Do you have more than one dog? Do you have more than two dogs? How many dogs do you have in your household? Have you considered ‘What is the best area in my home to feed multiple dogs?’
Now I have three Australian Kelpies, who are great companions and get on well with each other. Did this affection for each other happen overnight? No, it did not!
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I had to work patiently and consistently to encourage my dogs to accept a newcomer, in the case of my Kelpies, the newcomer was usually an eight-week-old puppy. Puppies, as we know can be full on, and get into the adult dog’s face, and of course, the adult dog is not always ready for this intrusion.
Besides this, my dogs seem to say to me ‘I thought this was just a sleepover, and now this puppy is still here, what is going on?’
It is easy when you have a new puppy with older dogs as puppies have their own feed time timetable. Puppies usually are fed three to four times a day. The place where I do this is in my kitchen with the new puppy and I make sure my older dogs are outside so that my new puppy can eat where it is calm and quiet.
Before these feeding times, I would normally start teaching my puppy a few basic exercises, for example, a sit, a down/drop, and a stand. It is so easy to start this way as my puppy is ready to eat and therefore eager to learn something new so that he or she can enjoy the reward. The reward is parts of the meal whilst learning, and then when the learning time is completed, it’s party time with my new puppy being able to gleefully devour the remaining yummy food.
Back to the question ‘What is the best area in my home to feed multiple dogs?’
As my puppy grows and is adult enough to eat with my other dogs, I feed my dogs one at a time, with them all sitting in a row behind one another. The new puppy learns that he or she is the last one in the row and needs to patiently wait for the food bowl.
It goes without saying that by this time my puppy has learned the value of the sit cue and realises that he or she now has to stay in this position until it is their turn to be fed.
If the meal is moist and could make a mess on my kitchen floor, my dogs eat outside. And yes, they still line up in their designated spots and need to wait calmly for their turn to receive their food.
Sometimes I will even have them perform other cues before their meal, I may even ask for a down/drop position. They seem to like the anticipation of what I may ask them to do for me and will do it happily. I am sure that meal in the bowl has something to do with this anticipation!
If the weather is cold and wet, I have an undercover area outside that we can use for their mealtime when the food is moist and likely to make a mess. Mind you, my dogs do not eat slowly, it’s off we go, and the food is gulped down. This is why I provide dishes for them that have divisions to slow them down so that the gulping of their food is slowed somewhat!
They do love to eat inside though. This can be accomplished when their meal does not make a mess on the floor and again, they each have their spots where they are to remain whilst each one receives their food.
Thankfully, they will each clean each other’s plates, talk about dishwashers, they leave their bowls squeaky clean.
As you can see from the above, I make sure all my dogs are ready and have been trained to offer their best manners when eating near one another, and I keep a watchful eye on them. This is to safeguard each of my beloved pets so that they do not take extra liberties.
If your question is “What is the best area in my home to feed multiple dogs?”, I trust that you will make sure all your dogs are well-trained so that there are no incidences that put either of your dogs in danger from one of their mates. Consistent and patient training is highly recommended, as each dog is unique and special.
Would You Like to Continue Your Dog’s Education?
For My Series on Further Dog Training Use This Link
Until next time…
With Love, Success and Inspiration,
Robin Oliver
www.robinoliveronline.com/blog
