I HAVE A SERIUOS PROBLEM WITH MY 2 MONTH OLD PUPS!

Four of my six eat in their crates.  Tyler and Sheba can eat side by side without issues and the others probably could too, but why?  We have a regular routine that works for all concerned and part of that routine is that the boys get fed in their crates.  They get their bones in their crates and everyone is relaxed and content.  There is no reason to guard food or fight over food because they are in their own private little space to eat said food.  Part of the reason for crating is concern about bloat and its far easier to enforce that hour of relaxation after a meal if they are crated.   When they are not crated they want to immediately go back outside, and I'm not able to control the chipmunk who likes to zigzag through the yard and drive them into a frenzy.
 
As a moderator, I do need to ask that we avoid judgemental statements please.  The fact that this person is here shows that s/he wants to learn.

Giving one away is the last thing i would do...
I Have known people with two dobes that have been raised since they were puppies.. and other breeds too... in fact its one of the reasons that inspired me to get them.. the breeder i got them from never gave me the exact date ... but said they were born around may... this is the second time i get new dogs.. i have had a fox terri now for three years.. and never have gotten any problem with her towards any other dogs..
 
I fed them last night again TERRIFIED! so obviously ut them in different rooms.. im about to feed them right now, and going to do it together with different plates like Espencer said.. and if they go at each others plate i will separate them..
 
i got another question too, would it be a problem in the future to have two adult Dobes and one fox terri?

you're "breeder" (and I use that term lightly) didn't even give you a date of birth? /

I rest my case. This is a disaster waiting to happen.

I just hope we don't read about the OP in the papers a few years from now.

May 4th to be exact...they were not bought but given away...
i have just been told it was May 4th..
 
I just came back from feeding them..
i did what Espencer said and it went swell.. But the girl was giving a little bit of trouble... she always went for the boys plate while he was eating minding his own buisness, and i had to take her back to her plate so she can eat but she went at it again and again, finally the boy finished and didnt even go to her plate, but the girl tried to eat from the boys plate the whole time.
 
 
she finished her meal and they both drank water together..
No problem..
 
I hope it will go as planned and they'll get used to and know that they each have there own plate..

The puppies are only 7 weeks old, and you got them 3 weeks ago?? That's absolutely sickening. You have A LOT of work cut out for you. Taking a puppy from its mother and lttermates at 4 weeks old is a terrible idea. Taking TWO puppies from their mother at 4 weeks old is even worse. Please, please, please find a good trainer and start working with him/her now.

This "breeder" should be hogtied, hamstrung, hung, shot and then reported.  I'm guessing that as soon as the pups were weaned she started pushing them out the door.  I can't say here what I'm thinking.  It ain't purty!

ORIGINAL: dobermann

I just came back from feeding them..
i did what Espencer said and it went swell.. But the girl was giving a little bit of trouble... she always went for the boys plate while he was eating minding his own buisness, and i had to take her back to her plate so she can eat but she went at it again and again, finally the boy finished and didnt even go to her plate, but the girl tried to eat from the boys plate the whole time.


she finished her meal and they both drank water together..
No problem..

I hope it will go as planned and they'll get used to and know that they each have there own plate..

[sm=bravo.gif][sm=clapping%20hands%20smiley.gif]

Good job, this was the first time so dont expect the girl to get the message right away, it will take some more tries to make her realize that, after a couple more "sessions" the next step will be making the girl go back without you touching her, if she starts going towards the guy's plate just stand in front of her and dont let her pass, maybe the fist couple times she will be a litle bit faster than you and pass you by but dont worry you can take her at that moment and place her again in front of you (dont take her back all the way to her plate), after a couple tries again you will be fast enough to block her way without you touching her, remember, the idea is that she goes back to her plate by herself, just stand there in front of her untill she takes her attention away from the guy's plate (if you do it before then you will be the one "steping back away from her" and it has to be the opposite) this way she will learn that since YOU are their owner then is YOUR rule that they have to respect eachother's food, you are not being mean, you are not punishing them, you are only showing them the difference between right and wrong

The second you bring a new puppy home, start implementing rules, boundaries, and limitations so they understand what is expected of them from the beginning. Puppies are much easier to balance because, although some pups do show dominant tendencies, they don#%92t seek a leadership role at that age and would much rather follow. So no matter how cute they are, give your puppies proper rules from the get go. They will love you for it later.

You know it can be done because you have seen it, i know it can be done because i've done it.

If you want to have a third dog in the future you can, in your pack you are the leader and the leader decides how many members you want to have and how long they are going to stay but of course you have to do something before, you cant just bring another dog if you never socialized the dobermans first, if you never teach them to accept other dog's presence, if you never applied rules boundries and limitations for your dobemans, it still could be done but it would be 10 times harder. Fox terriers are a high energy breed so you need to be sure that your dobermans are ok with a little dude running around all the time

You are in the right track, congrats []

If you want to have a third dog in the future you can, in your pack you are the leader and the leader decides how many members you want to have and how long they are going to stay but of course you have to do something before, you cant just bring another dog if you never socialized the dobermans first,

Um...didn't you read her other post?  She already has the terrier.

ORIGINAL: Xerxes

Um...didn't you read her other post?  She already has the terrier.

 
Well if the OP already has the 3 of them even better, the dobemans will grow up getting used to the terrier already
 
 

It's a full-time job to raise and socialize and train ONE puppy. I can't imagine trying it with two. You're going to need to keep them separated as much as possible, and work with them one-on-one as much as possible.   I don't recommend much from Leerburg, but read this: [linkhttp://www.leerburg.com/pdf/raisingtwopuppies.pdf]http://www.leerburg.com/pdf/raisingtwopuppies.pdf[/link]
 
 
with the size difference between an adult dobe and a terrier you may want to think about never leaving the dogs alone together. One snap and it's bye-bye terrier. Especially if you keep them both; they may indeed decide to gang up on the terrier. And a general rule for multi-dog households is to NEVER feed them together and NEVER leave bones, toys, food lying around. Dogs are like toddlers who haven't learned how to share. They fight. They hurt each other.

ORIGINAL: espencer

IMO if you feed them in different rooms then you could be forming 2 different packs in your house
 
You can have both dogs, both dobermans, even if they are littermates, it does not matter, once you know what you are doing it does not matter if they are 2 or 14

 
I think consideration for breed and the age of the pups should be taken into account when establishing a feeding ritual.  I don#%92t have experience with Dobes and its has been a little less than 9 years since I have had a puppy in the house. 
 
Espencer, generally I agree with your approach but I would have been more cautious and give the puppies a chance to learn how it feels to eat in peace.  It was not too clear to me how the OP#%92s dogs were being fed prior to the aggression.  It doesn#%92t take too long for a dog to catch onto a routine and once the dog learns peace, the barriers can be lifted.  I think by establishing a routine, the pups would know where to eat, recognize their food dish, and the contents.  
 
For my dogs, eating time is a pleasant experience.  There are no fights and there is no over excitement or stealing of another#%92s food.  It starts with me preparing 6 dog dishes, all unique.  Some dogs get different food, different volume, and some contain medicine.  So it is important for me that the dog knows where to go to eat and what to do after they eat.       
 
When a new adult foster dog comes into my home, the dog is securely baby gated in a hall, and able to see the other dogs feed.  When the dog finishes and attempts to get out of the area, I just stand in front of the gate.  In not too long a time, I know the dog is learning because when I start my feeding routine, the dog goes into the hall, its place and waits.   I know the dog has made further progress once I see the dog sit or lay after the meal is finished.  At this time I lax security and just prop up the baby gate.  Eventually the baby gate is gone and the dog becomes part of a normal feeding routine.  Occasionally I do have to get a dog#%92s attention when it strays but that is simply asking “Where you going?”  Technically, all my dogs are separated when feeding.  One is the hall, one in the kitchen, two in the dining room, and the sister littermates eats side by side in another hall.  Its all open and there are no physical barriers.  After eating (and each finishes at a different time) they lay down and wait because they know the next thing to happen is outside time.
 
That is my routine.  Each time the subject of bringing littermates into the home, it is always frowned upon.  This time, the recommendation was to return one of the puppies.  I have Great Dane littermate bitches and like some others on this forum, have not encountered problems.  I would be happy to qualify my experience if someone can share their first-hand experience of having problems with littermate bitches and coped with the problems over the life of the dog.  Or suggest reading that gives a definitive answer. 
 

yeah, I do much the same thing. I get the dog bowls out, and the dogs all quickly move to their "eating locations". We currently have no barriers up, but do use them during training. So dogs only get food if they are quiet and in their proper feeding place. They are taught to stay in their locations until I come get the bowls.
 
 
The biggest problem you hear with raising two littermates is not fighting, it's that they don't bond with the humans. I know someone who raised two lab pups and got so fed up with them clearly not carrying about anyone except each other that she put them both down.

deleted due to computer gone insane dup post

ORIGINAL: DPU

 Espencer, generally I agree with your approach but I would have been more cautious and give the puppies a chance to learn how it feels to eat in peace.  It was not too clear to me how the OP's dogs were being fed prior to the aggression.  It doesn't take too long for a dog to catch onto a routine and once the dog learns peace, the barriers can be lifted.  I think by establishing a routine, the pups would know where to eat, recognize their food dish, and the contents.  

 
I see your point, maybe your dogs were never food aggressive or never thought about stealing eachother's food, the OP already has the problem going on, the guy eats in peace so he knows what it is, the girl does not because she does not want to, if the OP feeds them in different rooms nothing is going to change, the OP will have to do it for the rest of their lives, once the girl gets her food next to the guy again then the same thing will happen, today, tomorrow or in 4 years.
 
The OP just need to let know the girl that is not allowed in that house to steal the guy's food, once she understands that she just need to eat their own food they both will eat in peace, it will take the girl to know that in 2 weeks at the most if the OP does what is doing everyday
 
The OP already said that the technique is working, that there is some progress so i dont understand why there is still people saying that one of them needs to be returned, some others still say that they need to eat in different rooms
 
Hellooooo "she finished her meal and they both drank water together.. No problem.. "