• We've had Champ now for almost 2 months and yes just now we've realized we need to train him or we'll be the ones in the dog house so I was wondering if it's really important to keep a schedule or really if we should remove his uneaten food so he can learn to only eat at certain times. Right now we feed him at 7am or really when we get up (Only varies in the weekends) but he dosen't mind cause he'll sleep in with us till 11am. And we feed him at 7pm. We don't remove the food if he dosen't eat so he pretty much has an open kitchen all day. Now we are going to start the crate training and I don't know if I can put food in there with him or even if it's just best to train him on eating habits. Someone told us that if he dosen't eat in 20min. to remove the food but how about if he gets hungry?


  • I am very strict with feeding. Both dogs get 2-3 hours to eat their food from 5:30-7:30. Then both water and food come up and that is it until the next day. My Basenji housebroke very quickly this way and since my beagle was raised in a kennel with the previous owner she only knew to go to the bathroom in a crate so I can time her potty breaks by doing this also. It took a year to housebreak her but I was told it couldn't be done so I am pleasantly surprised.


  • We too have a pretty strict feeding schedule. We feed once at about 7:00 in the morning (only allowing about 1/2 hour before we put the dish up) and once in the evening at about 6:30 with the same rules. She's only not eaten about twice but since it's twice daily I don't feel too bad about her waiting until the next meal. But I've heard of training methods that invololve feeding and heard some will keep food away for as long as 1 day and a half up to two days without food! I personally couldn't do that.


  • O.k so it will be O.k that until he learns that he has a cetain amount of time to eat we starve him..Just kidding. O.k if it will work towards the potty then will do.


  • I feed in the crate also; it builds a happy feeling about the crate. And I put the food in…what isn't eaten comes out in 20 minutes (though there is never any left). Adults at at 7:30ish every morning, and 5:00ish in the evening. Bella has to have a mid day snack, or else she barfs. Puppy Ariel gets a snack mid day also.


  • I feed twice a day and always in their crates… they get 20 mins to eat and if not gone, it is taken away... They learn to eat what is given to them... to baby them or keep changing to find things they might like better is never the right thing to do, nor IMO is free feeding....
    My oldest male (now 15 1/2) had a terrible time eating... he would eat one day and not the next.. but I never changed my routine... he like the others got their food and either he ate or he didn't... and believe me, unless really sick they will eat when they are hungry... One thing about not free feeding is that once your Basenji is on a schedule and then doesn't eat, you can be sure there is something going on....
    However, don't confuse that with an elderly dog.... My Maggii is in the last stages of renal failure (she is also 15 1/2) and has been this way since last July... she gets whatever she will eat... in addition to SubQ fluids every two to three days....


  • Thanks for the feedback.


  • Both dogs get fed in their own crates. They're usually anxiously waiting in the crates before I can get there with the bowls. btw - Daisy (14 weeks) is now crate trained - not potty trained yet, but we're getting there. I am hopeful that another month and she'll be good. It's mostly that we are not vigilant enough because we are not home - working and busy when we are home. My husband and son have agreed to step up the training to be more consistent with my plan. (fingers and paws crossed)


  • Both dogs get fed in their own crates. They're usually anxiously awaiting in crates and gobble it all up. They're both little eating machines. btw - Daisy is now crate trained - She hunkers down for a peaceful nap before we've even left the house. 🙂


  • We follow a strict schedule…it's 6am wake up & out for a potty & nice long walk (with a backpack 🙂 ha!) and then it's time to feed at 7am...I give them about 20 minutes but REALLY they scarf it down in about under 5 minutes!!! :eek: One would think we starve them!

    Before dinner they go out for a potty another walk (weather permitting) and then back home to eat at about 7pm.

    I like to make them work (nothing in life is free not even for spoiled Bs LOL) for their food too...they have to do their "job" before they eat & it's the same routine EVERY DAY (weekends too 🙂 )

    1st-We walk
    2nd-We wait patiently for our food in a sit/relaxed position. They are not allowed to crowd the cook (that's ME) at the counter while food prepping.
    3-They must go into their crates and sit BEFORE I set their bowl down.

    I like to give them discipline & rules for feeding otherwise there could be fights but it also teaches them that I feed them on my terms. There's no knocking the dish out of my hands or jumping on me for food. They need to respect me & I will give them everything they need 🙂


  • We feed once a day, in the evening (6.30pm). Four are in crates while they eat and two others in a seperate part of the house are not in crates.

    We give them treats in the morning after they go potty. We let them out again before we leave for work and they get hooves and sometimes a chicken jerky in their crates as we leave for work.

    Same thing everyday…..except show weekends.


  • Even on weekends, wow u r good. I'm not a morning person and I like that Champ has become flexible in the am but I do have a schedule during the week. And now that the nice weather is here I'll do the 1hr walk before breakfast and dinner. He is good about waiting patiently for his food. He sits and waits until I move away and then eats, but not all at once. Slowly but surely we are both working on our training.


  • Sophie and Stick are fed once a day around 7pm. Funny story- we learned quickly after we got Stick that if his bladder wasn't completely empty before we fed him he would pee while standing up…still eating! :rolleyes: Craziest thing I've ever seen. He seemed to have no idea that he was doing it! LOL.


  • he would pee while standing up…still eating!

    Ok that's funny! I have never heard of that.


  • I feed twice a day. 6:am and 6:pm. They eat it right away. Sugar, Zina and Damisi are fed in crates, Shadow and Calli are fed out of crates. Bowls are picked up as soon as they're done (about 1 and a half minutes!!) until next feeding.


  • Cali is on a strict feeding schedule 2 times a day. Between 6:30-7:00a and 6-6:30p 7 days a week. Of course I would like to sleep in on weekends, but we do better on a schedule. I usually leave a treat and ice cube in her crate before I leave for work and one Kong. This may sound strange, but Cali does not eat her food out of her bowl. She only drinks her water out of her bowl. I normally put her kibble on a plate (yes a plate, I am crazy:o ) or feed her from her Kong. I have 3 med size Kongs and will fill 2-3 up and place them in different places around the house for her to find. She loves this game because she thinks she is hunting for her own food. For some reason she does not like eating out of her bowl. I noticed this the first few weeks that I had her. She would go days without eating so I finally decided to try a plate and she loves it:) She has her own plate.


  • We feed twice a day, around 7:30 AM and 5:30 PM.

    We used to feed once a day, but found Jazzy gains weight very easily, and splitting up her feeding seems to make a huge difference. She gets 3/4 cup in the AM, 1/3 cup in the PM. Mid-day she gets a snack, and late evening she gets a rawhide, peanut butter Kong, peanut butter or cheese/kibble stuffed bone, or something long those lines.


  • I tried the scheduling and it seems our B is now eating less. So I went back to leaving his food out although come Monday it's full day in the ccrate (1st time) and I don't think it's big enough for him to have food, a blanket and his favorite toy-ball so I guess he'll be force to eat when feed. Wish me luck. I like that idea about hiding the toys with food around the house. I think our B would love that except he won't even look at his kong.


  • <_>

    He may eat less in the beginning, but he WILL eat when he is hungry. That is the idea, you are training him to eat. If he is leaving some food, you might be feeding him too much._


  • This whole training thing is so new to us. I had a toy poodle before and training was never used so we're still learning. There is alot to learn so thanks for all the suggestions and feedback.

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