Want to join me in doing research on our dogs’ food preferences in our own homes? I was inspired by a section in Linda Case’s book, Feeding Smart with the Science Dog, that I wrote about in my last post. Somehow I missed a section on food preference research when I first went through the book, but became enthralled as I was reading through it a second time. (I apparently require multiple trials to get anything down correctly.)
The research is based on “preference ranking tests,” in which nutritionists used “food-dispensing toys” to allow dogs to choose what kind of fat, protein, or carbs that they preferred. Simply, they taught dogs that the hollow toys would be stuffed with different kinds of food, allowed the dogs to sniff each toy, and then to select which one they wanted out of the toys presented side by side, in a random order, 2 meters from the dog. The dog was allowed to get the food out in any way they pleased and then move on to the next one. The dog’s preferences were then recorded for five trials.
The research that Linda quotes, “Preference Ranking Procedure,” (Wyant, Aldrich & Koppel), was specifically looking for preferences in types of fats, proteins, carbs, and combinations there of. You can get the details in Linda’s book, but the researchers found that fish oil was the dog’s favorite fat, chicken liver the preferred protein, potatoes the favorite starch. Beef was high on the list of favorite proteins while pork was at the bottom.
I thought it would be fun to do my own version at home (as Linda suggests). Maggie and Skip would like to agree, having snarfed up lots of food in their dedication to the advancement of knowledge. I did a quick and dirty version, using kibble from a local pet store. I chose varieties that varied quite a bit in composition and perceived quality. As you’ll see there, there are lots of confounding factors that makes this kind of research tricky, but I thought it would be fun to see what came out of it.
Here’s what I’ve done:
I got 3 different kinds of kibble: Orijen’s Regional Red (lst ingredient beef), American Natural Exhibitor’s Choice (lst ingredient chicken meal), and Purina ProPlan, (lst ingredient chicken), and put a tablespoon of each kibble in one of 3 bowls. (I used the same bowl for each brand during each session. Bowls were washed in between sessions, the tablespoon itself was washed each time used.)
With the dog on a sit/down stay (their preference), I let them sniff each bowl briefly, then put the bowls down about 6 feet in front of the dog, about 4 inches apart. I varied the position of each brand, using a random sequence generator.
Then I released the dog, picking up the other 2 bowls as the dog ate the one it chose. (Note this varies from the study, in which the dogs were allowed to get the food from all 5 toys; the order in which they chose was the preference.) Here’s what my trials looked like:
I did two sessions a day, with three trials within each, starting on Saturday the 5th. Here’s are examples of my highly sophisticated recording devices:
T stands for trial, L for left, M for middle, R for right (from the dog’s perspective). I always put the bowls down in the same order, L, M, R.
What you see is from the weekend, 2 trials a day. Note that Skip has a strong location preference, which is probably explained by the fact that, unlike Maggie, he hasn’t learned to sniff on cue. He’d always sniff the first bowl, then look uncomfortable about sniffing the second. It’s not surprising in a way, he was told to “stay” after each sniff, and I’m guessing he was confused about what he was supposed to do, and never really sniffed the other 2 bowls. Maggie, on the other hand, had it down instantly. She never went to the bowl on her left (first sniffed, first put down), and split the middle and right-hand bowl 6 times each. She chose Orijen 6 times, American Natural 3, and Purina 3. Is this enough to show a preference? Not yet! I’ll keep it up and give you an update next time I post.
The primary result is that the dogs and I had great fun, which was great, given that it’s an infirmary around here. Both Maggie and Skip came up lame and have been restricted from play and working sheep. That said, can we say anything about these preliminary results? Nope, not really, because there were so many confounding factors. Did my picking up the “not-chosen” bowls influence the dogs’ behavior? Did doing it at different times of the day, and thus, different hunger levels, have an influence? Skip did not have the luxury of learning to sniff on cue, which Maggie did. (Note the dogs had a training period in the study, whereas I just jumped right in.) In spite of all these holes, and that it’s all too sloppy to be good research, it’s still been fun. What I most love about all this is the reminder how “simple” behavior studies look superficially, but how very difficult it often is to get robust, meaningful results because of so many confounding factors. If you are going to play, be sure your dog is first familiar with sniffing on cue, and staying in place on cue (or held on leash by someone else?). Vary the placement of the bowls and which one gets put down first, and don’t vary the distance between the dog and the bowls, or between the bowls. And have fun! Why not?
Let us know if you’ve done anything similar, or are inspired to take it on yourself. It’d be rough to pull off if your dog didn’t have a good stay and you are alone, but you could always enlist a family member or friend if necessary. And hey, if you’re living with March Mudness, like we are, then the more fun you can have inside the better.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: It was Skip’s fifth birthday on Sunday!! It’s hard to imagine he’s this old–it’s always trickier when you get a dog who’s not a puppy, right? He was three when we got him, and I struggle to get my brain around the fact that he just turned five. He is having no problem with it himself, having gotten an extra Kong stuffed with frozen food, as he and Maggie do every night after Jim and I eat dinner. But today he got a second one mid afternoon. Please do not share this with Maggie.
Besides fun with food preferences, it’s pretty much an infirmary around here. Ask the dogs how much fun they’re having:
Maggie is healing well from what looks like a cruciate strain, but is still not allowed to play or work sheep. Skip missed her as a playmate, but was having a great time working sheep every day until last Tuesday, when he worked sheep in the morning (hard work in the pen, lots of “quarter-horsing”) and then ran like a race horse in the afternoon with Churizo, a five-month old husky/wolfhound cross. Here are some photos of their play session. You can see that both dogs were a bit unsure at times:
But they both love to play by running, and run they did, Skip gathering mud like the sponge that he is.
I love this last photo, even though Churizo is leaving the frame. It shows Skip’s intensity, which became, uh, extreme, when it became clear that Skip was falling in love with Churizo and wanted to have his way with him. I actually had to put him on a leash on the way down the hill because he wouldn’t leave the poor pup alone.
Skip came up lame later that afternoon, putting no weight on his right foreleg. The poor guy has been highly restricted ever since, and thank heavens is healing well. I suspect it’s his shoulder (though no swollen or hot joints), and look forward to working this afternoon with the Walk-on-Water Physical Therapist at UW-Madison, Courtney Arnoldy. I’ll keep you posted, but I’m encouraged by his rapid improvement, perhaps thanks to lots of rest and 3 laser treatments.
I was going to leave you with some photos from an orchid show at Olbrich Gardens in Madison, but even though I avoid talking about current events in this blog, I am ending with sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine. I do a “loving kindness recitation” for them every day, and am sending money almost as often. I apologize for bringing this issue into what I know is a respite for many, but I just couldn’t stay silent.
May the brave people of the Ukraine be safe and protected.
May they feel surrounded by care and concern and admiration.
May they live in peace again soon.
May we all, including our beloved pets, be safe and protected.
lak says
hahahahahha March Mudness! Same here in MI, I keep a large towel by the door and have to wipe the dog down each time we come in! At least things are beginning to melt somewhat!
Feel the same about Ukraine and love the meditation!
Chris from Boise says
“chicken liver the preferred protein” – Hah! Obi was not in THAT study! (See my comment on previous post).
This looks like a terrific game, no matter if one does or doesn’t get scientifically solid results, especially for the infirmary (sigh). Maggie and Skip do not look thrilled about house arrest. Obi and Rowan are ready and eager to take on this challenge; I’ll report back.
Thank you for sharing the sunflowers and wonderful recitation. What a brave nation!
J. Hass says
My Charlie loves chicken, frozen beans and broccoli, eggs, goat yogurt, and his normal food (Sojo’s). But no matter what I put in Charlie’s food bowl he always eats the yogurt first. Does that mean he likes yogurt more than chicken? I wonder if there’s a way to really test this. Maybe put each part of the meal in a separate bowl and see which he goes to first? But how could you differentiate between preference and habit? I find dogs’ food preferences and eating habits a fascinating subject. Thanks for these last couple blog posts and the book review.
Frances says
Meditating with you.
Food preference trials could prove interesting here. Poppy is on steroids and inhales almost anything remotely edible. I suspect she would just begin at one end of the row and eat her way to the other. Sophy is more discriminating – meat first, especially chicken, then green beans, with carrots and other vegetables left unless she is very hungry; Freddy is the only one who likes fruit (especially dried apple rings) and raw vegetables (yummy broccoli stems!).
Poor Maggie and Skip – the sofa photo says it all!
Beth says
I’ve not tried a food preference test like this, but I now have a second Corgi who will actually spit out a treat he is eating if a better one is offered, then go back to the rejected one after eating the preferred one. Jack would do this, now Indy pup will too
If only “dead shrew” didn’t rank so high on the list, we’d be in good shape.
Lorraine says
I did something similar to rank treats in order of preference for training purposes. I put each treat type in identical tall containers to limit scent spread, set them on the floor and let London wander around and stick his nose into each ( he couldn’t actually reach the treats as the containers were too narrow). On each trial the jar containing the dried tripe was the one he attempted to pick up and walk off with. Good info for training tasks that need a high-value reinforcer!
JODY B says
My first thought was the dog would go to the last one I put down. If sing out if that’s possibly a factor is Interesting.
Susan says
“Please do not share this with Maggie.” LOL! What is to say that she hasn’t already subscribed to your blog and read this for herself—given her level of intelligence?
Happy FIFTH trip around the sun, sweet Skip! Here’s to many more!
Selina says
Sunflowers are wonderful.
I’ve done some kibble trials just with just left/right and my one dog does not enjoy them. Got to be that he always pick the right hand. I believe the issue has to do with how close in value the food is. So kibble vs kibble he’s always going to go for my right hand. But if I do kibble vs cheese then he’s more likely to go for cheese. The food value have to be noticeably different for him to care.
Trisha says
Beth: Laughed outloud at the dead shrew preference test. We could come up with quite a list right? Dead fish versus rotten bird carcass vs. dead shrew versus……
Nannette Morgan says
Really interesting subject! I’ve done the citizen science tests(Dognition) that Brian Hare had subscriptions to a long time ago with my first Siberian (male) and then a few years later with my 2nd one (female). It was really interesting. Since I didn’t have anyone to hold a leash I just kept them outside the room with door closed and placed the items. Please keep us posted on your future trials 😉
Jann Becker says
My 12-year old Kira gets 6 different medicines (of which 5 are for her arthritis.) Finding a pill pocket she likes is important since that’s how I make sure the right dog got the right pill. Right now the fav is “hickory smoked bacon” but if they made one in “dead shrew” I’m sure that would win out!
Simply Cheryl says
I have a 3 month old puppy and a 5 year old dog. Their food preference is whatever the other dog is eating. The puppy wants the dogs adult dog food (no matter what it is) and vice versa. It’s frustrating. The puppy “may”like shellfish judging by the remains of a crawdad claw she discovered.
Grace says
I think Lorraine is onto something For Lewis, who is my scent work and tracking for fun partner, I would put each trial food in a 4-6 inch PVC tube, end caps with small holes drilled for odor to drift, then let him walk by them off-leash (so I don’t influence his choice) to sniff each one; whichever one he lingers at or engages with would be his preference. For each trial I would switch locations of food tubes. It sounds like a lot of fun. And thanks for the review of the book; I’m adding it to my list!
Cindy Rose says
I have not done a kibble test, but do try to decide with games what treat is most exciting for rewarding good behavior in my 2 -year -old coltriever(1/2 border collie,1/2 golden retriever . She does not get chicken due to allergy but loves most beef treats , only some fish and pork. Straight peanut butter in a kong or lick mat is really relished, but not in biscuit or other forms. Thank you so much for showing pictures of the countryside in your blogs asI miss Wisconsin now that I live in Seattle. Wondering if sometime you could blog about ideas for dealing with ball obsession . Thank you also for your wishes for the Ukrainians.
Gayla says
What a fun idea! I’m going to try it the way its described in the book just to minimize chances of Echo over-thinking it.
Not trying to play devil’s advocate; but once the dogs know they always get to have all 5, I wonder if any of them would choose to ‘save the best for last?’
Sunflowers: how painfully ironic is that…
Cathy Ford says
Have been feeding my dogs a raw meat diet since 2002. I can tell by their enthusiasm over the years that the preferred food is: raw green tripe! The stinkier the better. Second to that is anything beef.
Betsy says
Thanks for the beautiful meditation. I agree with Beth. My country dogs would love a poop preference test: horse v deer, etc.!
JMM says
My greyhound’s bedtime biscuits are either peanut butter Buddy Biscuits or apple cinnamon Blue Bars. Sometimes I let her choose by offering one of each to sniff. She always selects the one she hasn’t had in a while. She’ll eat anything (romaine stems, raw cranberries) but I guess she likes variety.
Erika Koenigsaecker says
Finding a food preference is a bit difficult with my 8 yr. old rescue with trauma issues. I have tried dozens of kibbles, raw foods, dehydrated, frozen, veggies, fruit. and treats of all flavors and type. After 3 months we finally found something she will eat regularly It’s cooked chicken, raw organs, raw burger in meatball form with her probiotic crushed in the center, cooked burger, raw beef or cooked beef. No KIBBLE ever! No cooked brown rice and sweet potato or veggies in any form. It seems she likes chicken gizzards and hearts and turkey gizzards best. She is a bit expensive to feed. I have to order her organs frozen. Not too many places offer fresh/frozen animal organs. I’m just glad I found something she will eat. I think I’ve fed the neighbor dogs many months of food she rejected! Still can’t find a treat she likes. Makes training a bit tough. (another post on her unique training method!) Any ideas on getting veggies/fruits in her will be much appreciated. Sorry for the length…
Monica says
Erika, if she won’t eat veggies, your best bet is to make the veggies taste like the gizzards/organs by cooking cut up veggies with the gizzards until well done and serving together. If that doesn’t work, I don’t have another idea! You didn’t mention cheese as a treat or for training. There’s so many types with different smells so don’t give up too soon. Also liverwurst is good for hiding pills.
This time around, we have an almost 6yo Havanese that we got 2 yrs ago and we’re so lucky, he loves everything, raw or cooked! Would be very difficult to figure out his preferences. Before that we had two Havanese that lived to 16 and 18, one picky eater and one not. Before that two Goldens back in the 90’s that only ate kibble and a few commercial treats and were never fussy about food.
Jeff Dentler says
We have labs, so our test would look like this:
Is it food? (Yes) I prefer it.
Is it not food? (No) I might still prefer it.
lin says
In case Erika is still reading comments: For training treats, maybe cooking her hearts in animal fat? One of my dog’s super duper rewards is bacon fat mixed with peanut butter. If pup is suspicious of a guest entering the home, guest gives a frozen spoonful of treat to pup. Render chicken skin (or duck, which will give you a LOT of fat) and then fry up hearts and cut them into pieces the size of a pea. Probably not give too many, but enough to perk her interest in the reward.
Trisha says
Great ideas lin, thank you!
Trisha says
Jeff: Well said, and pretty much sums up Maggie too.
Leslie Forrest says
Good morning,
This past January on a very cold morning walk Dirk, male Elkhound, fixated on a snow boulder created by a road plow. Freezing human with treats could not dissuade him as he dug deeply into the snow. After several minutes, he presented me with a very stiff, dead squirrel! “Leave it, drop it” were ineffective and my hands were inoperable. For those of you wondering. Yes, he was very satisfied and had absolutely no digestive problems. Why did I start training Scentwork???