Annie And I Have A Plan Part 2

So how will Annie and her foster family be working on recall, eye contact, and weight-loss all at the same time? Easy peasy!

1) All of Annie's meals (calories) will be used as training reinforcers, treats, rewards, however you like to think about it. No bowls of food for her for a while. This will help cut her daily intake of calories while she is needing to drop a couple of lbs, and also she will be having fun working for her meal with us! That is a win-win.

2) She will be reinforced, using her allotted portions of food, for coming when she hears her name, and when she looks to me, making eye contact, to "check-in".

3) And all of this will be done through out the day and especially when we are on our walks together, the exercise part of the plan :) Meals-to-go are a great way to accomplish this.

So what will Annie be eating? She is getting all sorts of yummy high quality foods.

Annie had been eating a food that was not grain free. The second ingredient was corn, the third was another grain, and the 4th was a meat bi-product. Throw in some preservatives and artificial colors and it just wasn't the best we can do. We switched her to a different kibble called Now Fresh Small Breed Grain Free. And then she is also getting Stella and Chewies dehydrated Raw in Venison and Rabbit. Also she really likes blueberries and green beans, canned pumpkin. We will keep introducing fresh fruits and veggies into her repertoire and this will be a really healthy eating plan for her skin, organs, bones, and fur. Annie seems to really be liking the fresh fruits and veggies along with the higher quality grain free food she is eating.

I will continue the training part of this series in another post. Here are some photos and video of Annie working on the exercise part of the plan!

We walk almost every day so Annie will get a lot of walking, which she loves!

Walking on unusual surfaces and having things to climb on and jump over are all a great way to get exercise and build muscle.

Look foster mom, I am way up on this rock!

 Here she jumps right over the downed tree, nothing gets in her way.

Someone spread some nice chipped bark on this part of the trail. Everyone wants to smell the same bush before heading on down the trail.

I am happy to report that I am already getting some nice eye contact from Annie using her wet food as a reinforcer. A little messy but hey whatever works! Stay tuned....