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Dog Training and Behaviour Discuss dog training and behaviour problems in this section. Are you having problems with your dogs behaviour? Then submit your problems and get help from other members. Do you have some excellent dog training advice? then submit your details here to help others.

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Old 08-01-2012, 06:23 PM
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feeding older dog and puppy

ive got a 5yr old weimaraner (pepper) who isnt food posessive, ive just got a 3month old weimaraner (betty). my older one has accepted the latest addition pretty well but im not sure how to get round feedings.
they are both 'nibblers' and like to eat a bit, walk around a bit, eat a bit more, walk around a bit more. the problem is that pepper wants bettys puppy food and eats it at the first opportunity. i tried putting them in seperate rooms to eat but betty didnt like that and was too busy looking for pepper to eat and pepper was in the other room on hunger strike! theyre fine eating out of the same bowl but betty eats much slower and i find her just sittin waiting and she alternates between eating from her bowl and being hand fed, i can see pepper thinking bettys getting something special and neither of them are eating much...any advice is welcome
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Old 08-01-2012, 06:37 PM
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Re: feeding older dog and puppy

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Originally Posted by oldsoulchild View Post
ive got a 5yr old weimaraner (pepper) who isnt food posessive, ive just got a 3month old weimaraner (betty). my older one has accepted the latest addition pretty well but im not sure how to get round feedings.
they are both 'nibblers' and like to eat a bit, walk around a bit, eat a bit more, walk around a bit more. the problem is that pepper wants bettys puppy food and eats it at the first opportunity. i tried putting them in seperate rooms to eat but betty didnt like that and was too busy looking for pepper to eat and pepper was in the other room on hunger strike! theyre fine eating out of the same bowl but betty eats much slower and i find her just sittin waiting and she alternates between eating from her bowl and being hand fed, i can see pepper thinking bettys getting something special and neither of them are eating much...any advice is welcome
Personally I would try to get them to have set feeding times rather then let them graze its always easier and safer in a multi dog household, it can avoid competing or squabbles over food at a later date and starts to establish a permanent routine for all time. You may find when they realise meals are down and only for a short time that they will learn and fall into the new feeding regime pretty quickly. In the meantime you can add an "incentive" to boths bowl to get them eating and in the routine. You could mix in a little puppy food with the older ones as a treat and something in the young ones to encourage them rather then picking. I certainly wouldnt be letting them eat out the same bowl or stick their heads in each others bowl or even eye each others up. What an older dog will accept and allow from a pup, they wont necessarily allow when a pup is no longer a pup anymore. They could well be fine for life doing it but just as easily they may not, so best to establish a proper and safe routine from the beginning, then dogs both know where they are and whats expected then.

You could get a dog control gate fits like a baby gate but more robust and taller and feed them either side of that but away back from the gate. That way they can see each other but boundaries are also established too. I would also knock the hand feeding on the head, last thing you want is for it to become some kind of behavioural habit.
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Old 08-01-2012, 07:15 PM
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Re: feeding older dog and puppy

Quote:
Originally Posted by oldsoulchild View Post
ive got a 5yr old weimaraner (pepper) who isnt food posessive, ive just got a 3month old weimaraner (betty). my older one has accepted the latest addition pretty well but im not sure how to get round feedings.
they are both 'nibblers' and like to eat a bit, walk around a bit, eat a bit more, walk around a bit more. the problem is that pepper wants bettys puppy food and eats it at the first opportunity. i tried putting them in seperate rooms to eat but betty didnt like that and was too busy looking for pepper to eat and pepper was in the other room on hunger strike! theyre fine eating out of the same bowl but betty eats much slower and i find her just sittin waiting and she alternates between eating from her bowl and being hand fed, i can see pepper thinking bettys getting something special and neither of them are eating much...any advice is welcome
Weimaraners are gundogs and, IME, like the majority of gundogs like their food.

You say your dogs like to nibble, walk, graze etc.

Well that may be, but until they paid my mortgage etc I am afraid they would have to eat in a manner which was conducive to

good health
good manners
good relations

So, I would put down the food, leave for 15 minutes at most, and then remove it and feed nothing until the next meal time.

Why do you need to hand feed a puppy?

There are 5 years between my dogs, each time I get a puppy, they are starving for each meal, it gets devoured in seconds and they are fed in a crate away from the elder dog who would bully them out of their food.

If your dogs are not that hungry, maybe you need to MAKE them actually hungry so you do not go through this palaver?

Maybe cut your meals down to half for the adult and the pup, and put down and remove and feed NOTHING until the next feeding time.

Feeding them separately and having rules about how and where they are fed will make it easier when the pup matures and maybe wants to eat the elder dog's food. So why not make the decision before the decision is made for you?

Dogs do not starve themselves to death, they often become neurotic feeders due to the anxiety of their owners.

My dogs, horses, children, cats always had a choice; eat what I put in front of them when I put it in front of them or starve.

Simple
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