Eating for two?

Lisa and Joe left Belle here for the weekend. I have never had to feed two dogs and i realize i dont exactly know how to do it. they have different food. She has a kibble from the health food store, brand unknown, and zack has evo. i was hoping to keep them each eating their own food, but Lisa said Belle won't eat it when i put it in the bowl, i guess they leave the food down and belle eats it when she wants to.

When i put each of their foods in separate bowls, of course, each of them ate the other's food. It wouldn't do any good to put them in different rooms because they were both interested in each other more than in the food. Since they were eating each others' food, i mixed the two bowls of food together into one and let them have that. We went out to dinner. When we came back, all the food was gone, and i think it's reasonable to think that Zack is probably the one who ate it.

So, i put more food in the bowl, the mixture, wanting Belle to have some. Zack started wolfing it down. At first Belle kind of followed Zack around, sometimes he would take mouthfulls of food into the other room and eat it and then come back for more. But after a while, Belle would go and take a few bites each time zack would leave the bowl to go chew the food. Gradually Belle started eating, they would trade places at the bowl. Sometimes while he was eating at the bowl, she would sit in front of me, looking at me intently and wagging her tail. At first i didn't know what it meant but now i think she was kind of asking me how she was supposed to get to her food with him in the way. But eventually she got more and more assertive. When the bowl was empty, he had eaten most of it so i put a bit more in now that she had momentum and was eating, and together they finished that helping too.

How do people feed multiple dogs, and do some people need to feed their dogs different kinds of food?

Judy I feed three with ease.

Firstly they have to "sit and wait" while I put the food in their dishes...that is taught from a puppy, very early on. Good manners! usually at the other end of the kitchen..

Then I place the dishes on the floor about 2ft apart, where I have prepared it..

I then call them up to their dishes...

They also get praise when they sit and wait nicely, a verbal "good sit wait"

Training is life long....don't stop when they get it right first time...continue it's part of their life. Simple commands can be used everyday in situations just like this.

They all know their own place and dish and just eat their own, no pinching or stealing ever happens...they all eat together happily.

When a newbie comes into the house thay follow the others...they soon catch on to the routine..if they wonder into anothers dish I simply direct them back to their own a few times with simple verbal commands "leave" and "your own".

I really had to stop and think about how I feed them all when you asked...it's just so automatic....

Alison, Wilts, U.K.

How lovely.

We have always fed our dogs in their crates. If we didn't, I'm afraid we would have the doggy equivalant of WWIII :shock: By doing this, we also know if someone isn't eating.

When we have boarders at our house, the boarders also are fed in their crate. That way we always know they will get their own food. BTW, it is not unusual for a boarder to go off their food for a day or two because they are in a different environment.

All prepared at once - Woody sits to receive and then doesn't eat until I say okay...(I know Busta should be give his first but he likes to see the others eat). Ozzy the same but in a different corner and then Busta has his away from the other two.

Have to watch Woody as soon as he finishes he is tidying up after the others, but we say no and he backs away, we really have to watch it when Busta walks away as Woody will try and eat it...

The only problem is that Woody trys to jump up at the cupboards to see the food - I am working on correcting this...

judy said:

How lovely.

Click to expand...

Judy

I did have a bit of the same problem with Darby eating Dudleys food, and vice versa. :sl*p: :sl*p: :sl*p: :sl*p:

Darby would eat anything, I have now almost got him switched over to EVO as well. But since Dudley shows very little interest in his food guess who thinks both bowls are for him. :yikes :yikes :yikes

When Dudley was sick and I was feeding him Boiled Chicken & Rice, I had to physically hold that little Darby while Dudley ate his food. He would sqirm like a fish trying to get away to get some, I did give him some the first night and that is when he tossed his cookies, so no more. It was one of those drastic switches to quickly and his tummy could not handle it, I don't know what I was thinking. Guess I was so upset with Dudley being so sick I caved. :yikes :yikes :yikes :yikes

Anyway we are not having those luxury meals anymore, since Dudley is feeling better.
:shock: :shock:
I put both foods down together, and of course Darby always wants Dudleys food because it is straight EVO, and once again Sir Dudley has decided that he is too good for EVO and chooses not to eat. Oh well, he ate it last night so I guess he is not feeling very hungry this morning.
But he will eat it again, because he will not be getting anything else.
I know you supported me on Jen's post, I have been over the mountains with this boy in regards to food.
:yuk: :yuk:

He is 15 lbs and the Vet is not worried about his weight at all, I actually think she thinks he could still shed another lb or two. icon_nwunsure

Anyway I am babbling, my point is I have to stay in the kitchen to make sure the one does not eat the others food. In order to teach them, I think Allison's furbabies have lovely table manners. Dudley has them too because most of the time he does not eat. :rotfl:

Darby is learning.

We still feed ours in different rooms. Daisy Boo likes to eat one piece of kibble at a time and really savour it. Twinkle is a hoover and would think nothing of jumping into Daisy Boo's bowl. I'm not going to complain though because so many of these dogs are really fussy - Twinkle is a pleasure to feed

Joanna

I feed all three of mine together, too. They have to perform the sit wait as well.

I have three different styles of eaters. Ozzy, my Golden, is finished in about one minute flat. Maggie, the ESS, is finished within five minutes. Bentley could be a free-feeder if not for Ozzy.

Bentley takes his time while Ozzy hovers nearby, drooling :sl*p:

Ozzy knows to stay back but he cannot resist waiting to see if one little crumb is left! Bentley keeps him at bay with a few growls and feints.

I hang nearby to make sure things don't get out of hand, but Bentley is very able at keeping his leisurely eating pace in place.

The more dogs you feed-- the less likely you can feed without separation. I have different dogs that have different foods-- different suppliments -- ocassional meds-- yep - we eat in crates. Even the rescues learn to eagerly get into crates during mealtimes. FWIW

Judy

I had the same problem over my vacation...It actually turned out good that my aunt fed her dogs EVO, but 2 of them were on special vet diets...all her dogs knew to eat their own foods but wit King there it made things difficult..those the 2 on special foods ate in their crates and it worked perfectly..every1 ate and every1 was happy

I have finally decided to feed mine in their crates. Mealtime is just chaos around here. Things were great for a while and then all of a sudden....bam! They would go at each other tooth and nail. I tried having them sit and wait. I think what happens is Shelby starts eyeballing Jake....daring him like she dares the vacuum cleaner! And then..that's the end of that. I talked to a friend who has multiples....lamenting my situation...and she looked at my like I was crazy and asked why I didn't feed them in their crates. Well...I used a raised holder for the bowl. Her question was ... why, you aren't feeding Great Danes. Point well taken. Now they go into their crates, I fix their food at my leisure, and they both eat peacefully without ripping each other apart. Much smoother for all of us!