Weird behaviour

[futuramafan]

Molly has always been bossy but something weird seems to be going on. Wallace suddenly won't eat anything and Molly is eating his food. This is a new thing - it used to be that she left a mouthful knowing that Wallace try and scoff it and then she'd run in and tell him off. Now she heads him off when he comes for a fuss and he just hangs back when treats are on offer and at dinner time. He looks stressed too. I've tried feeding them separately but nothing is helping. Any ideas??

[julies]

I tend to have strict rules about food cos I don't want any arguments and food is a great resource to squabble over .. just try taking my red wine off me

I always stand between mine when they eat - they're at either end of the (small) kitchen and when I first have a new dog I take up food bowls and don't allow either to eat from the others dish. Now mine are more settled the faster one has to wait, out of eye contact of the other (cos eye-balling can make the other move), when the slower one moves away from the dish they can swop but only as long as there's no pushing each other out of food dishes. In the 'wild' fitter healthy dogs get the better food and gradually the older, creakier, less assertive dog will be pushed out and left to find scraps whilst I don't interfere in their pecking order I don't allow any pushing around of the other dog- in my expereience the other dog can sometimes have a huge aggressive reaction to the other and you have major damage

Good luck, hope they settle down

J x

[gvgeam]

We keep the dog food in the cellar. When we have a foster, I know that Maple will guard the cellar door and make sure the guest isn't allowed in the kitchen as in her head only she is allowed to know where the food comes from. If she does this, I don't even speak to her as I don't want to reinforce the behaviour.

So at feeding time, they are shut out of the kitchen, either outside or in the hall, while I get the food out. Initially I feed them in separate areas that I can control. For example, Maple has hers in the kitchen while the guest's is served on the back step. This way I've got a door between them and Madam Maple can't rush her food and then try to 'bully' the guest out of any.

When Buck was here, we started off with this, but by the time he left, they were both being fed in the kitchen and made to 'wait' after the food was put down before starting to eat.

Also, when Buck first arrived, Maple wouldn't let him near me. She was like a goalkeeper and I was the net! After advice from Lisa, we completely ignored the pair of them, and she gave up and accepted that Buck could have a fuss just as much as her (although she's not a 'fussy' dog). By telling her off, we would have inadvertently praised her and she'd have done it more.

Hope this helps a bit and they settle.

[gazer]

You say you are feeding them separately but Molly is eating his food ?

I would completely separate them at mealtimes so Wallace feels safer while he is eating, make a fuss of him when he starts to eat too.

My dogs are always fed apart, I watch them every mealtime, if there is a problem then having food about can escalate things badly.  My lot don't tend to leave anything but they are only allowed near each other when the bowls are completely empty.

For some reason Molly seems to be more dominate than usual, can you think of anything that's happened to change her.

[jodav]

There is some emotion attached to eating -and I agree that dogs need to feel safe and relaxed to eat with confidence when they live with other dogs. If not, separation by room or time, patience and praise when the dog eats. I always watch my two eat and there are never any pecking order problems. Lucky maybe, dogs that co-exist happily maybe I'm not sure but what I do think is - forget about dogs in the wild, or hierarchical theory and be in charge of the resource so that all the dogs eventually get to eat without anxiety.

[Ted]

I use to have to watch Kelly as she would try to pinch the other three Hounds food as she is very greedy. However of late she has realised she like the other three get their two meals a day. Kelly will still clean the other Hounds bowls if they leave a very small amount after they have had their food. These days there is no pecking order over food, sometimes I find they like me to hold their food dish for them while they eat their food.