Dog Won't Always Eat Treats

[JoyDoughty]

Hi. I just recently joined and I have a roughly 2 year old lab mix.  We've only had her for almost 4 months.  She's a rescue that we found.  She's had a not so great past and obvious history of abuse.  We've been working with her on various things to help her come out of her shell.  I figured some of the trainings in this program might help us bond more and get her brain working especially since she's heartworm positive so hasn't been able to be very active.  I'm positive she's bored.

One of the issues we have is that she doesn't always take treats.  When we first got her she wouldn't eat them at all.  She has pretty big separation anxiety issues that I've been working to desensitize her on and I've gotten her to take treats to do that but it's super inconsistent when it comes to random training stuff. For example, I started trying to get her use to the verbal marker because I'm pretty sure she'd be scared of a clicker.  Problem is, when working with her on "sit" and "down" she won't take a treat. I've tired different ones and I'm just not sure what to do.  I ended up giving her praise and affection instead of the treat but that doesn't seem to be the best motivator either.

Anyway, I feel like that was a really long explanation for a short issue but any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[Adrienne]

Hi there,

Welcome to the forums!

Sounds like she hasn't inherited much from Labs  who have a known reputation for always feeling hungry and having a bottom-less stomach! We can't blame her though, it sounds like she had a tough life and  is still dealing with some remnants of her past. She's super lucky though for having found you and it's great to hear that she's moving forward and starting to come out of her shell. Cases as such can be very rewarding.

In general, when we have a dog who is a bit finicky eating food or treats, we want to firstly make sure that everything is absolutely fine in the health department. You mention she is heartworm positive and that alone can be a cause for feeling a bit off. The American Heartworm Society lists decreased appetite as one of the main symptoms of heartworm disease. 

On top of possible medical issues, once having those ruled out, we need to consider the dog's emotions. With a past like hers, there may be emotional repercussions. Stress, fear, anxiety or excessive excitement/over stimulation may too play a number on a dog's appetite levels. Here's the thing, when dogs are in a fight or flight situation, stress hormones circulate through the dog's body, leading to a variety of physiological changes.

Among such physiological changes are included increased heart rate, increased respiratory rate and increased blood flow to muscles (so the dog can sprint into action). Affected dogs also undergo changes in their levels of blood sugar (it surges for a burst of energy), while also experiencing an inability to focus, lack of impulse control and a lowered threshold for aggression and biting.  Also, since during a dog's fight and flight response, blood flow transfers from the dog's skin and intestines to their muscles for action, appetite suppression is a common consequence.

On top of this, dogs who are stressed or fearful are too occupied to focus on the source of their fears and eating may be the last thing they may want to do since they don't feel safe. So we need to evaluate whether there may be something too distracting going on. Perhaps she's a tad but worried about you looming over her to get her to sit. Some dogs may not like to take treats from our hands. With rescue dogs there are many possibilities. It could also be that, since you are using treats to help with separation anxiety, the treats may have come to assume some negative connotations.  It could be she has mixed feelings about them. "So tasty and good, they come after I perform a desired behavior, but they also sometimes predict that my owner will soon disappear."  Something like this may happen if you give treats before you are leaving the home and she's too worried about it. 

Other reasons why some dogs may be finicky around treats can be because they are simply full (just like us, after eating at a buffet, the last thing dogs may want is more food), or maybe there may be something wrong with the treats, and then some dogs may get a little spoiled if we feed them people foods from the table. 

So after looking at several possibilities, here are some ideas:

• See your vet to exclude medical problems. If your dog is ill or not feeling 100 percent well, she won't find  treats appealing enough for training. 
• If your dog is stressed, fearful or overstimulated, reduce exposure to the things that worry her. Try to train her in the comfort of your home and then aim to working directly on the issues that may be causing her fear. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/helping-fearful-rescue-dog/
• Make sure to ensure the treats are not stale, check the expiration date, look online whether there were any recent recalls. 
•  Some dogs (especially, the most finicky ones) do best being trained at times away from meals or on an empty stomach.
• If your dog is shy taking treats from you hand, try tossing them. 
• If you are still at the luring stages of learning (using a food lure in front of your dog's body to get her to sit or lie down), you  can try a different training method such as capturing. I explain this briefly in the video below:
• Try using toys. Some play-driven dogs may find toys as irresistible as the best tasting treats. For example, many scent hounds or sight hounds may go crazy for toys made of rabbit fur.  Small terriers may love squeaky toys. Labs and goldens may like toys that resemble birds or ducks. 

These are just a few suggestions for general dogs who are not too eager to take treats.  Let me know more details if I haven't covered your specific situation. Like for instance,  let me know if the not -taking-treats behavior happens at a particular part of the training. Like when being used in the luring stage (when you are using a food lure to get her into a sit or a down) or when you are rewarding after the sit or down has happened. I can cover these possibilities more in detail. 

 

 

 

[JoyDoughty]

Thanks for the detailed response. This is something I've read a few random articles on and the only thing people tend to say is use a toy if your dog isn't food motivated.  Problem is she also doesn't know how to play.  My goal is to help her become a balanced and happy dog and build up trust.  I know this will take time so I'm ok with not being able to make it very far in this training at first I think my issue is just I don't know how to really progress.

Health wise, we are on the last leg of her heartworm treatment.  She recently had her blood test that checked for babies and it came back negative.  We go back in January for a final test where we hope it to be negative and she can get the all clear.  Since her last appointment we got the okay from the vet to start being more active which is why I ended up finding your program as I was looking for things to help.

I'm pretty positive her aversion to treats is directly tied with her anxiety especially since she wouldn't take them at all when we first got them and then has slowly been okay with them.  I'm not entirely sure to how ease her anxiety.  I know she's smart and can understand what I'm asking since I've taught her to jump up on me when I tap my legs and she does mostly listen to a sit command. 

So I think really my issue is likely helping her through her anxiety and gaining her trust more.  She mostly trusts me and is totally attached to me.  I read that article you mentioned but I'm not sure how to ease her anxiety like when we are trying training.  It's easier to help her when it's a box moving or the broom.  I'm not sure what to do when I'm wanting to do stuff with her and it's me, I guess, that's making her anxious. I'll definitely start paying more attention to if I'm looming over her. 

One of her big anxiety places is actually the car. She gets in and out on her own with no problem, and on command.  Once we actually get going though she's panting, doesn't sit still, and whines frequently.  I have her in the front seat because she moves around less than when in the back and I have a doggie buckle so she's safe.  I've tried treats here, although you can guess how that went. 😛 I've also tried to play music to help make sure I'm also relaxed so she's not feeding off of my energy and I also tend to open the window because she seems like she gets more interested in looking around instead of stressing when I do that but it only works some of the time.

I think I just need major help in how to reassure her that she's safe and nothing bad is going to happen in the car and at random times at home.

 

I had to laugh a bit because as I'm writing this and describing her like she's an anxious mess all the time, she is totally happy and taking a nap. 🙂  I just wish she'd feel this peace all the time.

[Adrienne]

It does happen that sometimes dogs may not be that play or toy motivated and this may occur because they may be too concerned about other things going on their lives. It could be they lived in fear in a tense world and perhaps they were exposed to people who frightened them, and therefore, they live in a state of learned helplessness.

As dogs learn more to relax in their surroundings, and build a foundation of trust, they may come to learn about playing. We can help them, by reinforcing behaviors (praise, provide things your dog loves) that are associated with play such as play bows,  play faces, carrying toys and shaking them or simple exploratory behaviors such a peeking through a hole, walking under a table or finding toys or treats hidden under a towel. 

We also may try offering a variety of toys and see what kinds of texture/features the dog shows some interest in. Praising her for interacting with the toy (investigating it, sniffing it or mouthing it, carrying it) may help too if she isn't too intimidated by praise. We can try, as mentioned, rabbit-fur toys, but also long toys shaped like animals that encourage shaking side-to-side, a crinkly bottle filled with treats (remove the lids for safety), bouncy balls, flirt poles, toys that you can fill with treats (Kongs, Kong Wobblers, Buster Cubes), snuffle mats, squeaky toys etc. Rotating the toys can help increase interest. 

Also, watch her closely: does she seem attracted to birds?  Do her eyes brighten up at the sight of squirrels? Is she attracted to rabbits? Sheep? Any interest in these animals can help us find more suitable toys/games based on her preferences. 

See whether she's interested in looking for you when you hide. See if she likes to chase you around. Toss balls making funny sounds as you launch them. Act silly and see if she responds, but pay attention as some dogs may be intimidated by our tones or movements when we are acting silly. 

Working with fearful dogs is a work in progress. With training them, it's necessary to take a multi-faceted approach, tackling their fears from different angles, where we aim to lower their anxiety (less full intensity exposures, calming aids), lay out a foundation of trust, and increase their confidence. These dogs like routines and stability. 

Here you can find some exercises to increase confidence in dogs (keep using a verbal marker rather than a clicker if she's scared of the sound of the clicker)

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/

Here are some threads on separation anxiety: 

Here are some tips for dogs anxious in the car:

When training her,  you can also use life rewards  to reinforce desired behaviors (for example, for recalls, call your dog when you are ready to put on her leash and take her on a walk-the prospective of the walk acts as a reward) or when you are going out in the yard, call her so that she can join you out if she loves the yard, you can also do sits by the door and reward the sit by opening the door (see Open Sesame brain game in the Brain Training section).

To use life rewards, compile a list of the thing your dog loves doing naturally and then use those things to reinforce desired behaviors. Does she love chasing balls? Does she love running? Does she like to chase you? Feel free to post some things she loves and I can post some ideas on how to utilize these things as reinforcement. 

Finally, something to point out is that the value of food as reinforcement for behaviors can be built. I have worked with several dogs who weren't interested in food initially, but who started associating food/treats with fun learning and engagement to the point where they started finding even low value treats and even kibble more interesting than before. Since you mention that her interest in treats has gradually grown, it could be that one day we may go from not always eating treats, to eating them more often than refusing them, up to the point of almost never refusing them if the upward trend keeps going. 

Let me know if less looming over her seems to helps. Maybe try training her as you're calmly sitting on the couch with her nearby. 

Keep me posted please. I love the picture of her sleeping on her side nice and relaxed. We want to see this sleeping position more and more as it's the position mostly associated with restorative REM sleep. It's a sign of a dog starting to feel comfortable in her surroundings. 

Best,

Adrienne