feeding the doodle!

[Benalexe]

Hi everyone,

I am new here.  Just got a 8 month old amazing golden doodle.   She was being re-homed by someone on Craigslist and we were lucky enough to get her. She is amazing.

At home we also have a 5 year old yorkiepoo 15lbs.  The doodle is 52lbs . 

The yotkiepoo self feeds herself when she is hungry.  After a few days I realized that the doodle is also a picker and eats when she is hungry so I picked up one of those big self feeders that dispenses food for the dogs when they want. The bowl is always filled.

When we went to the vet to get checkups he said that most dogs can't self regulate their food and they will get overweight so he recommends feeding at set times.  

Here is my issue-  for some reason Casey (The doodle)  Loves to eat out of the small dogs bowl and leaves her big bowl.   The small dog can't reach the big bowl- so result is Tootsie has no kibble left and Caseys bowl is full. 

So not sure what to do at this point.  When I had the auto feeder it seemed to be working better for all but don't want them to get too fat.

The one thought I had was to get one of those electronic self feeders that dispense a set amount daily so they can't over eat.  Any thoughts our advice for me? 

Also curious.. do most of your doodles eat at once?

[Julie and Max]

Congrats on your new doodle! My doodle eats his food as soon as you put it down. I only have one so I don't know about the food, but I do have to keep the cat food away from the dog because he would eat that all up if he could. Good luck finding a solution. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am a firm believer in set mealtimes. It helps prevent "picky" eaters, it regulates potty habits, and it allows you to supervise your dogs when they are eating, which is a must for multiple dog homes. It also reinforces the idea that you are the "leader" who controls the resources and everything else in the home, which is an important concept especially with older puppies. Put the food in the bowls at breakfast and dinner, give them 10 minutes, and then pick up the bowls and do not offer food again until the next scheduled mealtime. The dogs quickly learn that if they want to eat, they have to do it when the food is available or wait. 

In your case, sit nearby at mealtimes to make sure that Casey eats from her own bowl and leaves Tootsie's food alone. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I absolutely agree with this.  Food is a very valuable resource and is a powerful motivator. 

[Cathy, Fozzie & Shaggy]

I'm with Karen on this one.  My boys, Fozzie and Shaggy, eat at the same time but I put a little distance between them just because I need to watch Fozzie's bowl to make sure Shaggy and Merlin the cat, won't get in it.  Fozzie is a slow picky eater and I have picked up his dish after 15-20 minutes; he's happy to eat the next time I put it down though.  Most important, I don't allow one dog to be the boss and push another dog out of their dish!

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I agree with all of this advice.  I used to free feed when Lucy and Sophie were puppies and they did fine but along with too many treats Lucy got overweight.  Then when we lost Sophie and AnnaBelle came along we had puppy food and regular food so I had to start feeding them twice a day.  There were some issues in the beginning with the puppy and Lucy and meal time so I had to monitor meals.  I just separated them and sat between them.  Now that Lucy has been diagnosed with food allergies and eats a special food I still have to monitor their eating to be sure Lucy doesn't get into AnnaBelle's food because she doesn't always clean up her food.  It is a hassle having set feeding times, but in the long run is much better for all the reasons Karen mentions.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Luca used to graze freely and his weight has always been fine. Calla will eat anything not nailed down. She eats her food immediately. Luca's food is locked in his crate when I am not right nearby. He will let me know if he wants his food whenit is locked up.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I leave food down all the time, but neither dog touches it until dinner time. I know this is probably not the right way, but it works for us. 

[Adina P]

Do you have a crate for either dog?  You could feed one in his crate.   Or in a different room and then take up the bowls, as others have mentioned, after 10 mins.

[Adina P]

I just put the food down and leave them to take care of it themselves.  I think with new pups/dogs I do/did separate them for a while, but generally I just feed them in a way that they have some space or are facing away from each other and it's worked fine for 8+ years.  Our late Thule did have trouble finishing her food in one sitting, but once she realized it wasn't going to stay there all day, she started eating it in a timely manner.  When it was just Cass, she free fed and preferred to eat in the middle of the night.

[Emily, Jace, & Maggie Devers]

I feed jace in Maggie in the same room but a good distance apart...Maggie used to sneak and steal jaces food if he left any which he will do from time to time because he's not very good oriented, I knew she would get overweight because she is around 30 lbs full grown and she just did not need the amount of food she was getting when she stole his food! Lol, so I started watching them while they ate and if she got near his food bowl she got scolded, worked out great for us! I've always read it's great to establish feeding times and to not free feed because you can't regulate their food intake and some dogs (like my Maggie) would just eat and eat and eat until they made themselves sick, which she's done before when I accidentally left their food bag open and wasn't watching her closely, I never made that mistake again!! Good luck! :)

[Bonnie and Kona]

I had one dog in my life that was definitely a self-feeder type. He ate sometimes and didn't others. He did not ever get fat. At the time I only had one dog.

I have two dogs now. Both used to wolf their food in seconds. I bought the slo-feed bowls for both of them. Over the past several months Owen stopped eating his meal before finishing it in the slo-feed bowl, and Kona was finishing his food. Kona was getting fat. Now I feed Kona in a slo-feed bowl and Owen in a regular bowl so both get their full meal. Owen wolfs down his portion and walks away while Kona is still figuring out how to empty his complicated maze-like bowl. I have always fed my multiple dogs next to one another. Kona is the only dog of multiples that would eat until he exploded. If you think your dogs were doing well self-feeding and did not notice weight gain I would go back to the self-feeders. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Hard to say if they will get overweight as every dog is a bit different---I KNOW my three would be since the gulp their food down super fast--I can put each bowl down am and pm and the food is gone in about 30 seconds--I do not have anyone stealing anyone else's food since it takes them all about the same amount of time to eat--so no advice for you there...