Silly Tillo. 😃
Oba is finally home!
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Your right, different things for different people. However the way you feed you never know who is eating what and how much and with free feeding if one is not eating, especially if they are sick, you would never know until it was obvious from losing weight.
This is my issue with free feeding…for example when C3PO was suddenly losing weight I could tell with much assurance that he was eating normally but still losing weight. I then began to gradually increase his food to address his problem. I don't know how you could gauge that if you free feed.
Mine have always eaten in their crates & it has helped with resource gaurding issues. IMO it gives my dogs some structure to what's expected of them. Sit nicely, eat quietly, & when you're done you're out.
Chew toys & raw hides & such are great for calming down dogs temporarily but they need a lot of exercise. In my experience with my hyper active boy he needs to release energy otherwise he becomes a royal PITA :eek:
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Hm…maybe it was just my particular dog growing up. She is a Austrailian Wolfhound & Austrailian Shepard Mix adopted from the Humane Society. We always fed her in her crate & if you even walked NEAR the crate while she was eating she would growl like crazy & leer at you. Kind of scary. We tried working on hand feeding her so as to change the behavior but even now she will still occasionally growl while eating if anyone goes near her. We tried feeding her outside of her crate too but then she almost attacked our other dog Marty.
That has nothing to do with the crate causing the problem, IMO….
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I was never a believer of feeding in the crate. When we got Leo they would do the bowl switch. Nexa thought they were both hers, she would get snarky if Leo approached. Leo just wanted to eat and didn't really care. We had Leo for about 2 weeks when Nexa got sick and we needed to put medication in her food. We crated her so she would get the medication, and 4 months later she still eats in the crate. There are no problems when they eat at all now. I will always feed them in crates now. Not only can you tell how much each dog is eating, there is no fighting or stress and they can both eat in peace.
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When I first got Daisy, I started feeding both her and Duke in their respective crates. It helped to crate train Daisy and associate her crate as a good place. They came to expect to receive their meals in their crates and ran into them when seeing me coming with the bowls. A couple months ago, I did some rearranging and now stack their crates and put in big comfy crate beds - no room for their food bowls. So I got an idea from sharronhurlbut - be consistent and feed the dogs in separate areas. I decided to feed Duke on the right side of a corner wall and Daisy on the left side around the corner wall. I don't put down their food until they are in their correct places. They seemed a little confused with this new feeding place at first - but it didn't take long but are ready and in position to eat - always.
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I agree with Daisy put the bowls in separate corners and stand in the middle any dog who tries to approach the other end of the room is being told of you´re the boss and they have respect your wishes same goes with chewing on stuff and not letting the other one alone.Baroo was their first so he should get treats,food,bones first but he still has to respect your will and leave Oba in peace to eat her share.And when Oba get´s over exited then it´s time for a time out in the crate.
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Just wanted to jump in to agree with everybody else- keep Baroo and Oba separated at mealtimes for now, otherwise the risk of resource-guarding/fights over food is very high. Maybe once Oba has settled in and knows the house rules, and where she fits into the family, you can start thinking about changing the eating arrangements.
I also wanted to add to remember to give Baroo his own special time alone with you, and if necessary, some time where Oba isn't bugging him. I think it'll help him through the process of accepting a new member into the pack.
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And please take off that choke chain when he is not on a leash…...
