I need help breaking my lgd from social eating

[AuntJamie]

I got a Great Pyrenees puppy about 6 weeks ago to guard the chickens. We had trouble getting him to eat in the beginning. After some trial and error we figured out Ricky likes to have company while he eats. It's working, he's putting on good weight finally.
We don't always have the time to stand there coddling him while he eats. He needs to be able to do this on his own.
Does anybody have any experience with this? How to break this habit? Starve him into eating by himself? I'd rather take a kinder approach if possible.
AJ

 

[andreanar]

Yes, I had this with an English Setter. Breeder and trainer told me to feed him on a schedule, around the same times every day. 2 times a day put the food down and walk away. Leave the food down for 20 minutes then pick it up whether he ate or not. This did work, it took 9 days and then he had it down. He was never a robust eater and always had trouble keeping weight on.

 

[AuntJamie]

Thank you for your response. I hope it takes less than 9 days. He needs the weight, IMO.

 

[andreanar]

Thank you for your response. I hope it takes less than 9 days. He needs the weight, IMO.

I can imagine, Ive been there! I hope it does take you less time than it took my dog. But I had made many mistakes before trying this method: giving treats, so he wasn't too hungry when I put the food down! I also was mixing yummies in his food to get him interested, which just ended up making him finicky! Ugh. My ex husband would always feel sorry and stay in the room when he ate. It was my first dog so he was my trial and error pet haha poor soul.

 

[TalkALittle]

Sometimes being in the presence of another animal eating can encourage a social eater to eat. It lets you wean them off the need for a human to be present. Do you have any other animals you can feed him alongside?

 

[AuntJamie]

I can imagine, Ive been there! I hope it does take you less time than it took my dog. But I had made many mistakes before trying this method: giving treats, so he wasn't too hungry when I put the food down! I also was mixing yummies in his food to get him interested, which just ended up making him finicky! Ugh. My ex husband would always feel sorry and stay in the room when he ate. It was my first dog so he was my trial and error pet haha poor soul.

I'll make sure every body is on board with the no coddling. We gotta nip this in the bud. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Sometimes being in the presence of another animal eating can encourage a social eater to eat. It lets you wean them off the need for a human to be present. Do you have any other animals you can feed him alongside?

We have the chickens, which are only interested in bullying him into "sharing" his food. We also have barn cats who want nothing to do with him. Great idea, though.

 

[AuntJamie]

Ricky ate about 2/3s of his food this morning! No canned food mixed in, no water, no watching. Maybe he's outgrowing this?

 

[andreanar]

Ricky ate about 2/3s of his food this morning! No canned food mixed in, no water, no watching. Maybe he's outgrowing this?

 

[dainerra]

an important thing to remember is, you WANT him to be a bit on the thinner side. Not knowing his actual body condition it's hard to say but I know that the majority of people think that pups should be round little butterballs. Actually, they should be on the thin side. A growing pup will go through stages where he looks downright starved but they don't last long. It simply means that more energy went into height/length and less into actual body.
Adults should actually have ribs visible, not like a washboard but defined definition.

 

[AuntJamie]

an important thing to remember is, you WANT him to be a bit on the thinner side. Not knowing his actual body condition it's hard to say but I know that the majority of people think that pups should be round little butterballs. Actually, they should be on the thin side. A growing pup will go through stages where he looks downright starved but they don't last long. It simply means that more energy went into height/length and less into actual body.
Adults should actually have ribs visible, not like a washboard but defined definition.

Then he's probably about perfect. Thanks.