Multi Dog Feeding

[humbug]

I did not see a sticky for a protocol on feeding multiple dogs. Maybe we could start one. What have you done that has worked well in your home?

As an owner of 4 dogs, ages almost 3 thru 15 yrs, we have stuck with same rules and each dog had slightly modified version suit the situation.

Dog #1. Once he understood simple commands "sit" was a must before food was place down on floor. Unknowingly, his "sit" occurred in the exact same place in the kitchen. So be it, that was his spot. Also, we stood by him to make sure he did not eat the cat food which at the time we kept on the floor. When his bowl was empty, meal was over!

Dog #2. Rescued with ZERO manners! Dog #1 was proofed to his meal spot so we could focus on teaching Dog #2 her spot and when she was done eating she could not go to another's bowl.

This was quite interesting because we were conditioning both dogs to eat politely and respectfully in the presence of another dog for their first times!

Dog #3. At this time #1 and 2 are proofed to the meal routine so heavy attention goes to new puppy as the others are running on default! Sweet!

Dog #4 Rescued with ZERO manners, also special needs. Others are proofed and go to their default places to eat so we can put all our energy to teach Dog #4 not to jump on our shoulders, dig and scratch our backs and legs, and to sit before getting food. Actually, we were very diligent and making wonderful progress but within a week we changed plans. We decided that he (Bumper) needed to start eating in his crate so he would have a use for it. This would help us in crate training. He had to walk in his crate and wait patiently before we put food down. Within a week of this change he would RUN to his crate at meal time.

I will say that we may not have the most wonderfully trained dogs but we are no joke at meal time.

[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.

[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.

[ouesi]

I just became a new dane parent on July 1st, she's my only pet and has been great so far. I just got back from a vacation to see my family back home. My dad/grandma/friends all had dogs and they would be good friends and play. But, when it was time for the food to come out she would growl and snap at the other dogs. While she was eating I, or anyone else, could pet her and she'd be fine but if one of the other dogs even got close she's growl at them. Since she's my only dog, how can I get her to stop doing this?

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...

[Avalon!]

I just became a new dane parent on July 1st, she's my only pet and has been great so far. I just got back from a vacation to see my family back home. My dad/grandma/friends all had dogs and they would be good friends and play. But, when it was time for the food to come out she would growl and snap at the other dogs. While she was eating I, or anyone else, could pet her and she'd be fine but if one of the other dogs even got close she's growl at them. Since she's my only dog, how can I get her to stop doing this?

[humbug]

I know before I even post this that there is a whole contingent that disagrees with my feeding philosophy, so you don't have to waste any space responding to this. I free feed. I've always feed fed. All breeds, all ages, nobody is overweight, nobody is bloating (because they don't gobble their food in panic), and even when we've brought in a rescue that had different eating habits, all it took was about a week of food scattered on the floor so that they had to eat a piece at a time and then when finished there was a bit more in a bowl nearby.
We keep a full bowl available at all times. The dogs nibble at will. Nobody fights over who gets to eat when and I've never had an overweight dog. So, I am just saying this is an option, and the dogs will regulate themselves. Message me if you want details on weaning your dogs to this method.

I have two that would eat until they popped! In addition, I have schedule of work and school, and I want the furkids on a schedule too! I want to know when they are approximately going to poop every day, as well as know that they are not going to want to go in the house when I am not here. I enjoy the family experience/bonding. I like the leverage that being a provider gives me. I don't want to starve or control them; I love their enjoyment of the ritual, I love that we keep manners in check with me and each other, and this morning I love that I am teaching my deaf girl to "speak", as well as "shush" with kibble. Also, the after-meal ritual of patting for burp and face-wipe, I am finally able to touch Angel's lips and lift them up a bit to see her teeth. I use rituals they love as BIG leverage!

[thisiscyndi]

I know before I even post this that there is a whole contingent that disagrees with my feeding philosophy, so you don't have to waste any space responding to this. I free feed. I've always feed fed. All breeds, all ages, nobody is overweight, nobody is bloating (because they don't gobble their food in panic), and even when we've brought in a rescue that had different eating habits, all it took was about a week of food scattered on the floor so that they had to eat a piece at a time and then when finished there was a bit more in a bowl nearby.
We keep a full bowl available at all times. The dogs nibble at will. Nobody fights over who gets to eat when and I've never had an overweight dog. So, I am just saying this is an option, and the dogs will regulate themselves. Message me if you want details on weaning your dogs to this method.

I free feed my Danes too. I put the food down, they freely eat it until it is gone. LOL
Sorry true free feeding is a no go here - doesnt work & would never work. Here is WHY:

1. My Danes eat and eat and eat until they get sick, puke, then they eat more. No amount of free feeding would ever change this. Especially Logan, there is never ever ever EVER a time when he would not devour every last piece of food in sight. There have been 2 times in the 4 years he's been with us that he refused food -- we RUSHED to the vet immediately because we knew something was wrong wrong wrong wrong (1st time was prebloat resolved without surgery, 2nd time was an abcess inside his mouth we had no idea was there).
2. I use their kibble for training. There are days they get an entire meal hand fed while training. Plus Emma is a resource guarder and meal times are when we work on training to keep that at bay.
3. Emma has very bad ALLERGIES so cannot eat even one piece of Logan's kibble or treats.
4. I use kongs, zogoflex, and other food dispensing toys to mentally stimulate and occupy their brains. This is a method of "free feeding" both the dogs and I can get behind completely.
5. Logan only gets 3 cups of food a day. More than that (plus any extras given for training) and he gains weight. When we fed raw he got a total of a 1.5 pounds a day. This isnt much for a big dog and he is always hungry - which leads back to #1.

[mnmouse]

But mainly scheduled meals are a bonding time for us and our dogs. Just like family meals are for the humans in the house

THIS!! ^^^

Meal time is the most awesome time of the day for us, I can't imagine not wanting to share this special time with my dogs. I hand out their big chunks of raw meat while sing-songing talking to them and they tingle with excitement.

I also feed raw, once a day. I can't leave raw food just laying around. Mouse and Echo would eat it all eventually anyway. They LOVE raw meat--I couldn't "free feed" raw meat. You can free-feed kibble because it's so dang boring and dry that most dogs eat it because they HAVE to.

Our routine is sometimes filled bowl in "their" spots and sometimes I hand it out myself by the sink. The danes eat right away. The border collie eats until she's full and when she stops, she's done and I put any leftovers away. The old husky waits until everyone is done and are jealously eyeing his meat, then he eats until he's full and I put the rest away. Three of mine are self-regulated raw eaters, and Mouse is a pig who would eat until he popped

[ouesi]

Free feeding is just not a good idea for so many reasons, especially not a breed prone to bloat. Being able to give accurate information (not a guestimate) about when the dog ate last and how much, can be critical information in an emergency.

Scheduled meals means I know not only how much each dog is eating when, but I also know if anything is slightly off. Did the dog dive right in as usual, or was there some disinterest? This way I can tell the vet, "he was eating fine wed morning, but by wed evening he seemed a bit off, and by thursday he wasn't eating at all." How long would it take a free feeder to notice a change in their dog's appetite?

Scheduled meals means I can give heartworm preventative on a full stomach (as you should), it means I can add supplements and add-ons individualized for each dog, it means the food isn't out all day with dog spit all over it brewing who knows what and attracting bugs and critters...

But mainly scheduled meals are a bonding time for us and our dogs. Just like family meals are for the humans in the house

[TheEIEIos]

I don't know what would happen. One thing I do know for sure is that they tend to set their own schedule which happens to be about 4 meals a day and the amount they consume is probably no more than a cup at any given time. I hear them in the middle of the night chewing. The bowl is filled every morning so the amount is consistent.

[thisiscyndi]

We do similar to June and Jeann, except dogs are allowed to crowd around the food closet while bowls are being filled. I like that they have to practice self control around each other in a high excitement situation.

Once bowls are filled, we feed in the same order at each dog's spot. Spots are far enough away that dogs get to eat in peace, but they're not totally isolated.
Bowl goes down, then dogs have to sit and make eye contact before being released to eat.
Very often once everyone is eating, I'll add goodies to their food (leftovers), so they associate someone approaching them while eating with good things. Most of the time the kids (human) do the feeding and often the add ons too. Supervised of course.

When dogs get finished, they are allowed to see what everyone else got within reason. If another dog is eating, they have to wait at a polite distance and the other dog has to show he's done, before going to check out the bowl. This is all carefully supervised but I allow it because of our current pack make-up and that they really need the practice with respecting each other's signals. Bates and Lunar are both very strong willed, pushy males and reminding them to "use their words" (not their teeth) helps keep the peace.

Well rather than type it all out again -- this is pretty much exactly what we do.
We also practice "leave it" very often with both Danes laying side by side & putting treats in between them, on their paws, etc. We started this when Emma displayed resource guarding issues at 4 months old.

[kayla baxter]

I know before I even post this that there is a whole contingent that disagrees with my feeding philosophy, so you don't have to waste any space responding to this. I free feed. I've always feed fed. All breeds, all ages, nobody is overweight, nobody is bloating (because they don't gobble their food in panic), and even when we've brought in a rescue that had different eating habits, all it took was about a week of food scattered on the floor so that they had to eat a piece at a time and then when finished there was a bit more in a bowl nearby.
We keep a full bowl available at all times. The dogs nibble at will. Nobody fights over who gets to eat when and I've never had an overweight dog. So, I am just saying this is an option, and the dogs will regulate themselves. Message me if you want details on weaning your dogs to this method.

Just curious, what would happen if there were ever an emergency and a dog needed immediate vet care and you couldn't tell the vet exactly when the dog last ate or how much? This is something that could interfere with care. I wouldn't risk it.

[TheEIEIos]

I know before I even post this that there is a whole contingent that disagrees with my feeding philosophy, so you don't have to waste any space responding to this. I free feed. I've always feed fed. All breeds, all ages, nobody is overweight, nobody is bloating (because they don't gobble their food in panic), and even when we've brought in a rescue that had different eating habits, all it took was about a week of food scattered on the floor so that they had to eat a piece at a time and then when finished there was a bit more in a bowl nearby.
We keep a full bowl available at all times. The dogs nibble at will. Nobody fights over who gets to eat when and I've never had an overweight dog. So, I am just saying this is an option, and the dogs will regulate themselves. Message me if you want details on weaning your dogs to this method.

[humbug]

I can only hope that my 2 dogs behave as well as the ones in these posts someday! My question is...how do I get there?

We have a Cavalier King Charles, Oliver, that for the last 2 years has fed freely from his bowl throughout the day. About 2 weeks ago, we brought home a Great Dane puppy, Jessica, and I am having a terrible time trying to figure out how to get them to NOT eat each other's food. I have gone to distinct feeding times spaced throughout the day now for both of them. They share well, but obviously they can't both eat the same thing or same amount. Oliver turns up his nose now at the food he has always eaten and she will eat either one. I tried feeding one outside and one inside but it didn't work. Jessica won't eat outside at all and Oliver won't eat his food at all. What do I do?

Going from 1 to 2 dogs is the only time you will have to teach multi-manners to both at the same time (assuming you will always have more than one dog from here on out)

Do like GoingPostal said and separate. The more times they do steal from each other's dishes the harder it will be to break them of it because they have self-rewarded with stolen goods!

Make it fun. How about putting them both in a sit. Make them wait a few seconds then treat them for being patient and calm. Then if they are doing well with that make the duration a tad longer then treat dog 1. If dog 2 is still being patient then treat. If dog 2 pops or breaks stay then just walk away. Poor puppy, no treat! Eventually, you can use the same premace and use their food dishes. Put a kibble or two in their bowls, put them in a sit/stay, calmly place their dishes down and when you say "okay" they can eat the kibble. If they pop up or break stay pick bowls up again and calmly try again. No bad puppy reprimands, just no reward until it is done correctly.

Everyone is different! You will develop your routine before you know it! Bottom line is calm, polite mealtimes without scuffles

Repetition in short time increments, consistency, equals proofing! Before you know it they will have default meal behaviors.

[GoingPostal]

Put them in separate rooms or in crates, so they can't get to each other, put the food down and if it's not gone in 10 minutes, pick it up, try again for supper time. They will figure out they eat or they don't.