I don't believe that "rationing"under her definition meant to "withhold" the food or decrease the amount of food you feed your dog in day. She probably is referring to doling out the food several times a day vs free-feeding.
Dominance issues = who has the control. When you control the food, then that's the first step to gaining back your alpha position. You are going to feed your dog on YOUR terms, not his. Like others have said, make your dog sit and stay before he goes to the food bowl and then let him know it's ok to eat and he should. You keep the bowl down for no more than 20 minutes (plenty of time for him to eat) and after the 20 minutes, you pick up the bowl (whether he has eaten or finished or not). Do this several times a day, if he does not eat all his daily food allowance in one sitting. After a few days, your dog gets the concept that he needs to eat when the bowl is set down or he does not get it again until next meal time. In this way, you are now controling the food, and for a dog, this is a big deal! |