Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2012 7:10 pm Post subject: So, how do you feed more than one dog calmly
This could possibly be in the food/diet section, but I am interested in how those with multiple dogs prepare and feed their dogs.
For example, do you get it ready in a room/kitchen away from the greedy little tykes, or do you just say its dinner time measure the food in the bowls and put it down with 2/3/4/5 dogs waiting patiently for the word OK.
I realise this can work quite well for one dog whose been trained from a pup, but not necessarily for more [ie rescues or untrained dogs] if they have not learnt the word wait or the sign for ok eat.
We are ticking along, with Mischa sitting and waiting for the ok, and Bruno sitting but not waiting for more than 1/2 seconds [he is starved poor chap] and Suzie wiggling like a floozy, and just managing to put her bum down before diving in.
I know it takes patience to get feed time under control, but I do use the forum to take as much info and experiences from other posts to make life run smooth, so if anyone can give their success story's or training tips, it may help me, and hopefully others who are in the process of helping their pooches enjoy their food and eat it as if it was not their last meal ever.
My 2 sit one side of the kitchen away, from the food bin, and wait whilst i get it ready. Then i put one feed down in one corner of the kitchen and the other in the other room then go back into the kitchen get a paw from each of the dogs. They are then released at full pelt with no traction from the lino to their respective dinners.
I only feed them in different rooms, not due to aggrassion but due to competition to finish first and go and 'help' the looser finisher thiers. if they can't see each other they eat slightly slower but 10 secs after being released dinner time is over
We had some problems with Molly being aggressive over food when she hit her teenage years. Old Gus is slow to eat and she would try to steal his dinner when she finished hers and a fight would follow. Now I prepare all 3 dishes in the utility room and none of them are allowed in while I do it. I give Gus his in one room on his own so he can take his time and doesn't need to gulp it down. I then give Oscar his and Molly gets hers last. She knows she is last now and they all understand and accept the order now. Gus doesn't even wait at the utility door now, he is always in his dinner spot waiting - he's the smart one! it's so much calmer this way.
All mine are taught from a young age that I will say the name of the dog i want. I can line them up and put the bowls down in front of them and they wait for the Ok command aswell, if they dive for the bowl before being told it gets picked back up and they are told to sit again.
Porscha sits and waits for the command now. Bonnie just hasn't got it (yet) she does at least sit now though. We'll get there with Bonnie, just as we did with PP
I only have a tiny kitchen, so the dogs all resume their positions as I'm preparing their food and haven't got that much room to fidget about really.
If I have a new dog in who isn't used to waiting, then I just make sure that one's bowl goes down first and in a different position to my lot. I then make sure it doesn't think it can visit my dogs bowls, until everyone has finished. My dogs learn from day one they can't put their noses in the other's bowls until I say so. Usually after a few days, the new dog will be going to where it's feed bowl will land and so I then might pop in a brief SIT before I put the bowl down.
I have taught longer stayers to WAIT until I say they can have it, but I only do that if they are particularly over eager and prone to pinging about all over the show. If I say WAIT though, I mean WAIT and I wouldn't say it if I wasn't right there to make absolutely certain they didn't move. I use WAIT a lot in every day life...for stopping them all randomly getting in or out of the car, to stop them in their tracks when I need them to stay still Bikes, horses, joggers going by), for when I want to take a photo of them, etc, etc....So to me WAIT is one of those commands which they absolutely have to obey, so I'll not use it when I know a dog doesn't understand the command and it's meaning.
I don't really make my own lot sit and wait for their meal once they are past that puppy stage and I only do it then as I don't want the bowl pulled out of my hand by an over eager pup. They can and will all do it if I ask them though....I just don't see the point in asking.
I put the 2 bowls on the worktop - blue bowl for Duds on the left, green for Chas on the right. Dudley always sits to my left and waits and Charlie sits to my right and waits (by the time it's ready, Charlie has drool dangling to the floor ). I put the bowls down together about a yard from each other. Charlie always finishes first and then waits for Dudley to finish. Once both have finished, they swap bowls just on the off chance that the other has left food there (it's never happened ).
They both know not to try and get each others food
I prepare it in the kitchen... little bowl for billy, big one for alfie... they usually lay down somewhere nearby watching my every move and then they follow me into their room and i put their bowls in their stands and they wait while i tie billys ears back.... (spaniel ears + raw food = ears need to be tied up so don't get covered in raw meat ) then i sometimes ask for a paw/sit/stand/down/touch/watch me etc and then they get the OK i did once leave the room to answer the phone and forgot about them, only to return to them both staring at the food 10 mins later even i wouldn't wait that long if my food was put infront of me
They eat beside each other and they wait for each other to finish before swopping bowls incase theres any left (there never is)
I prepare all nine bowls in the utility room and the dogs just sit and watch. Then they all have there place where I put there particular bowl. I just walk round putting the bowl down and say the name of who it belongs to for them to eat.
Its all very orderly and controlled.
If I have a pup (which Folly is still at the moment) I just feed them in a big cage that I have so they don't disrupt the system and steal poor old Flint's dinner. He takes aggggggggggggges to eat his and the others know they have to leave him alone.
With mine, Murphy is fed in the hall, Amber has hers one side of the kitchen and Leo has his on the other. They all have to sit and wait whilst I put the food down and can only get it when I give them the ok. I sort them out in age order as its the best method for my brain to cope with!!
Mealtimes are very calm and orderly and they all eat nicely this way. Leo does a little dance once he sees Murphy get his as he knows his is on the way, its quite sweet!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
though. We'll get there with Bonnie, just as we did with PP
i did once leave the room to answer the phone and forgot about them, only to return to them both staring at the food 10 mins later 
even i wouldn't wait that long if my food was put infront of me 
