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Dining Protocols for Multi Dog Home
For most of my adult life, I’ve lived with multiple dogs in my home – as many as 8, though the norm was 4 to 5. Feeding time is usually very exciting for dogs and it’s important to have some kind of structure in place so it’s not total mayhem. Depending on how peaceful the dogs are together, whether there’s any food guarding, or if there’s a dog who gulps his food and then races over to steal from other dogs’ bowls, you’ll need to fine-tune your dining rules based on their behavior. For example:
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Polite behavior during meal prep – dogs should learn to keep their paws on the floor and be quiet while food is prepared, thus keeping arousal levels in check. This is usually pretty easy to teach if you break the food-prep into small steps at first, and reward the dogs for polite behavior regularly during the prep.
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To avoid tension at mealtimes:
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Easy peasy – all dogs go into their crates for mealtime, thus preventing any food guarding or gluttony
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Kinda fancy – each dog is taught to station at a specific spot (well-spaced from one another) and wait for his meal to be served there
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Extra fancy – after eating his meal at his designated spot, the dog waits there until you release him (thus preventing food stealing from another dog’s bowl)
How do you handle things in your multi-dog home? What skills do you find helpful?
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18 Replies
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This is so good, @virginiad ! And, WHAT A LINEUP!!! WOW. That’s a lot of dogs, and it’s amazing to see them all able to wait. So many relationships to observe. Just, wow.
As I type this, my two girls are in different parts of our house, separated by a gate, each gnawing on a frozen stuffed Toppl. We have NEVER had a food guarding issue between them, and it’s because I respect how important food is (especially to Joy, my senior.) Joy’s never had to defend her food against a puppy because I’m careful to set them up for success. And I choose the Easy Peasy way. Because I’m a lazy trainer. It takes them about 30 minutes to gnaw thru a frozen Toppl. I have other things to do and want to work undistracted, so I simply put them on either sides of a gate. When I refill my morning coffee, they are usually finished and I open the gate. They like to sniff out each other’s Toppl and make sure every last lick is gone. Since they each go into the others’ spot and the Toppls are empty, I let them do that. They seem to find it very interesting.
I reserve some food calories for training, and these I dole out as we work together. So one dog is rewarded for a DOWN-STAY while the other works on heeling, positions or tricks. This way they do learn some impulse control. I vary the food type for this work. Sometimes it’s boring kibble and other times it’s high value organ meat or the like. They are usually so excited to be working that the food is not the main feature.
Thanks for sharing your beautiful dogs… and of course, I need all their names, and maybe a bit about them! ????
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I, too, love the lazy way @catherine !
Six of the dogs in the pic are mine, and the 3 on the right belonged to a friend:
Tavish, Gem, Willow, Reina, Hahnia, Goliath, Wasabi, Vango, and Ren
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Amazing that they are all that good, especially being from 2 different households!!! I agree, @catherine !!! Gorgeous, every one of them.
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Good points, to all of them! ?
I have had only 2 dogs at most. Things got tricky when we adopted Tara, (yellow lab), because she had been in a starvation mode for months when the kennel she came from was seized due to neglect of 50 Lab adults and puppies…she had had 2 litters herself and the owners were divorcing and neglected them all. Horrible, horrible… but she was the best girl (adopted her at 5yo). My Berner boy (Samson)was 1 and had been used to grazing wherever he wanted through the day (as in most single dog families). He was somewhat stunned when Tara would inhale her food and then come for his bowl!
As the sweetest big boy ever, and a very loved/privileged dog always, he never guarded and just let her take over his dish. But we quickly moved the feeding stations into separate rooms. His at the kitchen sliding door and hers in the dining room. He became such a fast eater, lol. In later years, I moved him over to a puzzle bowl and roasting pan to eat out of (slowed him way down). Mostly because he had inhaled a kibble twice. That was really scary; almost had to Heimlich my 120 pound dog!!!
Tara learned not to steal his food because I didn’t allow her to. I’d put her on a leash after she ate. I managed the situation, but never really trained behaviors (I was not a trainer then).
In other multi dog households I visit, when feeding time comes, it seems to be management. In kennels with doors closed or owners have said, just keep him from stealing her food by sitting in between them. Frustrating for me, but also scary. Many times, I can let one dog out after they eat in a fenced yard, but mostly, it’s always trying to figure out the dogs as I go.
I love the idea of stationing, until they are released. What process do you use when training that, @virginiad ?
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Hi @bernerlabreclectus .
A quick ‘cheat’ way to begin the ‘stay at your station until you’re released’ is to tether the dogs at their respective places, with a nice buffer of space so there’s no tension. Watch as they finish their meals. Reward, at first, just if the dog remains standing there without straining on the tether. Pause between treats, but keep them coming pretty steadily.
When it’s easy for each dog to stand at their station without straining on the tether, either ask for a SIT or wait for the SIT to happen, then begin the treat/pause/treat. Gradually increase the time between treats, so dog is holding the sit-stay position longer.
If you have a hard time toggling between and treating the two dogs at first, teach the skill separately, then put them together.
Then have leash on but not attached to anything. Be sure the dog continues to offer the sit-stay after the meal. When this is strong, remove the leash entirely. If you have any concern about one dog dashing to the other’s bowl and starting a scuffle, put up an x-pen barrier to prevent that until you feel confident the behavior is very reliable.
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Another idea/addition that may work with some dogs (just thinking out loud!) —
Split up the meal, deliver a refill as soon as the first portion is completed, then the second, then the third. Be variable about how many courses there will be. I bet plenty of dogs will decide it’s easiest and smartest to remain at their station because another course is on the way. (The tether idea will reduce early errors.)
What do you think?
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This is great @virginiad ! I love the tethering and steps involved. So often, people go from 0 to 60 in what they expect a dog to be able to do. I wish I had dogs to try this out on myself.
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That’s so true, @bernerlabreclectus , about clients wanting to skip a 100 steps in an effort to train something quickly. ???? I do my best to explain they’ll actually make more work for themselves if they try to rush the process.
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My dogs have food guarding issues which I learned the hard way. They now eat in separate areas and they seem happy with this arrangement. When I stopped putting pressure on them to be closer than they wanted to be (both with food and in general) they relaxed so much and their relationship to eachother has improved greatly. I learned a lesson in that that sometimes with behavioral issues just listening to what the dog is communicating and respecting their needs can work wonders and be just as effective as training
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Or like, I accomplished as much with that as I did with the training I did with them
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Such a great point, @AnnaBee !
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…sometimes with behavioral issues just listening to what the dog is communicating and respecting their needs can work wonders and be just as effective as training. – Anna B.
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@AnnaBee , a story just dawned on me after reading your post. Once, I was teaching training workshops in Taiwan and shelter dogs were provided for the working segments. I fell in love with one (who had been a street dog), named her Taipei, and shipped her to the states.
She did okay with my other four dogs, but her desperate obsession around food was so high, my cattle dog used to leave the kitchen at meal prep. Then my sister happened to borrow Taipei for a few-week visit at her home because her kids loved dogs and they didn’t have one of their own. Her reports back to me were so startling, including how Taipei regularly left crumbs on the floor (something she’d never do at my house) and was so relaxed in general. I knew then that my multi-dog home was causing her anxiety and affecting her behavior (I had no point of reference before that), and I decided to find her an only-dog home. She was cherished there and treated like royalty, as she deserved.
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Thanks for this story! Wonderful that you were able to listen to what yr dog was telling you!
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Such a happy ending. It’s so important to make the changes necessary, including rehoming, when a dog is not a fit. Stories like these should be applauded and shared. Adopting a dog “for life, no matter what” is not always in the best interests of the dog. What you did, hard and emotional as I’m sure that was, definitely make a happier life for Taipei. Good for you! And how lucky for Taipei to have you advocate for her.
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Amen. That “adopt for life, no matter what” is very disconcerting. I never worried about others’ opinions about my choice because I knew it was the exact right thing to do, but I bet a lot of pet parents are wrongly pressured in that area, and I feel so bad for them.
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Indeed. The pressure is real. It’s really important for folks who work in shelter/rescue to keep an open mind. People are generally doing the best they can… and sometimes that means releasing a beloved dog.
I once rehomed a Sheltie I had for 6years because she was MISERABLE in my home, once the kids came. She was utterly terrified of them. (I took her on as a project dog; she’d had zero socialization.) It took me a year to get over myself and do what was right for her. I’ve never regretted it, but dang, it was tough. She lived a really happy life with a lovely retired woman and her pack of Shelties and Collies.
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