Puppy eating habits

[tesslynn]

good to know

Enzo was like this when we first brought him home (clearly a familial trait!) What helped us was to feed him by hand, and when he lost interest, he was done. It also helped that our other dogs inhale their food, and he wanted to know what they were doing/eating. But, the rule is that they are not allowed to check out each others' bowls until the dog walks away. He learned quickly that if he wanted to check out any of the other bowls, he better eat up!

He still doesn't love a treat (he always takes them readily, but it's clear he weighs his options when training), but he SCARFS his food and is now our fastest eater

The girls are have their own eating areas. Kaleigh would probably scarf anything down before Savannah got to it so I knew they had to have their own protected places. I wondered if it had something to do with Kaleigh being from a one pup litter-no competition for food, and Savannah having 6 in her litter and her brothers were bigger, so I am thinking they probably got theirs first. She drinks a lot more than Kaleigh ever did, but can hold it longer. Despite her intake she is getting more solid, so maybe she utilizes calories better? Who knows, she is thriving so I figure she is fine. They are such opposites, I figure together they make the perfect sheltie, ha.

 

[Alistriwen]

Plato is almost 11 weeks and a good eater. I've been practicing the nothing in life is free training method as much as possible and I think Plato likes to know he did something to earn his meal. He *always* has to do something for me before I put down his food bowl. Usually it's something simple like sit / shake. Once the bowl hits the ground though he eats every last bite. He sometimes digs at the bottom of the bowl after as though there's more hidden underneath. Maybe this happened sometimes when he was eating pablum at the breeder? It's cute either way.

My older sheltie, Lucky always used to eat his food where the people were. If I was right next to his bowl he'd eat continuously. If I was in another room he'd bring the food to me, chew it where I could see him then go back and get more. When my sister and mother got a little Yorkie Tyson years back the thing would steal Lucky's food all the time and get in his face while he ate. Lucky quickly learned a trick though where he'd toss a few kibbles out at Tyson to eat so he could munch undisturbed. It was cute and proof of how smart shelties really are.