Moviedust
Well-known member
Hi, All! I know it's been ages since I've been here. I guess I'm going through a forum-less phase. Still, when I need advice the good folks here are one of my go-to sources!! I hope you don't mind lending a few ideas!
You may or may not remember I now have four cavaliers, Cedar, Willow, Holly, and Bella. All but Cedar were rescues from different types of situations. Ever since dog #3 (Holly) joined us, we've been working on minor meal time issues. When Holly joined us, she started off eating her meal in her bowl on the floor near the other two without any problem. Then, she realized that if she ate her food really quickly, she could go and steal Willow's food. Willow was low dog in the pack, and she backed off if Holly shoved her way in (which is Holly's approach to everything in life --she just shoves her way in!). So, we started kenneling Holly at meal times, and presto! No problem. She's to the point where even after we moved her feeding place (went from an xpen to a kennel in a different room) she would still go sit in the old spot, even without a barrier, and eat her own bowl! Now she's retrained to go to her kennel, and she's one of my best at mealtimes now.
Then comes dog #4, Bella. Bella came to me as a foster from a puppy mill. When I got her, she was three-pounds underweight -- just skin and bones. At first, she was perfectly fine eating from her bowl on the floor near Cedar and Willow (and Holly in kennel). Then, as she got stronger and more confident (great strides!!), she started doing the same as Holly -- hurry and eat and try to steal from Willow. Bella's not as confident as Holly, though, and Willow wasn't as easy to push around. Bella just tries to push in, and Willow blocks her and they go around and around. (No fighting -- more like shoving!)
Since it worked with Holly, I tried kenneling Bella. However, although Bella couldn't get to anyone else's food, she still ate like her food would disappear any second. She would eat so fast that she'd regurgitate what she swallowed and eat it again. I thought once she was used to the kennel, that would eventually stop. However, it only seemed to get worse.
SO-- I decided to kennel Willow, who is perfectly find eating anywhere, and Cedar does not let any dog push her away from her food. Even Holly knows that!
Still, though, Bella ate too fast. This summer, then, I have been on a training mission eat meal time to control Bella's eating. I started feeding her by hand so that I could control when she got a piece of kibble. She had to wait for the kibble to come to her -- no stepping toward the kibble! She also has to gently take the kibble from me rather than shark biting at it. She's learned this (and I still have all my fingers!) and I can feed her by hand fairly quickly. I've recently tried to transition this training to having the kibble in the bowl. however, I have less control over when she gets the food when it's in the bowl -- she gets rewarded for her shark attacks at the food. I'm only putting a few kibbles in at a time (to extend the training opportunities and to ensure she doesn't eat too much too fast), but even with just one kibble in the bowl she dives in. I've tried putting my hand in the bowl, holding the bowl and taking it away, keeping the kibble in my hand and just holding the bowl under it when feeding. Anytime the bowl is used it's like it triggers her to eat really fast.
So, do you have any suggestions how I can help her understand that she needs to eat as gently out of the bowl as she does out of my hand?
You may or may not remember I now have four cavaliers, Cedar, Willow, Holly, and Bella. All but Cedar were rescues from different types of situations. Ever since dog #3 (Holly) joined us, we've been working on minor meal time issues. When Holly joined us, she started off eating her meal in her bowl on the floor near the other two without any problem. Then, she realized that if she ate her food really quickly, she could go and steal Willow's food. Willow was low dog in the pack, and she backed off if Holly shoved her way in (which is Holly's approach to everything in life --she just shoves her way in!). So, we started kenneling Holly at meal times, and presto! No problem. She's to the point where even after we moved her feeding place (went from an xpen to a kennel in a different room) she would still go sit in the old spot, even without a barrier, and eat her own bowl! Now she's retrained to go to her kennel, and she's one of my best at mealtimes now.
Then comes dog #4, Bella. Bella came to me as a foster from a puppy mill. When I got her, she was three-pounds underweight -- just skin and bones. At first, she was perfectly fine eating from her bowl on the floor near Cedar and Willow (and Holly in kennel). Then, as she got stronger and more confident (great strides!!), she started doing the same as Holly -- hurry and eat and try to steal from Willow. Bella's not as confident as Holly, though, and Willow wasn't as easy to push around. Bella just tries to push in, and Willow blocks her and they go around and around. (No fighting -- more like shoving!)
Since it worked with Holly, I tried kenneling Bella. However, although Bella couldn't get to anyone else's food, she still ate like her food would disappear any second. She would eat so fast that she'd regurgitate what she swallowed and eat it again. I thought once she was used to the kennel, that would eventually stop. However, it only seemed to get worse.
SO-- I decided to kennel Willow, who is perfectly find eating anywhere, and Cedar does not let any dog push her away from her food. Even Holly knows that!
Still, though, Bella ate too fast. This summer, then, I have been on a training mission eat meal time to control Bella's eating. I started feeding her by hand so that I could control when she got a piece of kibble. She had to wait for the kibble to come to her -- no stepping toward the kibble! She also has to gently take the kibble from me rather than shark biting at it. She's learned this (and I still have all my fingers!) and I can feed her by hand fairly quickly. I've recently tried to transition this training to having the kibble in the bowl. however, I have less control over when she gets the food when it's in the bowl -- she gets rewarded for her shark attacks at the food. I'm only putting a few kibbles in at a time (to extend the training opportunities and to ensure she doesn't eat too much too fast), but even with just one kibble in the bowl she dives in. I've tried putting my hand in the bowl, holding the bowl and taking it away, keeping the kibble in my hand and just holding the bowl under it when feeding. Anytime the bowl is used it's like it triggers her to eat really fast.So, do you have any suggestions how I can help her understand that she needs to eat as gently out of the bowl as she does out of my hand?
