Yep for the jumper – doesn’t even think about jumping if his nose is pointed down. I don’t find that tossing food calms them (2 working line GSDs) however, it gets them out from under my feet when I toss the food in a room other than where I am. Before their meal I insist that they be quiet and so I separate them and crate the hyper one who gets her food (kibble soaked in something really really good and maybe meat pieces) in a hard plastic bundt pan (.75 at a thrift shop) and propped in it are 2 large kongs filled with food. She not only has to work to get the food from the kongs but also the pan has ridges that slow her down… oh what we do… by the way.. I’m tuned in to my dogs when they are sucking up kibble from the floor because they inhale it and I worry about choking.
Jane says
Will’s pre-dinner routine remind’s me of a GSD mix (w/ Husky?) we had many years ago. A lot of her behaviors were a little on the wild side and wolf-like. While I was preparing her meal, she would grab a stuffed toy, toss it into the air, shake it vigorously, mock eviscerate it, then cram it into her bowl alongside the food. She would eat the entire meal with the toy in the bowl, and eat around the toy. She did this with every meal her entire life. As for Trish King’s method of tossing a handful of treats to discourage/distract an approaching dog, I’ve tried it twice and it didn’t work. The offleash dogs still rushed at my leashed dog.
Andrea says
Sorry we;ll have to agree to share this idea amoung many of us I think! The first time I know I did this was back before time – in the 70s with our first family dog (an Irish Setter). We’d never heard of crates .. we left Kelly in the kitchen and she was determined to eat a wall corner .. I realized a LOT of the destruction happened as we left the house in the morning and started scattering her breakfast all over the floor in an effort to let us get out of the house without upsetting her .. we had no buster cubes, tricky treat balls or any of the other food dispensers I use today but the widely scattered food really helped give poor Kelly something else to think about. ๐
I still use this technique – mostly to distract and redirect the dogs with action around the door ๐
Amanda & the Mutts says
A friend of mine does this with Cheerios outside in the grass when her dogs need something to keep them occupied outside for a bit. I usually put a handful of Cheerios in a buster cube instead of tossing them on the ground – takes my girl a little longer.
As for food time, I’ll often hand the dogs their bone-in meats while they wait for me to finish making the rest of their supper.
Ravana says
I heard you suggest this as a way to slow down a dog who bolts his food on your old WPR Saturday morning show with Larry Meiller, Calling All Pets (man I miss that show). I wound up using it to teach my very neurotic rescue that he could be outside the bathroom while I was in it and the world would not end. By the way, Calling All Pets was what kept me from going absolutely mad and/or giving up when I first adopted my totally wild and neurotic but now envy-of-the-neighborhood dog.
Janet Smith says
I use food all over the floor for submissive pee-ers – works very well on greetings.
Veronica says
Love this! Yes I do recommend this as well in a number of situations/contexts. I suggest it at doorways, for people whose dogs bolt out the door when they exit. I also will introduce a cue very casually, have them say “back” and then toss a handful of kibble behind the dog right before they go out the door. With enough repetition their dog may start to respond to the cue.
Jennifer Hamilton says
I have used the “throw a big handful of kibble down the hallway” for two different reasons: 1) when I need a mental or physical break from my mentally needy working dog. In this situation, I view it similar to turning on your child’s video when you need a few moments to yourself. It’s a short-lived, lazy trick for keeping a working dog busy, but I’m not too proud to say I do it from time to time. 2) the other time I have thrown handfuls of kibble down the hallway was to help my “food guarding” rescue dog through the final stages of learning to eat peacefully alongside her housemate in a non-structured way. Anyone reading this probably just gasped, so I put a huge warning that I only started this once I had worked months and months on slowly working through this potentially dangerous behavior issue. Also, in this second use, I monitored the food guarding dog closely so I could jump in quickly if the behavior manifested itself. I don’t know what made me feel like this would be a natural progression to my efforts in this regard, but my instinct was right. Having such an abundance of tiny morsels of food over such a large space worked really well. Once we were able to master lots of kibble in a large space, I reduced the space and amount of kibble until I could drop a single piece of kibble on the floor and regardless if who got it first, both dogs accepted that someone would always get the last piece and that would be that. The whole process took about a year and I used many other techniques as well, but the “throwing kibble all over the floor” was an important part of my behavioral modification program.
The Learning Vet says
I don’t think I’ve ever really used the McConnell Method ๐ before for my dogs. I’ve often recommended the MannersMinder for clients who need help with their dog’s inappropriate door-greeting behavior, and I think dogs really love it. Have you tried one? What do you think of the concept?
Sarah says
I use this method when I needed to express my dog’s anal glands (sorry for the gross subject matter, but after all we are all dog people). Ro needs this done frequently, and it is urgent, as she will spin and bark and chew on herself until she gets relief. Complicating matters, she used to respond aggressively to anyone touching her rear. When I first brought her home, there was no time for a gradualy desensitization protocol, and I didn’t want to further stress her by taking her to the vet. So I put her on a very short tie-down, scattered a handful of treats within her reach, and took care of business while she ate them. I didn’t liked this solution, since she was still stressed, and would whip around and snap if she finished her treats before I finished, but it was the best I had, she did get relief.
But the cool thing is, she now loves having her anal galnds expressed! When she seems me gather the appropriate equipment, she will run to the spot where I always do it, and wait eagerly until I scatter the treats. I no longer need to use the tie down, just the treats.
Lisa says
I use this every day with my Aussie! In fact I may have overused it as the other day I set food down in a bowl and he just stared at it for a few seconds. haha. I also love freezing kongs stuffed with a mix of dry and canned food.
And I absolutely love your description of Willie’s behavior. Zefir acts the same way. The goofy circles, bouncing, and shaking the life out of toys before playing fetch with himself. He also shakes them in my face as I do homework. And he “drops” tennis balls off the couch just so he can chase after them.
Judi says
I forgot that when I had one dog I also used an indoor cookie hide before I left for work. She held a stay while I hid cookies around the house and practically shoved me out the door so she could get to the hunt. Sort of the opposite of separation anxiety in some ways but it was useful because this dog really loves her car and otherwise might have developed true separation anxiety.
Tegan says
I use ‘throwing food on the floor’ for puppies to teach them to start sniffing. I pair it with the cue “find”. I do tracking with my dogs, and use the cue “find” later if they get distracted on track.
Recently, a friend told me how she throws food on the floor to teach her puppies to hang out near the front door. So when they’re puppies, the front door opens and food is thrown on the floor. This initial experience acts like a magnet to prevent open-door-bolting at a later date.
Darlene says
I use this, or variants, all the time!
First, to get the dogs to stop barking at passer-bys, by the time the kibble is gobbled the evil intruder has gone past and is out of dogsight!
Also, my stubborn boy would sometimes balk at coming back in if he hadn’t had enough outdoor time, so I’d leave a trail of scattered kibble by and through the door into the kitchen.
Breaking up a tense moment: I grabbed a handful of cat kibble and flung it at my two about-to-get-into-it dogs, it was like manna from heaven and they totally forgot what they were about to argue about..
I have also been known to throw the remnants of a veggie tray from last nights party all over the yard (sans dip).
Shannon B. says
We also call this our “find it” game. Sometimes I hide the food, usually small bits of cheese or meat. Sometimes I toss drier food like kibble or freeze dried liver on the floor, mostly I use the toss it variation outside. I figure there are more competing smells out there and such a better nose workout for my boy. On days when exercise isn’t going to happen to the extent my 1.5 year old Aussie needs it, nose work is the next best thing!
Susannah says
A great way to feed if you can keep dogs separate. Dogs are natural scavangers so foraging for food is the next best thing. However I would be wary of using it when out and other dogs around. Instead of a foraging game it introduces competition into the equation, which could be problematic.
jackie says
Yes, we use food on the floor, too. I do it in the garden usually because it take him ages to find all the kibble and he is naturally (being half spaniel) a very sniffy-findy sort of dog, so it is extremely rewarding for him. Plus he’s not always keen to go out in the garden, so it encourages him to get some fresh air.
The flipside of this is that if I drop training treats accidentally his brain again can switch into sniffy-findy-spaniel mode and then it’s very difficult to get him interested in training again. I have been specifically doing some impulse control training to help with this!
jackie says
PS. The ‘kibble hunt’ idea (we call it that, too)was the one useful thing I got from a behavioural consultation with what turned out to be a macho pack-leader dog trainer. He recommended it to slow down our dog’s eating: as he had been starved he would gulp down his food without chewing it and wasn’t putting on weight properly. But our dog enjoyed it so much we’ve just gone on doing it.
Sam says
We use hiding treats a lot! In class this is one of the games we play with pups: hiding treats in a blanket or throwing them into a big box filled with balls (you know, like the kids game). Great fun.
Also using this game for walks: throwing a hand full of treats into some heather bushes or in among the grass. then call the dog to come help search. Great interactive game on walks to help build focus on handlers.
Also I advise handlers when they feed kibble to just throw the kibble out into the yard or garden and then have the dog search for their dinner. The dogs love it.
Personally I also make sure I regularly drop food when I am preparing for a training session: freebies are a grat way to make sure your dog is ready to pay attention to this silly handler who cannot seem to hold onto her treats :).
CLHughes says
I have used this method to diffuse excited greetings and to give high energy dogs a way to work for their dinner.
This is one of my favorites because it is so easy on the clients. You can have the most brilliant training idea, but if the client cannot execute it, it is pretty useless…except for your own dogs.
Steve Shaffer says
We call it kibble hunt too. Great in grass, and for getting dogs to settle down around each other. Another favorite is to set up “pick up sticks”, just jump bars, foam tubes, whatever, scattered about like pick up sticks and then scatter the kibble through the sticks. This not only slows down the fast kibble hunter but really stretches the dog’s back and helps flexibility in limbs. Very nice way to help keep senior dogs more limber.
barrie says
Use it all the time! A trainer I worked for fed malinois puppies this way because if the kibble is scattered all over the floor there is no point in quarreling over one piece when there are 20 more a few inches away vs. guarding a full bowl of kibble ๐ I use it as Casey mentioned to elicit calming signals, to fend off loose dogs and as you do, simply to distract dogs in a quiet way. Never thought to do it for door greetings but I think I may give that a shot with a really jumpy dog I know!
teresavet says
I use this method for mostly 2 things: 1. with my dogs, to keep them occupied while I pour the kibble just bought from the bag to a smaller container to bring it home. They got very nervous with the accidentally dropped ones, so now I just throw a bunch and let them find them while I fill the container.
And 2. to teach “drop it” to my clients dogs. Very helpful with food guarding dogs that won’t let you anywhere near them. Begin clicking while throwing a bunch of treats on the floor, click every time the dog opens his mouth. And work from it!! works like a miracle.
Good luck with Willie’s elbow, I’m a vet myself, and chronic elbow lesions can be a “challenge”.
Frances says
Jennifer – I was very interested in what you say about resource guarding. When I first brought Poppy home, Sophy was about 10 months old, and well established as an only dog. The first evening she laid claim to everything – toys, chews, etc, etc. I just kept putting more out until she lost count – 5 seemed to be the magic number. After that, she lost track, and we have never had any real problems.
We are now working on a couple of variants of the Smartie game. One involves holding a stay until released, the other taking it in turns to hunt. I’m not sure that I will continue with these, though – they seem to go against the sheer fun of the game!
AnneJ says
I did use that method last week. My dogs were getting into the compost, so in addition to trying to make the fence more dog proof around the compost pile, I spread kibble across the yard in the snow. Then they spent more time digging out kibble and not trying to break into the compost area.
Catherine says
I have scattered kibble on the floor in the first stage of counterconditioning when the mailman or UPS truck pulled up. Then moved to “look at me” and other alternate behaviors (besides barking).
During the warm months I regularly scatter my dog’s dinner kibble in the yard, to keep that scent hound busy. A few times a week we’ll play “find it” inside, where I ask him to wait on his bed or in his crate while I hide kibble throughout the living room and dining room, then release him to go find it. My husband took this game a step further by having him sit /wait or lie down / wait, and then tossing kibble across the floor, ever closer to the dog, then rewarding him with kibble from the hand before releasing him to go find.
Now that the yard is full of snow, we’ve also started a winter version of the kibble-in-the-yard routine – we’ve turned a pile of snow several feet high into a giant Kong. I’ll dig a hole in the side of the snow heap, then sprinkle in kibble (or sometimes a really special treat) and alternate it with snow, several layers until the hole is filled. Then I’ll release the dog and tell him to “dig!” and he will dig, sniff, and repeat until the food has all been found. This is a good way to give him mental exercise and seeking time when the snow and ice limit outside exercise.
Tanja Ahles-Schynawa says
I love to use this kind of “Food Games” when the weather is too bad to go for a long time outside. My Big Boy Lucky needed only 10 Seconds to Learn: I must search for my food. Okay thats not fair, he is a Deutsch Kurzhaar. My second Dog Hermine (she is a D-Eagle (Dachshund-Beagle-Mix, 6 months old), needed a little bit longer *laugh*, the Food isn t moving, i think thats the “problem” *laugh*.
I gave this Tip of “Food Games” to a lot of People (working for a animal shelter as dog trainer) and 99% of all were very surprised about “making something with the dog inside”. But after they tried it, they were stoked.
In the Summer the Game move “outside” on the Acre and all Dogs in the Hood love me for that, cause they are welcome to play with me and my Food.
Many Greetings from Germany
Karissa says
I do this frequently when I leave the house and it doesn’t happen to be “Kong time.” It keeps the dogs from fixating on the fact that I’m walking out the door — Although you’d be amazed at how fast they can vacuum a couple of handfuls of kibble off the floor…. lol
I try not to litter my yard with food, as it’s also my agility training area. I speak from experience that if they find any food out there (dropped from a treat pouch, most likely), they lose all focus and go on a sniff-fest. If I were to make a regular game of searching for food out there, I would have a very hard job on my hands when it came time for training. Not that it wouldn’t be good distraction training, though. ๐
Katherine says
I had my young male sheltie tethered with a long leash to a tree in my neighborhood last weekend. I was rotating around and having him find
Maery Rose says
I’m going to have to try the kibble throw as my dog also gets overly excited when people come to the house. I’m not sure if it would work as a distraciton on walks when other dogs approach though. I haven’t found anything more inticing than a possible playmate.
Laura says
I started throwing treats outside for my “nose” dog so he wouldn’t bug my “toy” dog when she was trying to play frisbee. It looked like she was the wide receiver going out for a pass and he was the blocker. It was annoying to her. So he comes up to me and downs and I throw the treat. He has to come all the way to me and down because if he sees the treat he gets it to fast. I have switched to kibble sometimes so he doesn’t get too many treats. I also use throw it in the yard on the rare non walk night or if I need them distracted for a minute.
I don’t know why I have never thought to use it for the mailman. My dogs go ballistic with the mailman. It is the only reason my dog, Joker has to be crated during the day. I have tried to have the mailman give him treats but that could only happen on Saturday and not every Saturday. I think I will try this method when I’m home and maybe try to get a friend to dress up like the mailman and give treats more often. He is super food motivated so it will be interesting to see what is more rewarding to him. Will probably start with a combination of kibble, treats and cat kibble.
Rose says
I rarely feed my dog in a bowl. We often do “hide and seek” where she is asked to sit/stay while I hide her kibble (good for self-control) and is then released to find the kibble I have scattered and hidden throughout the house. Otherwise its frozen in a kong or in a food dispensing toy.
I love Casey’s suggestion for scattering kibble to “capture” 4 on the floor and get a clickable moment. Jumping on visitors has been a very difficult behavior to stop. My dog never jumps on me because it hasn’t been reinforced but will jump on people when they first arrive.I am definitly going to try this method.
Also like the comment about it being a calming signal.
I ask my dog for a “look” around other dogs where she glances at other dogs and then back at me but when I encounter a situation where my dog cannot perform this behaavior (very rarely as we have practiced in almost all situations) such as several on leash dogs particularly if they are staring or barking in the corridor of the obedience hall (and us a few feet away) I will scatter kibble and treats to keep her from staring at the other dogs. The sniffing and looking away from other dogs is great because my dog lacks a lot of natural calming skills.
I don’t think I’d be tempted to use the kibble scattering method where there was the possibility of an offleash dog..how would that work? Wouldn’t it just make the offleash dog come even closer to your offleash dog? Seems like a good way to start a fight!
Joan says
My quirky(and aren’t they all?)19 month old Border Collie Bailey has been flinging the kibble herself since she’s been a bitty one. She hooks her paw in the food dish and sends it flying across the hardwood floor, slamming it up against tables, walls, chairs, etc. until every last bit of food is catapulted out of the bowl. Then she and her two standard rough Collie “brothers” spend the next several minutes hunting it down and eating it. If I put the food in a pile directly on the floor, she still has to scatter it with her front paws all over the house before she’s satisfied. When she first started doing it,I thought about maybe trying to stop the habit, but they seem to have a lot of fun hunting each and every kibble piece and it buys me some time to relax, so why not? ๐
Cathy says
I hide mini treats all over the house to counteract mild separation anxiety when I take one dog out to do agility and leave number two at home. I keep him outside then release him into the house as I am leaving. He now looks forward to his “treasure hunt” on agility day.
I also use kibble scattered over the kitchen floor when there is a big kaffuffel about some monster passing the house. It doesn’t cure it but cuts it short.
Katherine says
In our case, the dogs that were going by were on leash; and they were paralleling us.
Lacey H says
I use the kibble hunt all the time with my potentially food-aggressive dog, who is naturally a fast gulper. It keeps her from going after the food (and medicine) in my slow eater’s bowl.
Carolyn in Belize says
I hide kibble around the house for the ever popular Find It game. Now that Maggie is a senior, we both like this game as she moves at her own pace.
When we first got Maggie, she was anorexic and nervous when we had to leave without her. I took to hiding/scattering kibble in the house prior to our departure. Now, 9 years later, she’s completely good with it.
Jennifer says
I’m a big fan of spreading the kibble around for mental exercise. My aussie loves to hold a wait on her mat upstairs while I hide kibble all over my family room (under the bottom flaps of the sofas, behind chairs, etc). She will wait to be released better this way than in other contexts. It’s been a great way to keep her mind busy during the many icy days where our walks have been reduced from the usual hour to a “I’m-not-breaking-my-legs-for-you” distance of once around the block on bad days. I can modify it so that she only sniffs for food on the floor by not hiding it behind sofa cushions, though she loves to flip pillows aside in her search for food. I’ll be trying this one for excitement at the front door!
I’ve only had one encounter where I wished I’d had kibble to distract a loose dog, but that was before I heard about this approach. I’d love to know if that would have helped, since the other dog charged and jumped us from a long distance away.
Ellen Pepin says
I have an adopted Collie who is a compulsive barker. She was diagnosed by a vet who is working with Nancy Williams, ACAAB, to become a behaviorist. Anyway, I frequently need to try and distract Tess from what she is barking at. I was told to toss some of her meal on the rug. It’s not 100% effective because she is not that motivated by food or toys. After dinner, the dogs (there are two) are taken for a walk by my husband. Because Dakota, Shepherd/Rottweiler mix, is so strong they are walked separately. While she is waiting, Tess becomes highly aroused and stressed. That is another time I use half of her kibble to throw around on the floor. It is helping to distract and calm her.
Alexandra says
I started throwing a small handfull of kibble over the fence to my neighbor’s incessantly barking dog every time I go outside. Too early to tell if it’ll work, but at least it cuts down on the noise while I’m in the yard.
Heidi Meinzer says
Hoping Will recovers soon!
I used the toss method once, and it saved me a whole lot of grief! I was volunteering for our local shelter, and was fortunately walking a very friendly, laid back dog. When we got to a park close by, two dogs were off leash and came bolting for us. I told the shelter dog, “Let’s Go!” and I reached into my treat pouch for every treat I could get my free hand on. I looked back and said “Treats” in a happy voice, throwing the treats between us and the dogs. Happily, the dogs stopped for the treats, and I was able to get the shelter dog back safely.
Liz M. says
I use the food toss method as an emergency recall, redirection when puppies are getting into trouble and even as a trade when my dog has something he shouldn’t.
I call it “Look What I Found!”, I sprinkle 4-10 small treats (kibble, chicken, cheese) on the ground without my dog seeing me and then while yelling in an excited voice “Look What I Found!” I point toward the ground, and then to make it more exciting I help my dogs find all the treats. What is better than hunting yourself? Hunting with mom!
I have all my clients teach “Look What I Found!” and have heard wonderful stories about how they stopped their dogs in the their tracks after they: raced out the front door, or began chasing a deer, or even got and guarded a chicken carcass and many more examples.
Nothing better than the hunt game!
So glad you are on the Facebook wave!
I am keeping my fingers crossed (& Plato, Tai and Tess have their paws crossed) and we are all sending out good healing thoughts for Willie.
Best,
Liz
FidoPhoto says
I first learned this trick by accident. It was Halloween and a friend opened my door for me and I meant to give my dog just a bite or two, but ended up spilling the entire container on the floor. She spent the next 5 minutes ignoring the doorbell and kids and scarfing treats.
I recommended it to a friend whose dog was a big crotch-sniffer when guests came over. The dog was happy and the humans were less embarrassed. A win-win, eh?
Melissa says
My two corgis stay outside during the day while we are at work. Just before I finish getting ready in the morning, I walk around outside tossing kibble, or Cheerios, or chopped carrots or apples all around the yard. The girls spend the next 45 minutes wandering around finding their treats and never even seem to notice that I get dressed and leave. Maybe a little different distraction than what you’re talking about, but it seems to have made separation easier (and quieter!) at our house.
Sammi says
I’ve used the “kibble on the floor” game in a few different situations, most notably: –
1) Doorbells – what could be more exciting than crowding around the front door when the doorbell’s been rung? Crowding around the back door for kibble! Using a sealed tub, I’d rattle the kibble inside it, over the barking & general excitement, before enticing the dogs to the back door for a couple of handfuls of kibble on the floor – woohoo!
2) Coming home – similar to your problem Patricia, on my return from work/running errands/etc I would throw a handful of kibble on the floor for my older dog, and use another handful to lead the puppy out of his crate, then add that to what was already on the floor. It didn’t take long for both dogs to be excited, but without jumping up, and I could phase the kibble out and replace it with floor-level petting and cuddles.
Ellie says
I have 2 year old Labrador triplets (what posessed me to have 3 puppies at one I do not know!) who had problems containing themselves when guests came over or when we came home. 250lbs of lab jumping all over you is not fun! We tried teaching them to go to their beds when people came to the door but we had limited success. My trainer suggested that we try throwing food on the floor insted. We have a little bag of doggie treats outside the door and tell all our guests when they come over to grab a handful and throw it all over the floor. Now when someone comes to the door they all stand there staring at the floor waiting for the food to hit! (some times I do it just to amuse myself.. it’s very entertaining to watch them trying to get as much food as possible before the others eat it all!)
Shasta & Spencer's mom says
I use this ‘method’ when I’m leaving one pup at home & taking the other for a walk – since they both know it’s walk time, keeping one young golden somewhat content while he’s left at home gets tough- so in addition to leaving him with a filled kong, I scatter pieces of kibble, biscuit, etc across the room while backing out towards the door & putting the babygate in place. It keeps each of them occupied long enough to get the other guy & myself to the door & outside without TOO much howling from Mr. Left-At Home! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one resorting to such ‘creative’ strategies!
JJB says
Another benefit of this method: It’s rewarding for the human too. I get a kick out of throwing carrots or whatever I’m working on (that isn’t too messy) all over the house. Duke runs for it, finds it, and then comes back for more – waiting politely on the carpet rather than over my arm and counter. (A big thing we had to work on.) Yes, it’s great for Duke, but I think it’s fun too.
I just wish I could say that my aim has improved. It has not. Pretty much every problem we have had with this game is because I threw something somewhere it shouldn’t go.
Lynn U. says
I played a fun variation of “kibble bonanza” with my puppy last night. Scattered kibble all over the floor, and then practiced recalls away from the kibble to me. (Rewarding with kibble in my hand as well as release back to the kibble.) A good challenge for a little girl who feels VERY STRONGLY about her food.
Darin says
We do use this – we call it Feeding the Chickens.
We go outside and throw a big handful of kibble, treats, carrot pieces, whatever, into the yard and try to spread it out as much as we can. Keeps our two goldens very busy with their noses and brains trying to find it all. Typically we use it when they are wound up and we just don’t have time to run them properly. If we have to do it often, we do try to cut back their meals. We also use the buster cube for a similar purpose.
D~
Jeanine says
Another game I like to keep dogs occupied indoors is “find the teabag, ” which combines scent training and discrimination. Plus I have all the ingredients at home already. Start by hiding one tea bag, show the dog another one and send the dog(s) to find the hidden teabag. To make it harder, hide a variety of different flavors of teas, and show the dog one of the variety you want them to find. Tea is a strong enough scent that it is a relatively easy discrimination, but it is a good game because I already have plenty of ingredients without running out and buying more. And presumably one can make it harder by buying earl grey, etc. from different manufacturers.
Lastly, boil some water, pour over leftover teabag, let steep, then drink and watch dogs work.
Ann B. says
My 2 terriers get very excited when I open the back door at night. They like to burst out, barking loudly, to look for any night creatures that might be about in our fenced back yard. Unfortunately, the neighbors don’t appreciate this…. I can put the 2 on a sit-stay and open the door before releasing them, but that just prevents them from pushing out of the door, not the running, barking reaction. If I scatter kibble across the kitchen floor and then open the door while they are cleaning up, it seems to diffuse the exiting from the house….not always perfect, but much quieter overall.
R.D.L. says
I play “Find it” with my dogs and with the shelter dogs where I volunteer. I have thrown kibble to distract dogs. One time when I was working with a behaviorally challenged dog that got over-aroused and began grabbing me and my clothes REALLY HARD, I threw treats on the ground and she stopped and calmed down while she foraged for the treats.
Robin
Lisa H says
I also occasionally use the tossed kibble on the floor technique – most often in two particular situations. The 1st is when I am leaving the house & my two will be home alone for a bit. I want my leaving to be postive yet I don’t want to give my two dogs frozen pb kongs if its early in the day since I consider that a more substantial treat & don’t want to “use it up” just 2-3 hours into the day. The other situation is when I am tired of using, or haven’t refilled, one of the 4 treat dispensers that I use for my 10 month old female who eats at lightening speed.
I really like the suggestions of tossing food in the grass or snow, or more deliberately hiding it in the house so the search is extended. And I am definitely going to experiment with using it for the younger dog’s exuburant door greetings. The older male dog easily learned as a pup that jumping = ignoring while sitting = greeting. She tries, but this may be the key as she is very, very food motivated.
Jamie says
I feed raw so this game is a little harder to play. But we call it going fishing. I put them in a down stay in another room so they can’t see where I’m hiding them at and then call GOOOO FISSSHHHHH! I get baked goldfish crackers from safeway when they are on sale and spread them out. (I know too much salt is not necessarily a good thing but since they don’t get any prepared food other than the occasional goldfish I figure its ok.) I also make baked sweet potato chips with fish oil (cut up really small) that I hide in harder places, under pillows on the couch, in the bushes, even up higher on book case shelves so they learn that not everything good is on the ground. Also if I’m really looking for some extra quiet time I save marrow bones that have big holes and restuff them with mashed cooked sweet potato or carrot, sometimes green beans or peas *never ever broccoli*, a little rosemary (I’ve heard it can help repel fleas but don’t have any scientific evidence, sure makes their breath smell good though) maybe even a chicken liver or heart in the center, and freeze it. It takes the girls at least 30 minutes to get all the good stuff out.
We’re still struggling on the jumping up on me when I get home though. Izzy just gets so excited she can’t control herself, but small steps. I figure by the time she’s 10 we’ll have it worked out. ๐
Frances says
I have to admit – slightly shamefacedly – to playing this game with crumbs of sweet biscuits or crisps (potato chips) when my dogs have been lying at my feet gazing longingly at me while I eat. I try to think of it as a reward for holding a Down for minutes at a time, rather than for low-key begging … Doesn’t happen often, I try to follow my Mother’s now famous dictum “I’m not buying biscuits – we’ll only eat them!”.
Karen says
I do use the food on the floor method – I use it to distract my fearful dog on walks. He’s usually really good at checking in with me if something worries him, but if he gets too focused on something where I can’t get his attention with my voice, I’ll toss food on the ground. For this I usually use kibble mixed with cheese or hotdogs (so the kibble makes noise on the ground but still smells like the good stuff).
In the house I discovered it by accident a few days ago. My dog alert barks at people entering the house or when we answer the door for deliveries. When my partner and I are both home, one of us can stay behind a baby gate with him and do “watch me” and feed treats while the other goes to the door. Last week I was home with my dog alone and got an unexpected delivery. I put my dog behind the baby gate and he hadn’t started barking yet, so I wanted to hurry up and figure out how to distract him so I threw a bunch of kibble/cheese mix on the floor. When I came back with my packages, he was standing there with no more kibble on the floor, but NOT barking!
I also do food on the floor for “find it” games with his meals when I want to keep him busy and tire him out some.
lin says
I put treats in one of the rooms and let her go find it. While this has stimulated her mentally, I think it has also sharpened her foraging instinct, for my pup is keenly aware of all food items within a goodly distance from her. Since I don’t want to curb her general sniffing, I don’t notice until too late the chicken wing hidden in the hellstrip grass or grey baloney rind beneath the bush. I have learned to watch out if she stops and doubles back to somewhere. It’s rarely an intriguing scent left by a previous dog that piques her interest. I keep a sharp eye while she is scouting the picnic tables, but 200 feet away I didn’t expect her to find a bbq rib bone.
lin says
I hide treats for my dog in one room; while this stimulates her mentally, it’s also sharpened her foraging instinct. She can spot the half of a chicken wing hidden in the grass of the hellstrip or the greyish baloney rind camoflauged on the sidewalk. I keep a sharp eye on her around picnic tables, but didn’t expect her to find a rib bone 200 ft away. I’ve learned to be alert when she doubles back; no scent left by a previous dog is that alluring.
em says
Wow. I totally feel left out ๐ Every new dog brings a set of new twists and quirks to challenge my expectations, but one of the most surprising, and in some ways disappointing ones that Otis brought to our relationship is a marked and unusual disinterest in eating food off of the floor. For over a year he didn’t have much interest in food, period, but even now that his appetite is better, food has to be reeeaaallly good before Baron von Prissypants will stoop to picking it up off the floor.
He’s got a good sniffer and a marked skill at tracking but he can’t be bothered. If I point out a particularly good tidbit dropped while cooking, he’ll eat it, usually, but he won’t go looking without being prompted and he certainly won’t check all the corners for anything less than earth-shakingly fantastic. Back when he ate kibble I actually used to have to sweep up the portion he pushed out of his dish because he wouldn’t eat it off the floor, ever. Deeply disappointing…one of the gratifying things about having a dog is the opportunity to sweep the kitchen LESS, not more. In his defense, reaching the floor does require a bit of effort, but considering the time he spends with his nose glued to the ground outside, it doesn’t seem to be that big an imposition.
I did try scattering kibble outside once to break his focus on an aggressivly barking dog across the training arena, but the trick backfired. Otis only flickered his attention to the chicken on the floor for a nanosecond before refocusing on the dog with more intensity than before. He never did pick it up. Introducing treats or any other exciting stimulus to distract Otis when he feels anxious only seems to worsen his reactions.
Karissa says
“Alexandra Says:
March 1st, 2011 at 5:27 pm
I started throwing a small handfull of kibble over the fence to my neighbor
Kerry L. says
This is a technique I can really relate to!
Kat says
Something else we’ll do is to put a handful of kibble in an oven mitt. I have a few I bought at the dollar store just for Ranger. He can’t get his head inside the mitt far enough to get the kibble at the end of the mitt so he has to work out how to get it. Most of the time he’ll push his face into the mitt far enough to be able to lift it off the ground and as soon as he’s got it up he points his nose at the ceiling and kibble rains down on his face then when he sets it back on the ground he can eat the kibble. Other times he’ll grab the closed end and lift it up raining kibble all over the floor which he then gets to clean up. Cheap entertainment.
suenosdeuomi says
In my attempts to keep my pups busy in a small condo downtown, I have used this method of feeding kibble of throwing it out in the yard for them to pick up individually, so as to prolong the fun of it all. Like you more and more I add food of my own making from a variety of carbs and veggies, sometimes in a broth of boiled bones, which they then get in their bowls. The sight of my Isabella-girl ‘inhaling’ her food just is not appealing. I assume eating slower got to be healthier. Your posts are always very interesting, thank you for all the stimulation and education, you offer so much, om.
Syl says
Coming late to this conversation but I have a unique and *very important* use for throwing food on the ground. ๐
I’ve tried to train my dogs from the time they were pups to check in with me frequently when I am hiking, biking, or snowshoeing, and they are running loose. As northern dogs, not border collies, this isn’t something they are naturally inclined to do, so I use all manner of goodies, as well as step off the trail and hide, to encourage them to keep track of me. When they notice I’m missing or even standing still for awhile, they come charging back — a pack of 70 lb furry dogs.
This strategy tends to backfire when I have to stop for a quick pee! If the dogs happen to notice me crouching off the trail, they assume this is part of the game and come racing to find me. I’ve taken to tossing a handful of kibbles into the air just before impact. It works pretty well. ๐
syl
Janet says
I use this when I leave for work in the morning. I make both mini schnauzers sit and stay and then I methodically scatter kibbles up the carpeted stairs and through the living room. I used to just toss and run out the back door but I have to make sure they don’t go under anything or I’m afraid it will get scratched up. I started doing this to distract them from me leaving since one is really neurotic with separation anxiety.
Julie says
I use this method for a different purpose with our Italian Greyhound. In his recovery from a shoulder injury, he decided that he prefers to walk only on his two hind legs. Our little circus dog.
To encourage his vanishing front leg muscles to strengthen, I make a trail of closely-spaced kibble or cheese around the house (a little more work, I suppose, than scattering). He has to put his front legs down and put weight on them to reach each treat. By the end of the trail, he’s taking a few steps on all fours on his own. But then it’s back to his two hind legs.
Scattering treats as a means to calm him rarely works, as in those situations (doorbell, new person, another dog, vet’s office, etc.), he is often too nervous to be distracted by food in any form.
Ellen says
Thanks for this great suggestion. My two springers are crazy when I am getting their food ready. This has quieted down that time considerably. Now I just have to be faster at getting yogurt and supplements into the food before they finish finding all the food on the floor.
Kate Connell says
I’m actually a pet training instructor.I have used this technique for excitable dogs before, but, more importantly, I accidentally discovered the technique while fitting a dog for a Gentle Leader headcollar. I had lured the dog to put his nose through the loop with my very smelly treats (rolled dog food, actually) and it started spilling out of my hands. The dog put his nose to the ground and I was able to adjust the strap behind his head with very little trouble. Now I show this technique to all my clients that are first getting used to using a Gentle Leader. Oh, and the Buster Food Cube and Tricky Treat Ball are also good helpers for keeping dogs interested in anything but jumping (though not for the Gentle Leader)….
Joanne says
I don’t have experience using it with my own dogs, but I will say it helps the SA dog, after the “I’ll be Home Soon” has been started and successful in the first stages. I noticed that the GSD struggled focusing on the kong when I was training the crate but if I threw in a handful of small treats she could search for a bit and then focus on the awesome stuffed kong. It just helped to keep her even more busy before focusing on the kong since I had 9 other dogs to put away after her. (she was dog aggressive so had to go away first). BTW – your method would have fixed her all the way but she got adopted today at 95% rehabed from severe SA.
Amy says
My dogs love this scavenger hunt! My mini Aussie has loved this since puppyhood – she was bored with a food bowl – didnt eat – after many attempts at exquisite foods – I found like in fine restaurants *presentation is as important as product* so the toss and find scavenger hunt made a creative meal time. No bored dogs here!
Patty says
we have adopted a kennel dog (yorkie), whenever I put her food in a bowl she scatters it all over the floor, it really makes a mess on the carpet. Any suggestions?
Britni Kocsis says
What breed is he, and how much exercise does he get?Oftentimes mild separation anxiety can be helped tremendously with a little more exercise and mental stimulation.Simply letting the dog in the backyard for a few hours does not constitute as exercise. Structured walking/running/biking would be.
elena says
I’ve only just seen this page and it’s 5 years old now, but for what it’s worth I’m posting my experience with scatter feeding:
We’ve had our 16yo golden retriever since she was 9 weeks old and have scattered her food on the lawn since she was about 2 years old. I was told it might slow her eating down and it’s been successful all these years. (Given the opportunity, she basically inhales her food she is so eager for it – even at 16yo with diminished eyesight and arthritic knees she can smell a discarded sandwich wrapper from across the road and makes any attempt to get to it).
Anyhow, she really seems to love snuffling around in the grass to find each piece of food.
We’ve recently adopted an 18month old labrador x golden retriever and he’s happily adapted to being fed outside on the lawn too. Both dogs are great at sharing food and physical space, and we’ve noticed that when each has finished eating in their respective patch, they swap places to see if they can find something the other dog may have missed.
(we only feed them high quality vet prescribed dried food with glucosamine etc for joint health and fresh marrow bones.)