[Lunareclipse]

Buster will not eat his food unless I make him do every trick he knows at least twice. And after we do that, he will take one bite of food and come back to me in a perfect heel and look at me until I give him permission to go eat. Then he will go take another bite and come back. Why does he feel he needs permission to eat after every bite of food? I did teach all of my dogs not to go eat unless I tell them to so I don't get run over by 3 saint bernards during feeding time. But coming to me after every bite is going a little overboard. The other two don't do it. How can I get it to stop? I have given him his food and left the room before. I came back later he was looking at his food drooling but wouldn't eat it until I told him to. The only way he eats it all without coming to me all the time is if I dump it on the floor. All of the dogs know that any food that hits the floor is free for all. (K-9 Cleaning Service) Have I overtrained my dog? (If that is at all possible).

[Todd]

sounds like a pretty smart guy to me! willingness to please at its finest!

[Lunareclipse]

His "willingness to please" is driving me nuts.

[Todd]

Originally Posted by Lunareclipse

His "willingness to please" is driving me nuts.

LOL. understandable.

[CorkyMax]

Would this be worth a try---After you give him the go ahead to eat and he only eats one piece--Take the food away and act like he is done! He will soon learn (I would think!--but , lol, we are talking about the one and only Buster here--the one of a kind! Sorry, couldn't resist!) Seriously though---If he finds out after a repetition of this a few times, He should soon get the idea that he better eat until it is gone or he won't get anymore. Hunger alone should be a motivation to 'go to it!' Say something as you go to take the food away like Are you done, etc so he gets the 'drift' that he better eat or go hungry!

[Lara's mom]

One day, you just have to write a book about the "Life Of Buster." It will be a bestseller!!!

[Bacis Dad]

Wow he sure sounds like a character!
Im sorry, but I do have to disagree w/ Corky on this one, b/c taking it away through many repititions may eventually cause a resource guarding behavior... It probably started bc dogs have "superstitious" behaviors and they do what they think they are supposed, by us accidently rewarding for this excessive behavior.
What I would recommend is after his first roundabout before he comes back to you, you drop some food around his bowl and walk away... Just keep doing this and im sure while in the midst of eating he would go into his bowl....

or option 2...

Feed him on the ground for a day or 2.. then on a paper plate for a day or 2.. then a plate for a day or 2... then a shallow dish for a day or 2.. then to a shallow bowl for a day or 2... you get the point!?

Good Luck!

[dogbuddy]

I'd say he is a smart dog..What a character he has!

[Lunareclipse]

I found that if I put him in his crate with his food, he will eat it, no problems. So that's what I have been doing. But I have to close the door before he will eat without permission after every bite. Speaking of Buster and his crate, I have an amusing story to tell. I'll put it in another thread...