Ben isn't a pup anymore. He's a handsome adult!
The Education of Ben
Ferguson K
Herd Master
He sure is growing up!
Baymule
Herd Master
They are being good, lying down and minding their manners. But their eyes are glued to those pans! LOL
- Thread starter
- #394
Beekissed
Herd Master
Yes...and if I make them wait too long, there will be little ropes of drool left behind on the ground when I tell them it's okay. 
It's all good practice, though, for when I can't do the feeding and someone else has to, like my ol' 82 yr old Ma...she's really little and is easily intimidated by big ol' Ben, so it's nice that they lie down automatically when the food is dished out.
It's all good practice, though, for when I can't do the feeding and someone else has to, like my ol' 82 yr old Ma...she's really little and is easily intimidated by big ol' Ben, so it's nice that they lie down automatically when the food is dished out.
babsbag
Herd Master
So making Jake wait for food made him eat more slowly? That is interesting. I have one that is done eating before I even get the the others fed. I have been thinking about getting her a puzzle bowl to slow her down. She has never been told to wait for her food, she isn't pushy about it so I don't really tell her to wait but maybe I can get her to wait a little bit and see if that slows her down.
- Thread starter
- #396
Beekissed
Herd Master
The longer I make him wait and if I can get him to a calm state where he's not like a spring waiting to spring loose on that food dish, he eats much slower than normal. Before I was doing this, he would eat so fast he would choke and have to puke up his food and then eat it again. Quite gross.
I'd never really had a dog like him before and I think he might have gotten that way from being part of a huge litter that his mother couldn't feed adequately, so there may have been some issues of having to eat fast in order to get enough to eat. When I brought him home, his manner of eating spurred my older female GP mix to eat faster too...before that she would just work on her food all day long, but when he arrived, she started gulping her food too....probably to keep him from eating it if she left any behind.
I honestly think Ben would be an all day food snacker if Jake was not around, wolfing down his meals like a maniac. Ben has slowed down on his eating and is being far more casual about it all than he was as a pup. Jake will never be a casual eater, so making him wait has been the only thing I've found that will at least slow him down enough to keep him from choking and puking. So far it's working pretty well.
Another thing that helps is using a dog food that has smaller bits instead of larger. Found that one out by accident when I switched dog food and found out it was the size of puppy kibble...and it actually slowed Jake down more. Guess it took longer to get all those little morsels and eat them than just shoveling all the big stuff into his gob and swallowing without actually chewing.
Baymule
Herd Master
I wish my dogs would eat their food fast! This morning we watched out the back window as the sheep piled in on Paris's food from last night. My husband went out and ran them off, then Paris decided that she wanted it. We then watched the "dance" between dog, sheep and dog food. She gobbled her food while keeping an eye on the slowly creeping sheep. When they got too close she lunged and barked, they ran, she started eating again and they started creeping again. We were laughing so hard! Over and over and over. Finally she laid down next to her bowl, we sat down and finished our coffee, but I bet in the end, the sheep won and ate the rest of her dog food.
- Thread starter
- #398
Beekissed
Herd Master
That's EXACTLY how Lucy would eat....lunging at the waiting sheep as they creep ever closer! Every day,same ritual....sheep weren't really scared by it or they would never have attempted the jaws of death, but there they were at feeding time every day. Poor Lucy had sheep and chickens on one side and Jake eating faster than a piranha on the other...and her with her worn down teeth, trying to eat faster than she likes to do. Comical but kinda sad at the same time.
Finally switched her over to homemade dog food that didn't appeal to the sheep, something soft and full of meat and rice and such that she could eat well with those old teeth. That just left the chickens and Jake to contend with. 
Bruce
Herd Master
Maybe Paris needs a "safe from sheep" place to eat!
Baymule
Herd Master
I have closed the gate to keep them out, but she was eating good, so left it open. So naturally she decides to be picky..... LOL
