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Post by 502amandab on Oct 22, 2008 20:06:02 GMT -5
Hi, I have 2 dogs currently, Diesel, my male pit, and Bailey, my female boxer.
I do keep them separated when we are gone, but bring them out in the house when we are home...Bailey is more dominate, and I have noticed she sometimes takes Diesels food....He has never shown any aggression toward her, and despite everything, will usually back up and let her have at it. (i do intervene and separate them at this point so diesel can eat...but I have caught him letting her eat his food this way)
The other night, after i prepared their dinner, i placed the bowls on separate ends of the kitchen, and didnt leave until i seen they were eating separatly...when i walked in the living room, i heard a snarl and bark..i ran in and it appeared Bailey had ate her food already, and was going after Diesel's, he pretty much just defended his food..but I wasnt sure how to react..
I took bailey and put her in the other room, and let diesel eat..but should i have desiplined him more than just a "No!" because thats really all i did..i didnt want him to think she can take his food, but at the same time, i dont want him thinking he can bully her either.
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Post by RealPitBull on Oct 23, 2008 7:31:01 GMT -5
Foodtime = separate crates, or separate (closed-door) rooms. Yelling/scolding after the fact will just set up feeding time to be more stressful than it already is and most likely cause more trouble than it will solve. Crating is the safest way to feed more than one dog at a time, unless you know you are a) going to be there the entire time watching, b) have the dogs a significant distance from each other, and c) pick up bowls/clear feeding areas after the dogs are done (fights can happen when one dog even *thinks* there is some more food to be had). If you teach your dogs that feeding happens in crates, not outside, they will be less likely to squabble after the fact.
Fighting for food is normal canine behavior, and precautions should always be taken when feeding more than one dog.
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Post by emilys on Oct 23, 2008 10:10:59 GMT -5
Corrections are only meaningful when applied DURING the unwanted behavior. So unless you corrected Bailey while she was going for Diesel's food, it wouldn't do anything.
But dogs often fight over prized possessions and of course food is one of the most highly prized. PREVENTION is the key to safe management. Feed the dogs separately. And SUPERVISE. Really, how long will that take? In the case of my dogs, they all finish eating within 1 minute of the time I set down the bowls. I don't feed mine in crates, but they are all at different spots and if one finishes early, I DO NOT LET HIM approach either of the other dogs. It's also a great time to teach obedience and the message that YOU control the resources. Make them both "sit" and "stay" before you put down a bowl of food. If you think they don't know how.. well, it's amazing how quickly a dog will learn when there's something it really wants at stake.
The same with toys, too. Don't let one of the dogs steal from the other, even if it seems tolerated. Supervise their playtime.
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Post by valliesong on Oct 23, 2008 16:23:18 GMT -5
I crate all three of mine when I feed them. Heck, I even have to separate the cats or they will fight over their food. It's just not worth putting them through the stress of competition or the risk of injury.
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Post by maryellen on Oct 24, 2008 12:47:38 GMT -5
i stand and watch all mine eat so that no one goes to the others bowls. if i am eating and you tried to take my food i would probably fork your hand LOL.,, but i dont like to share, and neither do dogs. just feed in their crates or separate rooms, once finished remove all bowls too
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mageedog
Member
Yes, he is a Pitbull. He would love it if you pet him!
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Post by mageedog on Dec 2, 2008 23:07:02 GMT -5
I vote for crating them during feeding. I always crated MaGee at feeding time even before I had Diesel, since I have curious cats. Now that I have the both of them, it is a MUST. At the very least, separate rooms and supervision.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 3, 2008 2:18:39 GMT -5
Same here...prevention is key. Cajun eats in the same spot in the kitchen, Jasmine eats in her crate. This is so routine that when their bowls come out to prepare their food, Jazz shoots into her crate to wait. When they are both done, I open her crate and they immediately both go check out the other's bowl. In my house, Caj is the one who gets the dropped chip...Jazz will give him space but as they mature out, she is tolerating his snarks less. So being proactive and attentive is very important. I wouldn't feed them in the same area just for the sake of keeping their mealtime stress-free. I don't want them racing to eat as fast as they can b/c another dog is too close.
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lola1
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Post by lola1 on Dec 6, 2008 1:50:30 GMT -5
My dogs eat at the same time in the same area (within a few feet of each other) and in fact they eat out of their own bowls for a while, then they switch and check each others bowls out. Is that because neither of them is really mature yet? They are 9 mos and 13 mos now. I have had zero problems so far, and I do stand near them in case something happens, but nothing has. Am I just being one of those owners that thinks "it won't happen to me" as far as aggression?
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 6, 2008 3:48:22 GMT -5
My opinion is that there are three resources that I feel are important enough for a canine to fight to the death for: Territory, procreation and food. It's great that yours aren't having problems and seem to be doing fine. But is it so important that you feed them this way or are you willing to chance a first time event which could very well be minor or serious? I try to avoid "what if" situations and a disagreement over a high value resource such as food could result in a really bad outcome. You know your dogs, you know your situation and it's your decision, but I prefer to feed mine seperately. On another note, how can you be sure that one dog isn't eating more than his ration if they change bowls throughout the meal? I wouldn't want to share my plate of food with someone every single meal...just doesn't seem enjoyable to me. But hey, they may be happy as can be with this arrangement.
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 6, 2008 3:53:37 GMT -5
One last thought, your dogs are not close to maturing yet. I would consider them both in adolescence at these ages. You very likely will see changes as they get older, more so if you have a same sex pair.
My dogs recently turned 3 years old (they are littermates) and I'm seeing some behavioral changes, namely lowered tolerance with each other in certain situations.
In my experience, this breed is slow to mature. You shouldn't become complacent as they age, the way they are now is not who they'll be in a year, two years, etc.
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 6, 2008 10:09:40 GMT -5
My dogs eat at the same time in the same area (within a few feet of each other) and in fact they eat out of their own bowls for a while, then they switch and check each others bowls out. Is that because neither of them is really mature yet? They are 9 mos and 13 mos now. I have had zero problems so far, and I do stand near them in case something happens, but nothing has. Am I just being one of those owners that thinks "it won't happen to me" as far as aggression? I'd not recommend this set up, and if they eat in the same area, they should at least be at opposite ends of the room. I'd also be concerned about the food sharing - you want to make sure each dog is getting the proper amount and one dog isn't missing out on allotted food. Not to mention, this is a great way to get one dog really P.O'd at another - it only takes a flash for a fight to break out. Another important factor here is that your dogs are babies. They aren't mature yet, and their behavior could easily change at the drop of a hat. And you don't want your dogs ever learning that 'aggression works'. You need to set them up at every possible turn to SUCCEED. To me, these current eating arrangements are setting them up to FAIL. Once a dog uses aggression and find that it works, he will use it again. A simple snap or showy squabble could later brew into some real animosity between the dogs, especially in the presence of valuable resources. The dog learns he can get what he wants by using aggression, so he'll keep using it, often at intensifying levels. Lastly, dogs will be dogs.......... I use an example of my grandparents' two mixed breed female dogs (no Pit Bull blood in either, both generic mixes, one a Siberian X, the other lord knows what). They lived together for many years with absolutely no problems, and then one day - boom! They fought over a rawhide (which was always laying around the house somewhere). My grandmother called one afternoon hysterical that the two dogs were 'killing each other, blood is everywhere'. I instructed her to throw cold water on both dogs which thankfully stopped the fight immediately. After that day, they stopped leaving resources laying around. Resource guarding is natural behavior. With Pit Bulls, your odds are stacked in favor of dog-on-dog resource-related aggression popping up at some point in time, so why help those odds? Why not stack them a little more in YOUR favor, by feeding separately and keeping doggy valuables under lock n key unless you are right there to keep an eye on things?
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Post by purplepaws121 on Dec 6, 2008 11:40:36 GMT -5
Yikes- what a thing for your grandmother to have to go through!!
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lola1
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Lola and Reed
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Post by lola1 on Dec 6, 2008 14:02:07 GMT -5
Ok I will have to start feeding them in their crates then I guess. We started out feeding them at opposite ends of the kitchen and they still would push their bowls around and end up near each other. It's not a problem feeding them separately, I just am inexperienced, and thought since there were no problems it must be ok. It makes sense though that I am setting them up to fail by doing that. I will definitely start feeding in the crate. Thanks
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Post by bamapitbullmom on Dec 6, 2008 14:10:06 GMT -5
It will just be one less thing to worry about, lola. I am proud of your choice to want to keep your dogs safe and prevent problems where you can. The dogs are really not going to care where they eat, as long as they get their goodies!
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Post by RealPitBull on Dec 8, 2008 9:17:57 GMT -5
Good idea, Lola, glad you will be crating them. Just cuz there are no problems now, doesn't mean there won't be later. You are awesome for not assuming and opening yourself up to learn. Brava!
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