Multi Dog Feeding

[mnmouse]

Resource guarding from other dogs is totally normal behavior. As long as the other dogs are being respectful and responding to the warnings to back off, I leave it be. It's actually the other dogs who are being rude by approaching a dog eating. JMO...

All my dogs clearly tell the other dogs that what they have is theirs and everyone respects each other. If Jackson steals Mouse's chew object (which he will do every time Mouse leaves it) poor Mouse comes to me and takes my hand to lead me to Jackson, who has TWO chewies I drop a treat for Jackson and retrieve Mouse's chewie for him. They come to ME to solve their resource problems.

[Diamond T Farm]

Some of my dogs eat in crates and some eat in their feeders. I do that because of the quantity of dogs I have.

I admit that I absolutely LOVE, like Ouesi does, I like having them gathered around me when I am fixing the food. Noodle blows spit bubbles out of his cheeks and makes chewbacca noises and the terriers are adorable, and the PWDs try to prove to me how well they can sit and look hairy, and the Ibizan hound pig noses the counters. Everyone has to be friendly and giving to each other. Nobody can growl during this time or you lose the kitchen gather privilege. Each dog actually knows which bowl is theirs by which hand I pick it up with and where to go.

I have currently 9 dogs inside (I do not own them all but holding some for my breeder till we can get transport to her). So I fix 9 bowls at once. I grab the 5 that eat in crates first and go out to the other room. The young Parson bitch has a top crate and she leaps in and I put her bowl in, the young Parson stud has a bottom crate and he runs in and I put his bowl in. The PWD bitch goes in her crate and the PWD dog goes in his crate. Then the older Parson dog eats in the open in the other room. Baby gate goes up for no other reason than habit.

Then I have 4 bowls left and I grab them, the black dane rears in the air like a horse, spins a circle, runs to his stand spins a circle then waits. I put his food down then the labrador runs underneath the black dane to his stand and I put his bowl down, and I put the harl danes bowl down in his stand right next to the labrador. Then lastly the Ibizan Hound gets his food across the room in his stand.

They are given about 15 minutes, unless they are still actively eating. Sometimes my biggest dane eats slow if he is pouty about not having toppings. The Ibizan hound will most times not finish breakfast if he eats breakfast. So after 15 minutes, the bowls are taken up and what is not eaten is refrigerated till the next meal.

Everyone eats and nobody bothers the other. I do not allow them to bug each other. This is exactly how my feeding time goes every day twice a day. The dogs do the exact same thing. The labrador has been running under the danes belly twice a day for 3 years now on his way to his stand. He could just as easily go around him. But nope, under he goes.