Jump to content

Feeding 2 Dogs Without Fighting?


Rainy
 Share

Recommended Posts

we have taken on a 14 wko coolie and im having trouble at feeding time. Diesel (12mth staffy) is a hoover he eats dis dinner really fast but turbo (coolie) eats really slow and then diesel finishes his and trys to steal turbos then they fight, iv been keeping diesel on a lead to stop him getting turbos food but he still growls at turbo and then turbo comes over and they stared fighting again! ARRRRRRGH So next i tried feeding them speratly in the laundry diesel first then turbo but the whole time one is in the laundry eating the other is trying to rip the door down i feel like im ;) ,any iders on how to get feeding time sorted?

Thanks Sera

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the same problem with my cats :laugh: In all seriousness the solution can be similar. Firstly, as Kavik said feed them separately. Then, with the guts, make him work for every scrap of food to slow him down. Use a treat ball, do some clicker training, hide food around the room - has a two-fold effect by keeping the guts distracted and also providing additional mental stimulation :mad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Try doing Triangle Of Temptation with them, thead pinned up the top in this section for you to read.

I did this with diesel when we first got him and it went really well i had him trained not to eat untill told but it seems that all of diesels training has disapeared since turbo arrived grrr

feeding in seperat areas will have to do for now untill i can get some training done seperatly

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have the same problem with Sophie and Huey. I just feed Huey in the kitchen and Sophie in the laundry with the door shut between then. No problem!! Huey also is like a vacuum cleaner with his food but Sophie eats slowly. Even when Sophie is finished eating and I open the door Huey races to her bowl and licks it out just in case there is a tiny morsel left.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My two have breakkie together as I am sat with them having a coffee and there's no fighting. Dinner is a different story though. Jesie eats like a lady while Jodie hoover's her food. So at dinner time Jesie eats in the laundrey and Jodie eats outside with the cats. Jodie always finishes first and will scratch at the door but she's finally figured out that she cant come until Jesie has been to tell me that she finished eating.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have 3 dogs and have had some problems but it is getting better.

My pup (6mths) is a hoover and resource guarding a little. My old girl eats one kibble piece at a time. (always has since day one) The other is ok.

I have started feeding the pup across 4 bowls and this has definately slowed her down. I can now pat her whilst she is eating and she does not flinch. Previously she would gulp her food even more as she thought I was taking it. I will keep working on it and I know I will win.

Also, they are made to wait when they are finished and not allowed to go near the others. This can be different ends of the patio or in a sit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dogs can all eat out of each others bowl, they know no growling is tolerated if one dog leaves there bowls and wanders over to another, maybe cause they know I am the one that will tell them off so they not need to..

But I do have 1 food aggressive dog, he gets fed seperatly and is quite happy...

Mine now get fed in a crate anyway, but otherwise they can all be fed next to each other without a problem...

I would continue to feed the dogs seperatly and I would not be tolerating any bashing on the door etc, maybe try locking on in the bathroom and one outside where they cant see each other?? or in the kitchen for example... :mad

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to feed seperately, but I run my pack differently and allow them to tell each other off. They won't go near each other eating anymore. Lily won't go near Gizmo caus' he'll kick her arse and Gizmo won't go near Lily because he knows he'll get himself some social isolation.

If they've had a bad day, or I skipped a meal then they are fed seperately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some dogs are gonna be more intense about it than others, and there's nothing like another dog to bring out the competition. My corgi is really only food obsessed when there are other dogs around that could pinch her food. I grew up with 3 brothers, so I kinda know what she's on about. :thumbsup: If they're eating bones together she gets the crate. That way she knows her food is safe. It helps a little.

Kivi wouldn't tell Penny off for stealing his food. He'll just get out of her way and bark at her from a distance. I've let other dogs tell Penny off though. It usually goes something like this "Penny, don't you be stealing! Out of it!..... You are going to get beaten up. Don't expect me to rescue you when you get yourself in trouble, girl." And inevitably she tries it on, gets told off, and tries it again. She'll grow some sense eventually, but it's much easier to just put her in a crate or stand over her until she's done and hustle her out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 6 are fed together with about a foot or so between them. They all understand "Ah ah, leave it "

I do stand near by until they finish. The last new dog came in at 8 months old & had no training at all so I stood between him & the others until he got it.

Takes a while to get there & they would pinch each others if I wasn't there but no fighting.

I also make them all sit before they get breakfast. Dry goes down late afternoon in one big bowl but they just pick & dont fight over dry, just the meat, vegies, egg, cheese etc.

Firm persistence & I am the boss I guess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We feed separately, with 5 dogs I can't be bothered to muck about so we use crates. That way you don't have to deal with them scratching the door down or trying it on.

I also agree with TSD, slow the fast one down with a buster cube or one of those food bowls designed to slow them down. Our resource guarder becomes totally fascinated with his buster cube which works for me because if he's batting it about, he's not worrying about everyone else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 4 dogs get fed together without too much problem, however the rules are extremely strict at meal times. When one finishes, he or she must leave the area immediately, they are not allowed to come within coo-ee of the others who are still eating. One by one they finish and leave. It's more about micro-managing each dog rather than trying to manage all of them together.

However since this takes some time to accomplish therefore much safer and easier to feed in separate rooms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks every one im going to feed seperatly untill i can get some training done with both, diesel starts back at obiediance on wed so im hoping his manners return soon and turbo is slowly learning but he need some seperate training once the kids go back to school ill have more time and i might try them again later

Edited by rainy
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are going through similar issues with our boys but they tend to only "fight" over high value items - raw meat, treat ball etc regular dinner is fine.

We have always fed them together - as small pups they would often happily switch bowls but we have always redirected them back to their original bowl to make sure one doesn't eat the others etc. Now they are quite happy to eat togethr out of their own bowl. We have done TOT with each seperately. I take turns in who goes out first as we are not setting dominence. One of the pups carries on a bit when I take the other out and we pop him in his crate for some time out if he doesn't settle after being told no.

Basically what I have leanrt from this forum and reading else where is that dogs will fight when dominence is unsettled which causes stress so we have taken the stand that we are the dominent dog and they are both on equal footing and it is working very well. We are also getting a trainer out in the next week to give us some more long term suggestions to help keep them friendly so I will pass on any interesting tidbits.

all the best

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...