This explains why training our Shiba Inu is such a challenge. Food generally doesn’t motivate him. It’s been at least 12 hours since he last ate. We had breakfast long ago, and lunchtime is approaching. And here you are, bringing him warm boiled meat, which generally he likes, but if it isn’t his usual mealtime, he doesn’t understand why he’s been given meat when he didn’t ask for it. And his response is like — what’s this for, just put it in the bowl, I’ll eat it eventually. And it’s been this way all 3.5 years. Moreover, he almost always eats when someone is at home. If nobody’s around, he’d rather sleep. So leaving food for him and going away almost guarantees you’ll come back to find it untouched. Overall, he enjoys tasty food, and when it is indeed time to dine or have dinner, he eats with great pleasure whatever you give him.
In general, when he doubts whether to eat the meat from the bowl or not, and after thinking it over decides to leave, the trick is to pull out a piece of meat and offer it from your hand. If he eats it (and if he’s already by the bowl, he’s more likely to eat from your hand), his decision will likely change. And within a minute, the bowl will be empty.
Or take cheese, for instance. On one hand, when we pour some wine and get a cheese platter to make watching a series or movie more fun, Yuka also comes over to watch the cheese, drooling copiously, ready to eat a kilogram of it at any time. But you need to pour the wine and turn on the projector. If, however, you bring cheese at some random time or anytime outdoors, his reaction to the cheese will be the same as to a stone.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 