Delilah love food.
I mean Delilah really LOVES food. If I rang a bell every time I fed her, she would become the classic Pavlov’s dog and salivate on command.
Take last night for instance, I was sitting on the bed eating cheese and crackers while I wrote this blog. Sampson was stretched out next to me on the bed and Delilah was sitting on the floor beside the bed. Every few minutes, I would take a piece of cheese and break a couple of tiny pieces off and feed it to the dogs.
The very thought of getting that tiny piece of cheese, made Delilah salivate.
I can stare her down...
Delilah becomes so crazed when food is around, that she almost can’t focus on the task at hand. When I started clicker training, she was so obsessed with the hand holding the food that she wouldn’t even look at my other hand. I sent a question to a blogger who does clicker training and asked what she would suggest for a dog that gets so excited with the food that she can’t focus. The trainer suggested using food that wasn’t quite so exciting. I didn’t have the heart to write back and tell her I was using green beans. 🙂
I’ve been working really hard with Delilah to sit while I am preparing her meals; but all bets are off once I pick the dish up to bring it over to her.
When Hubby takes the garbage out, he walks over to the sink and opens the cabinet door; Sampson walks over to the outside door because he gets to go outside. Delilah walks over to the cabinet and looks for anything she might scarf out of the garbage.
If I really sit and think about it; I get really sad because I can only imagine what kind of life Delilah had before coming to live with us. It breaks my heart to think that she might have gone without food for a long time or that she had to pick through garbage to eat.
So really, I have to laugh at her silly antics around food, because if I didn’t I would surely cry.
Ooops, Delilah wants her snack. Gotta go.
Haha I love this post! The video is so cute, I think you could teach her to moon walk dance with that backwards bounce she has going on…lol Oh and the drool picture is all to familiar 😉
And maybe this might give you some peace of mind about her past life…I hava a counter surfin, garbage pickin, plate stealing girl and she has lived me since she was 8 weeks old and has never missed a meal 🙂
Awww Misty thanks! It makes me feel a little bit better. It’s funny because Sampson will only go on the counter for butter. LOL
BaaaaWaaaah I LOVED the … GREEN BEANS thingy!! TOOOO funny.
Do you lose your mind over green beans Frankie? BOL!
Green beans? Arie is that way for ice or carrots. Cracks me up. I’ll second what Misty said…it’s not necessarily that she went without food, it could just be that previous families didn’t teach her table manners and how to deal with the excitement. Most dogs get tempted towards trash meals because of the uber exciting mixture of smells. On another note, Delilah is adorable, and Sampson is a little cutie too! Hooray for large breeds.
She is that way for ANY kind of food, it could be a flake of tuna.
I guess I never considered that perhaps they hadn’t taught her table manners, I think they just gave up with her. She is a stubborn lab! I love big dogs!!
Arie is adorable, I loved the pictures.
Meal time/food time is what most labs live for. I don’t think Delilah is anything at all out of the ordinary. Queenie twists and contorts so much when we walk her food to her eating place that I worry she will throw her back out. And oh, how I know that food stare!
LOL Big Al! Sampson is part lab and doesn’t react the same way Delilah does, but I can tell you she does get some air!
Little Queenie is adorable, I certainly hope she doesn’t throw her back out!
LOL you have a retriever. They count the minutes until food appears. I don’t think Delilah is that different from our dogs. They live for food. Storm does the salivating thing too. Once she sees food, it is like a faucet. Not sure she would get that excited for green beans though.
I remember you mentioning the salivation with Storm. I know they are food driven, but I wonder how a tiny bit of cheese can cause such excitement.
Hahaha! I’m not sure what would be more boring than green beans! My friend’s labrador is the same with food – long strings of drool… and his life has been charmed from day 1, so it’s not all nurture but a big chunk of nature!
Well then, I guess we’ve settled the nature vs nuture issue! LOL Thanks for the input, I have heard other people say their dog reacts when food is out, I guess I need to work with her more.
Yay, I love food-motivated dogs! Nice to read the comments…I was going to say the same thing, that I’ve met all sorts of dogs like that, some of them with very good lives since they were born!
I haven’t had a real chow-hound in a while…the new foster pup may be one (hummus? check. Granola bars? check. fried yucca? check) I think it must be so much fun to be able to share everything you eat with your canine.
Whether I want to share or not! LOL I sometimes have no choice, she will take it right off your plate!
Sophie acts like she is starving 24/7 and she has never gone without a meal. I always say it is the lab in her coming out. She sits while I get her food ready and drools.
My friend’s lab does the exact same thing as Delilah. She bounces up and down as I pour her food. I think its almost to make sure I am not cheating her and giving her less than I should.
I swear Sophie will do just about anything for cheese. Her dislike of the teeter and dogwalk is becoming a thing of the past because there is cheese at the end. If she could sell me in exchange for all the cheese she could eat…she might do it!
I can’t hold a treat in my hand when we work or she will be very focused on that hand instead of the task. If it is in a pocket then she can ignore it and work.
Labs you just got love the enthusiasm over food.
Oh I know exactly what you are talking about. If I have a treat in my hand she can only focus on the treat, I too have to keep it in my pocket! LOL I guess she is just a lab.
I am glad though that the cheese is helping Sophie over-come her issues with agility equipment.
lol too funny and too cute, I like the idea of Delilah moon’bouncing’ backwards!
That would be a lot of green beans with plenty of clicks!
Nice post! Lila, our black lab, is always interested in food too! A girl after my own heart:) We have been going to clicker training for six weeks now, and I am ready to drop out. Lila is somewhat better behaved from going to the classes, but I don’t think we are ever going to graduate to the next level. All that clicking and food gets distracting! Plus Lila is fascinated by the trainer because he has delicious treats!
Hmmmm, do you work with her at home? I must admit Delilah has only recently gotten better with sitting when I am working in the kitchen, but that is because I have gotten better with working with her.
You are right. I do need to work with her more at home! Plus, our class starts at 8:00 p.m., and she is kind of worn out by then and not so interested in class, and the same is true for me. I should switch to an earlier time.
A partner in crime! I am that way about food too. And I LOVE green beans!
Awesome aren’t they? S & D love their beans!