Baitproofing your dog

Using your Remote Trainer to stop dangerous behaviour

Poisoned baits or other hazardous substances which dogs eat can certainly be a serious threat to their existence. All too often, valuable dogs are the victims. The remote training collar is very effective at minimising this problem, by using the following procedures and taking the time to re-train your dog. The main objective in successful bait proofing is to teach the dog that being fed by his handler in his own bowl, in one particular location, is the key to success. When the dog eats food elsewhere, which has not been placed by his owner, the use of the static correction will create an unpleasant experience, training him to be reluctant to eat away from his own bowl and feeding location.

1. Establish one location in which the dog is always fed.
2. Always use a specific bowl for each dog.
3. Have a regular feeding pattern or time.
4. Ideally have one person only feeding the dog.

These repeating associations form a habit process which is vital in the bait-proofing technique.

1. Don’t fed the dog for a period of time so that he is very hungry.
2. Have his training collar on and put him on a chain.
3. Place food in a situation, away from his set location, where he can easily discover it.
4. Release the dog from his chain, and be ready to observe him from a distance, preferably not obvious to the dog.
5. When he is about to bite or eat the food, use a static correction on a high level for one second. If he continues to eat and disregards the correction, increase it to maximum and use for two to three seconds.

Call the dog shortly after and proceed to feed him in the normal fashion. This will strongly reinforce in the dog’s mind, that when he is fed in the normal location in his own bowl, everything is fine. When he eats food elsewhere, he will suffer the unpleasant experience.

Repeat this process of depriving food while the dog is chained, and then when really hungry releasing him and testing him with ‘illegal food’ in various other places, with a correction if needed. Again the repeated associations will reinforce the message that all food discovered away from ‘his place’ will cause that unpleasant reaction.

The success of this technique is correct conditioning and timing. The more this process is repeated the more it will reinforce in the dogs mind- there is only one place to eat. Success will be indicated when the dog avoids eating meat or biscuits left around to tempt him when he is hungry. Finally, a regular pattern of satisfactory feeding so the dog doesn’t get overly hungry ought to ensure that he will not lapse.