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  • Cindy Camery
    • Silver

    Strange Eating Habit

    Cindy Camery

    Posted : 7/16/2006 7:04:35 PM

    As most of you know, I have a 16mth and a 15wk poodle. When we first got Maddie, I would feed the two poodles separately. After a week or two they started sharing the same bowl. My little one (Maddie) is such a chow hound, I was afraid the older one (Dugan) wasn't getting enough even though he was getting smaller amounts throughout the day because Maddie needs to eat more often. Now when it's dinner time, Maddie is eager to eat her food first, yes I've separated their bowls again, but Dugan does not seem interested in eating until much later. I thought being the dominant alpha male Dugan would insist on eating first. What gives? Could it be he's just not hungry or is he making sure his little sister is taken care of first? Does anyone who owns two or more dogs see this same kind of behavior?
  • Minty_Pups
    • Gold Top Dog
    Minty_Pups

    Posted : 7/19/2006 1:57:04 AM

    First of all, I don't think sharing a bowl is a good idea for any dog.  Each dog should get his/her own bowl, and placed a few feet apart from each other.

    How often are you feeding Maddie?  If I were you, I would just split Dugan's food into the same number of meals as Maddie and both of them during meal times. 

    Puppies are programmed to gorge their food, so it's normal that Maddie's much more eager to eat than her brother.  If you give them both a set amount of time to eat, and take their food away after 10 or 15 minutes, Dugan will learn that he HAS to eat during that time.


  • Cindy Camery
    • Silver
    Cindy Camery

    Posted : 7/19/2006 12:22:51 PM

    First I have to correct my first post. When I said they shared their food dish, I meant that they each have their own that are separated. When Maddie finishes hers she usually tries to eat more out of Dugans when he's not looking, or Dugan finishes her left overs before he eats out of his dish. Since Maddie is still a pup 16wks. she is fed 3xday and Dugan is 16mths and he was use to eating 2xday before Maddie came. I'll try the 15-20 min. rule and see if that helps. Thanks for the help.