Spoiled dog

Are you leaving the dog alone?

things take time so its not going to work RIGHT AWAY but i CAN tell you the dog will eat when its hungry. if hes on dry food then try mixing a bit of soft food in with it and just leave it for about an hour. if the dog doesnt touch it then remove it and wait until feeding time again and put down more, again take the bowl away within an hour.dont stop daily treats and such but be persistant with putting his bowl down at certain times. i do suggest to keep an eye on YOUR food making sure nothing is reachable and no garbage is left out though, being spoiled the dog may be unintentionally spiteful. eventually when the dog gets back on track and begins eating like a regualr dog again, if he is on dry food you can leave the food out 24/7 and the dog will learn to eat ONLY when hes hungry, but make sure to be careful that a food aggression doesnt build up, take the dog for regular long walks to work up an appetite and make sure he walks next to you or behind you to show dominance. he will come around

unintentionally spiteful.

 
It's hard to be spiteful when you're an amoral creature [8|]

if he is on dry food you can leave the food out 24/7 and the dog will learn to eat ONLY when hes hungry,

 
It is a bad idea to free feed any dog.  The dog should be given 20 minutes to eat in the evening and 20 minutes to eat in the morning.  Controlling a dogs food allows you to demonstrate your leadership skills.

It is a bad idea to free feed any dog.  The dog should be given 20 minutes to eat in the evening and 20 minutes to eat in the morning.  Controlling a dogs food allows you to demonstrate your leadership skills.

Completely agreed.  My dogs eat what they are given when they are given it.  Nor do I add soft food or anything else to up the appeal of the food.  I'm not a short order cook and I'm not going to beg, plead and tempt my dogs to eat.  On the rare occassion that someone DOESN'T eat, the food bowl goes away and there are NO treats or anything else until the next regular feeding time.  In my case, however, because my dogs DO eat without hesitation, I keep a very close eye on someone who doesn't eat because thats the first sign that they may be under the weather.
 
I have one youngster who doesn't eat his breakfast if he's in the crate.  He likes to have his bowl next to me.  He is not being picky about what he eats, just where he eats it (although homecooked or raw for dinner is never an issue).  With this particular dog, I recognize that this is him claiming a little special one on one time with me....in a household with six dogs thats a bit harder to come by.....and in this case, I let the "stubborness" go, because I recognize that all he wants is some close time with me.
 
From the way the post is phrased, it sounds like this dog lives outdoors.  If that's the case, of course he's boycotting his food until someone is there because thats his ONLY way of getting the one on one time he craves.  Dogs are pack animals and they WANT to be around their pack, which is now the human family.
 
FWIW....when I walk my dogs, they can walk any danged place they choose to walk UNLESS I ask for a heel.  I find it handy to have them out front because it's easier to monitor what they might pick up and if I see it before they do, a "leave it" is all it takes.  Since I truely don't have eyes in the back of my head, it's far easier to avoid problems of goodies on the trail when I can SEE them.  Being a leader doesn't mean being dominant in this way.....it means having dogs who will obey without thinking about disobeying.  And heck, the walk is for THEM anyway...not me.

if he is on dry food you can leave the food out 24/7 and the dog will learn to eat ONLY when hes hungry,

Tell that to all of the obese dogs in America. Tell it to my Teenie, who has lost almost 50% of her body weight, since she came here....

Is this Mal living outside?

I don't think I would call this dog "spoiled." I think some dogs are what I call "social eaters" - they like to have company when they eat. I'm sure if you want to wean him off this habit you could, but I don't see how it's a behavioral problem per se.

A couple of things:  Try putting the food out and after the dog starts to eat, back away.  Back off slowly at first; after a while the dog will continue to eat even when you back away at a normal walk.   Do you have a friend that can put the food out for you?  Ask him/her to put the food out and stay a few minutes as the dog starts to eat, then back away.  
Clyde

every dog i have ever trained or brought into my house has been free fed and they have never gotten fat or created an issue out of it, none of them are food aggressive towardds people or each other either therefor it obviously isnt such a bad idea, eating little bits all throughout the day instead of larger portions just 2 times a day helps them actually keep trim. not to mention the perk of only having to fill the bowl when its empty lol

Eevee was free-fed the first 2 years of her life and it made her very overweight.  It was difficult to get her to lose weight after that, and when I moved, my family's dogs would eat her food because she'd pick at it.  I was advised by multiple vets that free-feeding is not recommended in most cases.

Now I feed her twice a day and she eats it up.  I use some of it to make her work each day as well, and a feeding schedule has increased her food drive, making her more willing to please.  She is also at her ideal weight.  >^^;<

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im suprised to be honest, i have never had ANY of my dogs or recommended anyone else put their dog on a feeding schedule and i have never seen a free fed dog become overweight

im suprised to be honest, i have never had ANY of my dogs or recommended anyone else put their dog on a feeding schedule and i have never seen a free fed dog become overweight

Never? Really?

I know quite a few free fed dogs who are morbidly obese. My aunt has a pair of Dachshunds who can barely walk. One has a slipped disc. It's disgusting, and sad.

My own Dachshund, Teenie, came to me more than ten pounds overweight.

I groom dogs every day that are disgustingly fat, and cats, too. Almost every time I ask, these animals are free fed.

wow are you noticing it mainly in smaller dogs or A LOT of bigger dogs too? cause i mostly work with larger breeds

Both. There's a sweet little red Pit mix named Coco that comes in every week for grooming, and she's fatter every time I see her.

Labs are the worst. Ugh. It's just that typical Labby food drive (which is fantastic, for training them, not so great, if you're not measuring their food).

I met a Bloodhound once that *had* to be carrying at least 50 extra pounds. The poor dog had had luxating patella surgery and her knees were still horrible.

There's a Dalmation that I groomed regularly, at my last job... at least 25 pounds overwieght.

I see it *all the time*.

My own dogs are fed nice portions 3+ times per day, and are right as rain[]