The key to understanding dog behavior – which allows us to safely manage and increase your dog’s enjoyment at Dog City – is seeing/feeling/operating/reacting from the “dog’s eye view.”

During the few moments it takes to give a dog his/her bowl of food, we become the “giver of all things.” This is the time to let the dog learn to make a good decision. We ask (only once) the dog to sit. When the dog sits (99% of the time they will eventually sit; if not, you can bring the bowl over their head a bit towards their behind, encouraging the sit), then we ask them to wait (again, only one time).

When the butt goes down, bowl goes down; butt goes up, bowl goes up. Nose reaches out, bowl goes up. Sit and wait, bowl goes down. Wait until they are still and told "okay" or "release," and the bowl goes down and stays.

You must stay very calm and mechanical. Your dog will understand what you want fairly soon. You can almost see them thinking, and the “ah ha” moment will show on their face. Your dog's choice and behavior make the bowl go down and stay. He/she is not being forced or teased. From the dog’s point of view, he/she is in control, and this creates a calmer dog – at feeding time and other times. This helps them be in charge of their universe – whenever they have choices, they have control, they feel calm.

Another tip for home:  Nana suggests feeding your dog within a window of time, rather than at an exact time, this helps them be more flexible and not demanding – calmness equates to safe. Safe creates a happy, secure dog.

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