Training on an Empty Stomach

If your dog struggles to learn and focus in new places, or isn’t as interested in treats as you’d like, you might have been told to have your dog work for all their food, or to make sure they are very hungry before training sessions or walks.

So, should you? Should you train your dog hungry?

When we are training our dogs, we want them to be engaging in learning because it is fun, enjoyable and interesting to them. 
If they have too big feelings about the reinforcer we’re offering, be it a toy, treats or access to something else they enjoy, we can start building in really problematic feelings.

Things like desperation, frustration, stress and fear can all be knitted into the learning process when the dogs feel too strongly about their reinforcers, especially if they don’t know clearly how to access them. 
Just like pain, these things can cause what we call “behavioural fallout”, a negative consequence we very much want to avoid. Our dogs can learn that training is too difficult, too stressful, too worrying.

Some dogs can become frantic around food when they are too hungry, and are unable to learn very well. They might struggle to listen, snatch for the food or “throw all their behaviours out”, by trying as many things as possible to access the food.

Being very hungry is uncomfortable, and so in a training scenario where the dog is hungry and working for food, it is possible we aren’t adding a stimulus that they enjoy, but rather relieving them of a stimulus that they find aversive. That is a very different contingency, and teaches the dogs in a very different way. 
My goal as a clicker trainer is to as often as possible have the dogs moving towards something they enjoy, rather than away from something they dislike. Again, those aversive contingencies can cause all kinds of fallout, and sometimes we don’t notice it until it’s already happened.

We also have to ask if it is necessary. 
And it isn’t. It is not necessary to make our dogs hungry in order to train them effectively. Now we might not feed immediately after a meal when they are digesting, but dogs are scavengers and will take opportunities to eat when they get them.
There are many reasons dogs might choose not to eat other than hunger. Low lying digestive problems, dental problems, fear or anxiety, or even just a preference for taste or texture can all influence how willing our dogs are to take food. Some dogs have learned to associate treats with being lured into a scary situation or tricked, or they are concerned about hands approaching their face. A qualified trainer can help you piece apart why your dog doesn’t want to take treats.

And at the end of the day, it also just isn’t fair. Dogs need to eat to live, and are forced to live in our world. We shouldn’t restrict access to the necessities for life for our own gain.

At the end of the day, skipping meals or making our dogs work for 100% of their calories is risky, unnecessary and unfair. 

If you are having trouble teaching your dog using reinforcement, I'd love to help! Don't hesitate to reach out!

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