Hullo again, OK, this is the first thing I've not been sure of since bringing Shadow into the house. When the pups are fed their kibble, they are fed a few feet apart and have no issues. At lunchtime, though, Willow has raw food which takes a little longer to eat - Shadow is still transitioning to our brand of kibble so we've not started him on raw yet - so we pop her into her crate so she can eat in peace, while he has his bowl. Today, Willow had something new, a bit of pork skin (not dried) that took her a while to eat, and she was really protective of it. When Shadow went near her crate, she growled and barked at him. Of course, he couldn't get to him and so I didn't worry too much. Neither of them shows any aggression to us at all with their food - we can put our hands in their bowls to add more food and they don't flinch. Willow also often brings us a chew or her kong to hold onto while she gets stuck in. Additionally, I've been working on them taking turns with treats, so they sit side by side and I say "Willow", give her a treat, then "Shadow" and give him a treat. They're learning very quickly that they each get something, so they don't need to be jealous and try to mug the other's treat. So, this long-winded post boils down to the question, do I need to do anything about this? It was obviously something so high value that she didn't want him to steal it. I also understand that growling should never be discouraged because it's the warning sign that comes before something nastier. Next week we'll be starting Shadow with a bit of raw, so I was thinking that one will be in and the other out of the crate to avoid any issues. Or, should I just feed them both outside of the crate and let them sort it out for themselves? Ideas?
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food I reckon it might be best to let them both eat in peace, so separately, perhaps.
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food Whilst we don't have 2 puppies, we have experienced the same thing with the introduction of an older dog to our year old puppy. The issue of food guarding arose as an accident Casper found the large nylabone, and I think thought it was a real bone, and a bit of a fight ensued when Benson went over to investigate. We have them both in separate crates, in separate rooms for the time being anyhow. Each knows that that is his den. We feed them both in separate rooms, so they can't see each other, as that I think can cause a little stress itself. Casper gets his food bowl in his crate. Now the reasoning here is that as soon as Casper gets any chicken wings etc...he takes it straight to his crate, and he knows he can eat it there safely, without risk of the other dog taking it. They both have a cue word that lets them know they are getting something good, on this cue they both run to their crates in anticipation and this reduces the risk of any protectiveness over food/favourite toys. I don't know if our approach is the right one, but it seems to work for us It is quite funny, I say "bed for cake" or "bed for tea" and they both set off at a rate of knots to dive into their respective crates in readiness, paws skidding on the wood floor!
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food Haha, I say to Willow, "In your crate!" and she runs as fast as she can to get there, then skids to a stop at the door before leaping, four-footed, as hard and loud as she can, right into the middle. Makes me laugh every time
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food I had two littermates (Cavaliers) who were great in every way, except about food. I made sure I fed Gavin in his crate to prevent problems. Treats were fine, but anything which lasted, like rawhide chews, I popped one in the crate. I have no problem with raising littermates, I did it myself. But this article is well worth a read - http://blog.betternaturedogtraining.com/2013/07/18/littermate-syndrome/ I sleep Tatze and Gypsy in separate rooms to prevent separation problems later on too
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food It's not something I'd 'worry' about, as in it is perfectly normal behaviour, but I'd do as everyone has suggested and make sure the pups can eat separately and without having to be vigilant about potential raids
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food We've always fed the boys in the same room, whe I walk in with their dishes, I trained them to sit for their dinner when we first got them, and Barney always sits on my left and Jack always on my right, every single time! Barney sometimes finishes first and will go to help Jack finish if I don't tell him to wait. We always watch them while they eat, as it never takes long (they have dry kibble) They sometimes swap dishes at the very end, but I only allow it if they both do it, rather than one pushing the other away from his own dish. The only time we ever get any barking is when they have a rawhide treat, Barney demolishes them more than twice as quick as Jack and will bark at him out of frustration cos he hasn't got a treat. It is quite amusing as it's like a mardy bark. To save any upset between them Barney has two treats while Jack lays and slowly chews his. It may be wise to separate them until you have them both on the same food, or could you try soaking & freezing Shadow's kibble in a kong so it takes him longer to eat it? Lou x
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food Thanks all, I'll continue to keep them separate at lunchtime and for chews/kongs, then. They're fine with their kibble and take about the same amount of time with that, so I just stand and make sure they don't steal. Of course, they have to check each other's bowls afterwards to make sure they haven't missed any - no chance I've already read a lot about littermate syndrome, but will give that article a read too later on, thanks. I'm all about having as much information as possible. Shadow doesn't understand frozen kongs yet! He just dances with it, barks at it and then ignores it. Bless
Re: Do I need to do anything - being protective of food [quote author=snowbunny link=topic=8851.msg125875#msg125875 date=1416645493] Shadow doesn't understand frozen kongs yet! He just dances with it, barks at it and then ignores it. Bless [/quote] Awwwwh! It won't be long before he relishes them
