Sharing food with a new OES.
Our Lennon is a 1 year old male and was our only dog for that time. Last weekend we decided to rescue Sofi, a 10 month OES female. Her former owner could not take care of her anymore and she lives with us. So far, Lennon and Sofi get along well, they run around the house, he shares his toys with her, run together in the park and they ride quietly in the car. However, we have noted some changes in Lennon's behaviour. He used to beg for food at the table, but he's not interested in doing so any more, also he chased everything we threw at him in the backyard, but his interest has diminished a lot. The most troublesome issue is that he's not letting Sofi eat, and he is not eating either. He just sits staring at his bowl and glowls at Sofi is she comes close. As soon as Sofi approaches to her bowl, he runs and blocks her path so she does not get food. The only way we can get them to eat is if one of us feeds them directly from our hand, then they will eat peacefully. My wife and I are concerned about these changes and wonder if they are permanent or if is just part of the adjustment process. Can you give us any ideas on how to teach Lennon to let Sofi eat? Thanks! Idania & Saul. |
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| first id like to say congrats on the new edition to the family. and whoever that is in your avatar is just adorable!
it sounds like lennon is becoming very territorial of his food. my oes walter has the same problem but he blocks people from getting there. i would first suggest making sure that sofi has a quiet place to eat where lennon can not bother her. i wish i knew how to change the behavior but until you can do so i would suggest a crate or a gated room where each puppy can take their turn eating in there alone. if lennon doesnt eat i probably would just pick up his food and try again the next day, eventually he'll get the idea that he has to eat at that time or hell go hungry. this wont make lennon want to share his food, but it will give both your pups a nice quiet space where they can eat their dinner in peace. hope this helps! |
| Hey congrats from me too!!!
Here's my experience with two dogs eating in the same room. Whatever you do don't put the food dishes near each other...always opposite corners, or better yet seperate rooms. What Lennon is doing is actually quite natural in the dog world, the Alpha Dog will always eat first and get the choice food. He's establishing his dominance over Sophie. For 14 years I had to let Shaggy and Blue eat on opposite sides of the kitchen or else Shaggy would walk over to Blue's food and he would stop eating. Same with having two bones...she'd walk over and get his and sit down with two of them, leaving him none. I wouldn't hand feed Sophie infront of him as Lennon may see this as an Alpha status from you. What happened with Blue eventually is he ate his food so quickly to prevent Shaggy eating his food once hers was finished. Not the best habit to have but that's how he coped. With the addition of Merlin and more experience I immediately fed him last - as he was the pup and the other dogs knew he was not getting the Alpha treament. Merlin from day one has eaten outside (on a covered porch) with the same bowl and I've never experienced any food arguments. You may have to simply feed them in different areas of the house, but Lennon first if he's Alpha as it appears he is. Sophie has to eat in a seperate area or else she's going to develope anxiety at food time, but this is just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you do! |
| Like you we had problems with the food situation when Baxter first joined us. We solved it by putting the food dishes in separate rooms....and either my husband or I stand between them while the dogs enjoy their dinner (just to stop any problems before they arise). Baxter usually finishes his dinner first and then wants to dash over and check if Sharkey left any in his dish. At that point, we put Baxter in a sit or down until Sharkey finishes. Once Sharkey finishes, Baxter is released from the sit or down and can check out Sharkey's dish.
By the way - we also ended up with separate water dishes for the boys. |
| Thanks for the advise!! Lil, Lennon is our avatar. I'll post some pictures of Sofi as soon as she allows us to take one (She hates the camera)
We got two water bowls and two food plates. A friend of mine who owns 5 dogs gave me the same advise, separate them and have the alpha one eat first, then serve the food to the others in separate areas. We did that last night and that reduced the anxiety from Lennon, but Sofi is still not touching her food. Seems that she's missing something, because all she does is sniff her plate and lick the food but not chew it... Maybe we should try chicken soup or something yummy to have her eat. How have you dealt with your dogs not wanting to eat? |
| Here's an update on Sofi and Lennon. They are peacefully eating now. Placing the two bolws apart and standing in the middle seemed to give her the confidence to start eating, but Lennon has to eat from both bowls first. Then they start switching bowls... Looks weird but it works.
Thank you all for the tips! |
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