Mealtime Madness!

When I recently asked what topics multiple dog owners wanted to see covered in this blog, one of the most frequent responses was help with feeding time! Feeding a multiple dog household without having any issues at all can seem challenging at times, but it is possible to have a relaxing mealtime experience. Some households just have to work at it a little harder than others, but don’t let that worry you. Practice makes perfect.

Impulse control exercises are something that every multiple dog household should employ. These are especially important at mealtimes. Creating structure within your crew should be your first priority. Structure gives your crew boundaries and boundaries are important in a multiple dog household, especially when high value resources are concerned. Food is a pretty high value resource, as any dog owner can attest to, let alone those with a multiple dog household.

Now some of you may be wondering what the big deal is. You have no problems at mealtimes, right? Why should anyone else? Well, just like humans, dogs each have different personalities. Some are more easy going, some are less so. Some don’t care whether someone is right up in their face while eating, some resent this so strongly, they would take it to a level that we would prefer that they avoid. It is your responsibility as the human in the equation to not only prevent such a rude gesture but to train your crew for such an occurrence so that it is something that they can handle briefly as they know you will tend to it.

And as far as training for this goes, if any of your dogs have issues that affect mealtimes, accepting this and taking steps to deal with them is a good first start to a happy mealtime experience. Serious resource guarding issues are best handled by a behavior professional that can be on the spot, tailoring the modification to the dog’s needs. If you need such a behavior professional, feel free to email us for assistance with finding a qualified one in your area.

In the meantime, management is the key to safety. Separate or crate for feeding to prevent issues from arising. Separating can include tethering in the same room if it is large enough, provided you are comfortable with the strength of the tether/tether holder and the guarding is not severe.

If your dog’s issues are simply a lack of impulse control, then teaching a solid sit, down and a wait or stay are your key to mealtime peace. In order to do this successfully, the cues need taught individually to each dog at first and then you can start combining dogs until you can do this en masse. Impulse control is always harder for a group of dogs as opposed to an individual dog so one-on-one work has to be the first order of business for best success. Dogs are naturally competitive as a species. Survival of the fittest and all is in their DNA. It is up to us to teach them that we as their guardians are meeting all their needs and making sure that everyone is acting appropriately. Dogs who have a clear leader will learn to respect that leadership.

Leadership is in no way, shape or form comparable to dominance. Throw that word out of your vocabulary. I am not talking about being a ruler. I am talking about being a parent. Setting and enforcing polite boundaries will go a long way towards having a calm mealtime in your multiple dog home.

It really all comes down to impulse control. Teach that to each of your dogs and you will be happier come feeding time. Excitement over mealtime that exhibits itself in barking, whining, etc. must never be rewarded, And when I say “rewarded”, that includes negative words such as “no”, etc. ANY marking of a behavior maintains or increases said behavior. No functions as a marker word just as much as a hearty “yes!” for desired behavior! The sooner that you understand that, the happier that you and your crew will be. Trust me on this!

Bad behavior needs to be ignored, provided safety is not an issue. And when I say ignored, I mean that a barking or whining or otherwise exhibiting lack of impulse control behavior dog, should NOT be acknowledged in any way. This means that when your dog is barking, you do not feed him to shut him up faster. You wait until the moment that he is quiet and you get the food closer. He barks again, the forward movement of the food stops. He is quiet, it resumes. Wordlessly. That is the REALLY important part. You only reward with the forward movement of the food. The actions are saying what you need said. You will be surprised at how well you can instruct without words.

With all of these impulse control exercises, you also need to teach a release word. A release word is going to let your dog(s) know from here on in that they can now move. You must be consistent with this cue in order for it to have the most meaning. While I very much prefer you that not use such an overused word as “ok!”, I have accepted that many people do use this. So if you insist on going that route, please at least say it in such a way that it sounds different than the usual way that you use it, for the dog’s sakes! Other release words are “free!”, “all done!”, “go ahead!”, “release!” or even just “eat” for meals. It can depend on the context.

Consistency with cues and structure will help your crew’s impulse control talents to be in a better place. Mealtimes can’t help but be calmer.