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A question I've often heard asked with regard to domestic pets is whether they're "food motivated". I've never met a dog or cat that wasn't... is there some ran

• nosioptar 2y ago
  I've got a cat that doesn't have any interest in treats or table scraps. She spent most of yesterday watching Breaking Bad. My other cats are all at least normally motivated by food.
• silverlake 2y ago
  My first dog was not food motivated.
• natbennett 2y ago
  “Food-motivated” in dogs means something more like “can be induced to listen to commands from a human in exchange for food.” Some dogs are only interested in their own plans. Others are only interested in really good food, or are much more interested in some other reward, like having a ball thrown. My dog for instance is not particularly food motivated. He believes strongly that there is “food” and “better food” and will hold off until he’s really hungry to eat something that’s just food. But he’s very motivated by attention. He will do tricks for treats he doesn’t like and then drop the treat on the floor once you give it to him.
  • dmix 2y ago
    My recall training improved dramatically when I stopped only using treats as he got wise to that game, he would only do that consistently at home or solo. When I started using the come command with a game like tug of war or running away slightly then throwing a ball, he associated it with fun/activity and comes more often now.
  • spike021 2y ago
    this. i have a shiba inu. one of the most picky, stubborn breeds. he can be food-motivated but it depends on which treat i offer him. some have higher value to him than others. In addition, sometimes they won’t motivate him at all if there’s something else he deems worthy of his focus.
  • otteromkram 2y ago
    [flagged]
  • saghm 2y ago
    One of my cats is the same way. If anything, he's _more_ excited by getting attention from me than he is from food. Sometimes when he'll be eating, I'll get up from my desk (which is at the far side of the living room from the couches) and he'll notice and excitedly run off to the opposite side of the living room and hop on the couch and stare up at me until I come over because I've conditioned him to go there to get pets and cuddles (since he originally would try to lead me to a spot on the floor where it was far less comfortable to sit). Although he really loves a specific brand of treats, he's at least as much excited by just getting some love from his favorite humans (who are, in order, my wife, then me, then my mother-in-law, and then anyone else who's he's met enough to trust and want affection from) as he is from getting treats.
    • tharkun__ 2y ago
      This. Food is just a "has to be there in case I'm hungry" for our cat. But she'll run up to us, meowing and running around us and bumping into our legs to try and lead us to her favourite spot on the floor (on a rug, so it's nice and warm), throw herself on the floor and on the side to get petted. And if you stop too early, she'll run after you.
      • saghm 2y ago
        I'm not sure if there's a "too early" for my cat or if he just will always do this, because I've never managed to give him attention long enough that he's satisfied. A minute, ten minutes, an hour...
        • tharkun__ 2y ago
          It's weird. She'll swat at you / bite when she's had enough. Or sometimes just coz she's excited but really wants you to continue. You'll only know which it was based on whether she chases you after you've got a new scratch and walked away or not!
          • saghm 2y ago
            My other cat actually seems pretty similar to her in that regard; she's super food motivated (begging constantly for literally anything edible, even human food like fries or ramen noodles, although of course we don't give her any), but she also demands pets and rubs the point where she seems like she's overstimulating herself. Although she'll happily settle on literally anyone's lap (even a stranger), if you pet her more than a little bit, she'll slowly start to lick your fingers, and then if you don't withdraw them give them a nibble, and then just absolutely chomp on them, all while refusing to budge off your lap. Sometimes she'll just go right from headbutting to chomping, and it doesn't actually seem like she's unhappy with the sensation or anything; she just gets excited and enjoys biting our hands as much as getting pet by them (or maybe even a bit more...). She's pretty weird in a lot of ways though, and I suspect a big part of it is a lack of proper socialization before I adopted her. When I got her from a shelter, she was already 10 years old, and they evidently didn't keep their records super carefully, since I was initially told she wasn't spayed over, then told in person she was spayed and given documentation indicating that, but she definitely wasn't! She kept going into heat, which can apparently still happen after being spayed if they accidentally leave behind a small amount of ovarian tissue, so my vet had me get her into surgery right when she had started going into heat at one point so that the leftover tissue would be swelled and easier to remove, but the surgeon told me after that she had definitely never actually been spayed before; her words were something along the lines of "I opened her up, and then BAM, uterus!" In addition to her infinite appetite for things she has no business being interested in and her violent cuddling tendencies, she's also the only cat I've ever known to run _towards_ loud sounds when something falls over or something. She's even growled menacingly at sounds in the hallway on more than one occasion; I think she thinks she's a guard dog or something.
  • iancmceachern 2y ago
    Yeah, we have two and one is very clearly in the food motivated camp and the other likes food and treats, but won't do anything for them like our other.
• AnotherGoodName 2y ago
  Try the working breeds (don’t actually do this unless you live on a farm). For them food is absolutely ignored if there’s a possibility of something to do. Food in a bowl and a ball nearby? Food is secondary to ball. We used to worry about our border collie and have to constantly make effort to lock him in a room with food so he’d eat and not just allow the other dogs to take the food. Cats can be similarly ‘fussy’ as well. I have two indoor cats, a Garfield (can’t leave food out near him or he’ll eat to the point of throwing up) and one thats play obsessed and not at all interested in food except as needed at the most minimal levels. Makes it hard to feed them since one needs food left out to graze and the other has to be controlled.
  • rich_sasha 2y ago
    Not sure I'd go as far as "ignored". Family member had cocker spaniels from a working dog breeder (gun dogs). Both would do anything for food. Another has a golden retriever, also from gun dog "lineage" and again, they'll do anything for food. Sure, they like a ball, or better still a squirrel to chase, but they'll give up that chase instantly for a piece of bacon.
  • bongodongobob 2y ago
    Came here to say this. I have an Aussie and he really does not care about food. They just want to run and do stuff, food is secondary. I've never needed to use treats to train him either. Good boy and a pat on the head suffices.
    • ETH_start 2y ago
      I'm guessing you both have very well fed dogs, and that is why they are often not food motivated.
      • superturkey650 2y ago
        My cattle dog will be begging for food and giving me all the looks that she's hungry, but if I put a bowl of food down and then grabbed a ball she wouldn't give the bowl a second glance. I can't even give her a treat for bringing the ball back and dropping it, she's too focused on the ball. As soon as I put the ball away, she'll do anything I want for the treat. I think she considers the ball her job and it overrides anything else.
• staticman2 2y ago
  Some cats are certainly more food motivated than others. One of my cats will get up 24/7 if I shake the treat container and will run to me from anywhere in the house. My other cat will only come for treats if he isn't feeling sleepy or lazy.
  • doubled112 2y ago
    I had a cat that would beg like a dog and as a kid I definitely slipped her things I shouldn't have. You moved the bag of treats and there she was. Lasagna was a hit. Angel food cake was her favourite, she would fight you for it, and 18 lbs of cat packs a punch. Probably my fault. Lured her out of many places with crumbs though. Worked better than the Temptations.
• darth_avocado 2y ago
  My non working breed 30lbs dog will not care about food. He just looks at the bowl in complete disgust every time I give him food. It was extremely hard to train him because of that. I then I realized he’s praise motivated. Now I give him hugs and cuddles for good behavior and that’s how he gets trained.
• idkyall 2y ago
  Someone can likely give you a more technical explanation - but to give an anecdotal example, my parents have German Shepherds which are grazers. They put a few cups of food in their bowl in the morning, and the dogs will eat throughout the day as they're hungry. They like treats, sure, but I wouldn't call them food motivated. My dogs are lab mixes, and if food is out they'll sniff it out and immediately scarf it down. When one was younger, if we left food on the counter or table while he was home alone, he would jump onto the counter and eat it. I would call my dog very food motivated.
  • fracus 2y ago
    How could you know if the German Shepherds are food motivated if they literally have food available to them whenever they want? I would guess if they were fed at discrete times of the day they would start looking at the owners for food.
    • roguecoder 2y ago
      That is a difference between "starving" and "being food motivated". Think about humans: all humans need calories, but some people just want to drink Soylent and other people will spend hours creating elaborate meals. Some people will barely eat because they know they need to, while others will eat until they are sick if they don't stop themselves. Some people will walk miles for the best ice cream, while others will walk miles to see their favorite band.
    • dgfitz 2y ago
      I had a husky-lab mix. He was not food-motivated at all. We did _not_ leave food for him all day long, because the other doggo, purebred lab, would eat the food designated for the husky if we did. So we fed them both at the same time, twice a day, and had to watch if the husky would eat or not for that meal, and remove the food bowl if he wasn't hungry, so the lab wouldn't scarf it down. This is an n=1 anecdote that your guess was the opposite of my experience. That dog just didn't care about food. He did however love eating ice cubes. I never tried just a bowl of ice cubes.
    • arcticbull 2y ago
• eximius 2y ago
  When we first got one of our dogs off the street, she was incredibly food motivated. She would hop the fence and roam and bring back cabbages, avocados, cauliflower, chips, and anything else she could find to snack on. Those are just examples we witnessed. But she always came back before we got home from work. Now, 7 years later, she's picky. She'll spit out some food I give her if it isn't appealing enough. She can still obviously be motivated with food and treats, but it's far less unconditional.
  • jajko 2y ago
    Never underestimate the focus on food of a person or any animal who experiences(d) true hunger. I haven't come even close to it, yet the crave for any sort of energy when you are long over burning any sort of energy reserves was gradually overshadowing my mind. In war times there are stories of people boiling and eating leather belts, boots and similar stuff. Imagine the drive to spend non-trivial amount of time and energy to eat that.
    • worik 2y ago
      Yes I have a dog that starved as a puppy (not by me, I rested him, best thing I have done in the last decade). He is four now, and we have an extensive routine securing every acces to food like substances when he is left alone. Other dogs I've had, not so much
• worik 2y ago
  When training a puppy (I've trained five +, strictly amature) food is very useful As an adult it becomes a relationship, and the dog is more responsive to praise and criticism. That is what is meant IMO by "food motivated" Feeding time is best, best ever, joy joy, for their entire lives
• throw4847285 2y ago
  It's a pretty wide spectrum. Here's a fun example. I've fostered rescue dogs before, and two dogs I fostered were on opposite ends. The rescue org asked all fosters to crate train their dogs. The first I fostered was a lab mix. He hated his crate, but all I had to do was throw one piece of kibble in and he would sprint inside. As soon as I locked the door he would whine, for upwards of 30 minutes, which was hard for a first time dog owner. I kept checking the camera I setup until he finally settled down and I was able to relax. This routine happened every time. The other one was a Boxer/Pit mix. He would not go into his crate for all the kibble in the world. He just didn't care. He knew what would happen if he went in, so he wouldn't budge. When I eventually managed to coax him inside, and I closed the door, he was totally silent. He made the choice to go in knowing what would happen. This happened every time. So based on my limited experience, food motivation is not about whether or not a dog wants to eat, but what other desires that desire for food (even when not particularly hungry) will override.
  • thijson 2y ago
    Our dog loves his crate. He will often go into it towards the end of the night, basically saying he's ready to go to sleep.
    • peterpost2 2y ago
      Im so jealous, our dog cannot be enticed to go in there at all.
    • mock-possum 2y ago
      Ours wasn’t a fan at first… until we got him a bigger wire crate with plenty of room to stand, turn around, sprawl out, and see on all sides… … and also that’s where we put his electric heating blanket. Sometimes when I ask him if he’s hungry, he just huffs and raises his eyebrows at me, like “do I have to eat now??”
• carom 2y ago
  There are dogs that are not food motivated. Some are play motivated while others can be attention (petting, praise) motivated. You come across the occasional one that isn't really motivated by anything and they are quite the training challenge.
• FridgeSeal 2y ago
  My parents dog OD only interested in food if: - the treats you have are good-enough (better have delicious chicken, otherwise, no dice) - she hasn’t decided that there isn’t something else she’d rather be doing - hours much of a process she feels like being today. You can motivate her with food only on her terms. Conversely, my partners dog would commit crimes just to be near the cheese packet.
• sb057 2y ago
  That question supposes that humans aren't also primarily motivated by food (I've also never met a man or woman that wasn't).
• sidewndr46 2y ago
  All animals are motivated by food. If you look at what those "talking" apes that can sign actually communicate, most of their discernible communication is just requests for food.
• homefree 2y ago
  Food motivated is also observable in people imo. I'm pretty food motivated - I'm a lot more interested in doing something if there's a meal associated with it than if there's not. I've definitely observed this variance in both people and dogs. Some people seem to get more joy out of it - probably partly just some genetic disposition.
• dyauspitr 2y ago
  I had a dog that was toy motivated. He obviously liked treats but would go half mad when he got a new toy.
• lasc4r 2y ago
  Yeah this finding is not surprising in the least.
• cmrdporcupine 2y ago
  It varies from dog to dog though just how much of a lever it is, or how necessary it is. e.g. our border collies will do things for you just because it's interesting to them or because they figure it might please you. Without treats. Look at a collie herd sheep or ducks, and they're totally blissing out on it, and they don't get food rewards after. It's just something they love to do. There's other dogs who won't do anything unless they get a tasty treat out of it.
• NoPicklez 2y ago
  We're all food motivated to some extent. Food motivated is usually the degree to which a dog responds to food in conjunction with other stimulus. When food is used for training as opposed to their normal meals. Some dogs when training don't respond to food as much as other dogs.
• cityofdelusion 2y ago
  Food motivation isn’t merely “does it want food”, it is more “will it do a complex action for food”. My GSD will spin, sit, stay, speak, shake hands, play dead and do a whole host of back to back commands for a tennis ball, but do maybe half a command for a standard treat. The GSD would not be considered to be very food motivated unless a “high value treat” like a hot dog is being offered. Even in a mostly smooth walnut brain, there exists a genetically diverse hierarchy of desires. My dog was the runt of the litter, a different puppy was the glutton that ate every scrap in 10 seconds.
• fennecbutt 2y ago
  Aren't we all?