It's not working! Feeding the puppies!

[gritsar]

Jax is going to be 11 months old soon. Kane turned 10 weeks old yesterday.
We supplement Jax's food more than Kanes, because Kane is still adjusting to the diet.
At first we fed them with a puppy gate between them, but Jax wasn't eating. He's a picky eater anyhow and he just sat and watched little brother eat through the gate without touching his own food.
We tried feeding them in the same room, with their bowls just a few feet apart, but Kane would hoover all his food up and then start in on Jax's. Then after a few meals like that, Jax started eating all his food and then scarfing up Kane's. Now it's Jax in Kane's food and Kane in Jax's food. If I seperate them to completely different rooms, Jax doesn't eat at all and Kane whines and refuses to eat because big brother is not there to watch him.

I want them to both eat out of their own dishes. Jax so he gets the correct amount of supplements - the salmon oil, yogurt and eggs - and Kane so he doesn't get too fat and too much supplements.
Any suggestions?

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Feed them in their kennels? We do - all four dogs, each in their own space with their own amount (2 Mastiffs, 1 Border Collie and 1 Blue Heeler). One of our Mastiff is food agressive - he came in that way (we do Mastiff rescue) and him eating in his kennel has helped alot.

All of our kennels are next to each other, so dogs can look thru the windows and see each other.

 

[Lesa]

Patience.... When they are hungry enough and used to the arrangement, they will eat in different rooms. It might take a few meal times. Try not to worry too much... Good luck!

 

[DawnSuiter]

One question... how do you KNOW he won't eat? I mean... a healthy dog will eat.. PERIOD. Maybe not on YOUR schedule but they will. If your dog would go more than 24 hours without eating I would be concerned he were ill. Just have him skip meals until he falls into line eating on time in the manner you would like them to (opposite sides of this gate thing).

Or.. use Horsefeather's idea which is great... kennel & feed... but still if he won't eat you have the same issue. Seriously.. let him miss a few meals.. then they will fall right in line.

I've had lots of dogs like that.. and have one right now. She misses her meals here and there... truth is though dogs don't need to eat every day nor on any type of schedule.. that is for OUR convenience. In nature, they would NOT eat everyday.. would have to work for hours to get a meal and even if they got one they might not get much of it. It's natural to have ups and downs in the diet.

Also... probably the puppy's food might smell extra yummy... or just the fact that it's different might be causing a little trouble... but tuff!!! Don't give in, and Jax will come around.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yes, before we got Kane I had Jax on a routine - eat it within 20 minutes or wait until the next mealtime. He'd be super hungry sometimes and not hungry at all sometimes, but maintains a good weight so I didn't worry about him.
The food is the same, except for more supplements for Jax. DH observed that it's almost like Jax is waiting to make sure baby brother has had enough before he'll eat. He's always watching out for Kane. He lets Kane drink water first, go out first, etc.

 

[Countrywife]

When we had the older dog and a puppy in the house together I simply feed mixed rations. I am a free choice feeder, the bowl is always full, eat when you want. My GSD is a bit food aggrevsive with the other animals, but they are used to it and everyone deals. When I had to, I mixed puppy and adult food, that way, everyone got extra supplement.

 

[chickenlittle32]

My two do the exact same thing....Herc (the sire) will allow Andre' (the "pup") lol to eat...drink...just about anything first....Maybe you can give Jax the supplements with treats...and just give Kane a treat as well...without....I have tried feeding in the kennels...and Hercules will not eat either....(every dog is different...so if you try that, good luck)

 

[DawnSuiter]

it's up to you of course wether you want to encourage what I would call "quirky" behaviors.. like letting the little one go out first, or waiting until he's had his water before drinking.

In the human world these are great, we could only hope our children would be that polite to their siblings, but they aren't kids and the REAL problem with encouraging behavior like that... and if you don't discourage it directly you are encouraging it... is that it can lead to other things down the road.

If Jax is learning to protect Kane now and sees you support this... it can continue to escalate and could end in some serious problems... like not letting people approach Kane, or maybe if you move too fast toward Kane Jax might protect.

a certain amount of this I think is ok of course..... but a simple eating problem can lead to a more complicated protection/behavior problem which can escalate to a full blown biting or attack dog problem. just keep that in mind.. the bad behaviors always start small.

Good luck

and just keep your eyes out. As a rule of thumb in our house, we try to treat every dog equally to maintain the balance

 

[Sweetfolly]

Quote:
I feed my dogs in side-by-side kennels too. My Cattle Dog/Anatolian cross is a little food aggressive too - the GSD can't come near her bowl, but as soon as she's done, she tries to get to his food, and the GSD has no problem defending his bowl, so it can get nasty at feeding time unless I separate them.

Edited for stupidity

 

[Brindlebtch]

I agree, feed side by side in wire crates, but maintain the 20 min rule.

Jax is SO responsible.

You might need to re-name Kane Attila the Hun!