Dog Community

Puppy Eating habits?

Liz

Posted : 3/11/2006 10:17:29 PM

So Cole has been with me for two days now, and of course he has an upset tummy. I've changed his food and his poor hind end is paying for it. [8|]

But the other thing I noticed is that Cole lives for mealtime. As soon as he hears the clink of his dish, he whines and struggles to be the first to eat it all. To try to give Lenny "top dog" status, I set his bowl down first, which freaks Cole out. When he does get his food, he eats like he was starving. (Well, ok, at four weeks he was.) I'm struggling with how to handle it, because Lenny is such a genteel eater that I can free feed him and he eats when he gets in the mood for a little snack. With Cole around, that isn't going to happen.

I'm wondering if this gulping food might be contributing to the upset tummy, and I don't want this to become a progressive problem. Any thoughts?

Right now I am holding Cole (which he loves) and hand-feeding him a few kibbles at a time, over the course of several minutes. (I am the source of all things good!) Except he still struggles to get to Lenny's bowl the whole time.

Anybody with multiple dogs and different eating habits - help!

jeano

Posted : 3/11/2006 10:49:24 PM

What if you hand fed them BOTH for a while? Not every meal, of course, but maybe Cole could learn that Lenny eats but doesn't eat it ALL and all food comes from you anyway....

And on the other meals he just eats in his crate without being able to see Lenny? If that didn't stop the major gulping I'd just feed him smaller meals but more of them.

I don't have multiple dogs now, but until Stevie died, I had from two to four for many years.

jensw

Posted : 3/12/2006 2:18:48 PM

I don't know for sure, Liz, but I do know that I hand fed Roscoe (canned, from a spoon!) for the first 3-4 weeks that we had him, and his meal gulping significantly diminished. I don't know if it was the hand-feeding that caused it, though.

Else Godkin

Posted : 3/12/2006 10:31:20 PM

Hugo used to be a gulper when he ate, with the after feed burping because of the air he swallowed with it. His eating slowed down when he was about 6 mts. They all eat together in the kitchen but have been taught NOT to bother whoever is still eating. When everyone is finished the " check the dishes time" is done by Hugo.
He is still such a pig about food.LOL

huskymom

Posted : 3/13/2006 3:16:34 PM

How does Lenny feel about Cole getting into his food? I know when the girls first came Crusher had to set them straight about his food vs thier food. They each tried it once and only once. Before they came I could free feed Crusher too. Now I can't cause they will eat it all even if it makes them sick. Crusher eats 2 cups to thier one and it takes him about 5 times as long to eat it. They gobble and so far it hasnt caused problems.

You have to remember Cole has had a change of food, plus alot of stress with the move and everything else. This could cause his problems. Have you tried some pumpkin? Poor baby. He's lucky to have you and Lenny!

mudpuppy

Posted : 3/14/2006 10:58:31 AM

well, first, feed them in separate rooms or in crates. This simple act prevents any and all stress and possible future fights over food. I'd take Lenny into his feeding area and give him his food. Then go feed Cole in his feeding area. I'd feed him out of a kong or busy buddy instead of a bowl. Prevents gulping, builds work ethic, and stimulates the mind.

He is The Boss

Posted : 3/14/2006 9:29:08 PM

Gracie was a gulping machine the first day I brought her home. Even jumped across my lap and grabbed my sandwich off my plate before I ever knew what hit me! (with the amount of intestinal parasites she had I understand now). But even with them gone, she still is crazy about her food and loves to gobble it.

I always feed Boss first and she has slowly learned that Boss' bowl is off limits and hers is soon to follow. I accomplished that by feeding them in seperate rooms. Boss is fed in the kitchen where he always has been, and Gracie eats right on the other side of the island in the kitchen. Boss of course goes and watches her eat in case she doesn't finish it all, which almost never happens, but I don't let him eat behind her anyway since he can't have the food she is eating, and she can't have his Evo.

Patt

Posted : 3/15/2006 12:28:56 AM

ORIGINAL: mudpuppy

well, first, feed them in separate rooms or in crates. This simple act prevents any and all stress and possible future fights over food. I'd take Lenny into his feeding area and give him his food. Then go feed Cole in his feeding area. I'd feed him out of a kong or busy buddy instead of a bowl. Prevents gulping, builds work ethic, and stimulates the mind.

I think this is a great idea! I believe feeding them together might make for competition. So if they are fed in separate rooms there wouldn't be gulping down their food in order to get to the next dish. Good luck.

glenmar

Posted : 3/15/2006 5:15:04 AM

When I have a foster litter, I try to separate them for meals as early as I can because they will compete for every last morsel. The same holds true of my older dogs. Everyone goes to his or her own crate to eat because that's the ONLY way that I can really be sure that the slower eaters actually get all of their food.

Thor is the only one who will really inhale his food, but Tyler is the one who is the slowest and most deliberate eater. It's as if HE takes his time and enjoys the food....really savors it.

I think it's fine to hand feed your little guy...it'll slow him down and it also really reinforces that all the good stuff DOES come from you.....

Liz

Posted : 3/15/2006 3:48:46 PM

Well, this is what I've been doing the last couple of days:

I get a leash and attach it to the refrigerator door, and put Cole on it, then set his empty dish down near him so he knows it's mealtime. (Tail is wagging like crazy.)

I fix Lenny's dish and set it down out of leash range, then fix Cole's dish and set it down. BUT I hand feed him about a third of his meal first, then let him have the rest after he chills out a little.

And then they both crunch away for the next 5 minutes.

They only thing I'm frustrated with is that I actually had to go buy a bad of the dreaded SD to help Cole with the food transition. It's working, because we have had solid poop for the last two days. I am gradually mixing in Innova, very, very slowly, because otherwise he gets sick. [:'(]

But #%# that stuff is awful - smells like dead rotting fish! [:'(][:'(][:'(][:'(]