Aggressive Eaters
Ein & Faye are great dogs and you can take anything away from them, or put your hand right over or into their dish while they are eating without incident. But get them anywhere near one another - even if they are just crated side by side - and introduce food, and you are asking for a fight.
They didn't start out quite that aggressive, and in the past, Ein has been very submissive about it, preferring not to get into a fight. However Faye is very possessive of food - including food which isn't hers - so we have taken to feeding them separately - Ein in the kitchen and Faye in her crate in the living room in order to avoid problems. But we still have to usher Ein outside when he's done so that Faye won't come attack him when she's done eating and we let her out.
I know there must be something we can do to make them less aggressive with food around one another, but I do not know where to start. Does anyone else have issues like this with their Corgis? (Ein is Male and Faye is female if that helps. She is dominant). I would really love to get to a place where they aren't ready for a fight whenever food is involved!
They didn't start out quite that aggressive, and in the past, Ein has been very submissive about it, preferring not to get into a fight. However Faye is very possessive of food - including food which isn't hers - so we have taken to feeding them separately - Ein in the kitchen and Faye in her crate in the living room in order to avoid problems. But we still have to usher Ein outside when he's done so that Faye won't come attack him when she's done eating and we let her out.
I know there must be something we can do to make them less aggressive with food around one another, but I do not know where to start. Does anyone else have issues like this with their Corgis? (Ein is Male and Faye is female if that helps. She is dominant). I would really love to get to a place where they aren't ready for a fight whenever food is involved!
Comment
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Comment by Jess, Ein, Faye & Wilson! on March 5, 2010 at 9:44am
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That's what my husband and I are thinking - we're going to go back to feeding them in the same room at the same time, but on a leash so we can correct their bad behavior if they try to dive for the other dog. Hopefully in a few weeks they will have some "table manners"!
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Comment by Bev Levy on March 4, 2010 at 10:12pm
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Also, if you leash them at first it will help you gain control quicker.
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I only had to supervise mine while eating for a couple weeks. They know they are not allowed to check each others food dish. Sparty can become very aggressive with other dogs over food so this is something I had to work with him on. I make it clear whose is whose and they sit until the food is down one at a time, Even with the doberman that eats a lot more so she is done later they leave her alone with her food. At first I had to watch and stop them from standing around her food dish but now the corgis leave her alone. You do need them to mind basic commands though.
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Comment by Michelle on March 4, 2010 at 9:48pm
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I have one that is a slow and methodical, will sneak up on her bowl like it is going to bolt and run. Our male, her son, eats like a Hoover Vac. This is not something that just started he was such a pig that as a puppy he would attempt to crowd the other puppies out of the food bowl. We would have to remove him from the pack once we felt that he had "enough" food. Needless to say we feed in seperate rooms....but he will always check moms bowl just see if a crumb is left. You have to love the headstrong little buggers.
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Individually, both dogs are great with sit and wait. I usually make them sit calmly and then "shake" before I tell them to "take it". I never have problems with this when they are apart.
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Comment by Stephanie on March 4, 2010 at 8:29pm
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I need to work on the sit, wait thing - Bear has started barking and jumping around like crazy at meal time - even though they don't bother one another, it drives me insane.
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Comment by Beth on March 4, 2010 at 5:34pm
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Whoops, I didn't make clear that you put them in a sit, put the food down and then say "Wait" after the food is already on the floor. They can't go for the bowl til you give your release word. Sorry!
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Ah, ok, I see. :) If your dogs will ignore you and rush past you to get to one another, then it sounds like they are maybe not respecting your position as much as the could. Try googling "Nothing in life is free" and institute that program. If it were me, I would feed them in separate rooms (with a door) for awhile til you get them under your control. The rule is the food goes in the bowl, you say "sit" and the dog's fanny hits the ground. You say "wait" and the dog stays in place, eyes on YOU (not the bowl) til you give your release word ("Ok" works well). Only then can the dog eat. Be reasonable; I normally only make mine wait a few seconds, but sometimes I will walk away from the dish completely and repeat my "wait" command until I am good and ready, if I feel they've been getting pushy.
The first few times you may need to step between the dog and the bowl to stop them charging it. Once they realize that your legs are in the way, they usually give up quickly and look back at you. If you are standing right there, you ideally want to reach a point where your dog would not dream of going past you to pester the other dog. For Jack (who I've had longer), he has a solid "leave it" so if he goes towards Maddie I just say "leave it" in my stern voice. For Maddie, we use "Maddie" for our upbeat good girl version of her name, and "MaaddiSON" when she is bold. :) It works because then they know who is getting yelled at, and we never use the long version of her full name for praise or to get her attention, only for a scold when the other dog is behaving.
If my dogs try to push past me when there is food around, they get corrected in my very growly "I'm the biggest dog in the house, thank you very much" voice.
If you sharpen up your ability to "hold" them off of food til you give your ok, you should then be able to work to having them eat on opposite sides of the same room, then make the faster eater keep away from the slower one til both are done. At that point, pick up both dishes and put them out of reach. If you practice NILIF, they should respect you enough to not dare push past you to get to food, or the other dog who is eating it.
Good luck!
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Thanks for the tips Sunny. I imagine it is going to take a lot of practice with these two - I might have to work up to feeding them together, but I am definitely going to try this out. Thanks for the link as well. :)
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That's close to what we do, but having them both uncrated during meal time and feeding them at the same time just doesn't work. Neither one of them chews and the first to swallow the whole bowl will race toward the other (in search of crumbs as you've mentioned, I imagine) and attack.
I usually stand in the kitchen to chaperone while Ein eats and tell him to go outside when he's done; then my husband, who feeds Faye, will let her out of her crate when she's through and Ein is outside. It works, but it's not ideal. When we aren't both available during meal time, we just crate them both and feed them in the crates - which doesn't stop them from being crazy and wanting to attack, but at least they can't get out and we can shake a can at them to be quiet.
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