# Where to feed



## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

I have been giving Mandalay raw for a few weeks now as a supplement to her kibble. Mainly I like it cuz it cleans her teeth so well. Anyway, the rule is that she has to eat on the deck. With a 4mo old that will be crawling soon, I dont want her eating it on the kitchen floor...I am too freaked out by raw food on my floor and I am not positive she would keep it in her bowl.

My question is, where do your dogs eat during the winter? I dont want to make her stand on the deck in the snow, I also cant have her eat in the garage since the floor is gross with oil and what not from the cars. I have thought about getting some plastic table cloths and putting one down in the garage and that way she could stand on that and eat and I could wipe it off.

Any ideas?


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## Annemarie (Feb 12, 2007)

Sounds like the tablecloth or a tarp is a good idea.

Mine both eat in the kitchen their dishes are on rubber mats that I can wash off but they are very tidy eaters, not a bite gets on the floor.


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## natalie559 (Feb 4, 2005)

I began feeding on a vinyl tablecloth. I went and purchased the largest they had and cut it in half, one half for each dog.










After a while I was kind of concerned about them putting their feet on the juices and walking through the house. No one had ever got sick, it just kinda grossed me out. I even posted here at the time about a 'sanitary cleanup.'

Since then I decided to feed on a cookie sheet on the vinyl mat. That way all the juices are contained, they don't step on the tray and if they spill anything the mat is there instead of the kitchen floor.

Maybe you can try this mat/tray idea in your garage?

Others feed in their crates. . .

They wouldn't eat from a bowl- they like it spread out so they can choose what to eat first. I tried bowls and they repeatedly pulled the food out and put it on the floor.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I started by putting a bleachable white bath towel down on the floor and put my dog on a leash so that he wouldn't cruise around to find a nice comfortable place to eat each drumstick (like the living room floor). So, he ate there, and got use to eating when the towel (we call it "the tablecloth") was put down as dinner time. 

Once he got completely used to that, I withdrew the leash.

Then, I substituted white hand towels, much smaller and takes up less room in laundry. He eats off them and almost never spills anything on the floor. 

But it was a process of a couple weeks to get him to that point. And during nice weather, he still strongly prefers to eat outside, and I let him.


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## DancingCavy (Feb 19, 2001)

I feed Risa in her kennel. Sometimes with a bowl, sometimes without. Either way, it makes for real easy cleanup. If it gets too yucky, I just spritz it down with some 50/50 water/vinegar and wipe it off.


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## DianaM (Jan 5, 2006)

I feed Renji in his crate. It starts in a bowl which he promptly disassembles: he mops the crate floor with the chicken quarter, gives it a good shine with the raw egg, uses the eggshell as an abrasive cleaner, then he polishes the floor with his tongue. Every so often I wipe the floor down or take it outside to bleach and hose. The only time I ever feed him outside the crate is when he gets a "soup" of water and mushy stuff that he can just slurp. I also prefer feeding in the crate because that's his private time- he doesn't have to worry about us silly humans petting him or messing with his food or anything aside from me occasionally opening up the door to toss in a few more goodies, then I can leave him in there for an extra 10-15 minutes to rest before getting out and bouncing around.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

My dogs eat the leg 1/4's and turkey necks outside, they don't mind the winter. I remember last year we gave raw fish and I thought they ate it with love, but when the snow melted, I found that they just hid it instead!
I feed the ground mixes(tripe, heart/tongue blend)inside, the dogs are separated from each other. My 14 yr. eats inside in the bird room, tile floor, but can only handle chix wings or breast and chunks of turkey nex, she mostly eats ground meats. If I had three crates I would feed them in crates.


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## KCandMace (Apr 8, 2008)

The dogs all eat in their crates. And everything is put in a bowl. They always eat the soft stuff first then get the bone out, lay down and finish their meal.

No worries about anyone messing with them. Nobody trying to get an extra bite.

Every once in a great while I will give them something to chew outside.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

All my guys are fed in the kitchen. They have been trained not to take food away from their bowls.

Every dog has their 'place' and they know it - they go right to their spot when I pick up their bowls.

Since Riggs is gone I have moved Tazer, the remaining male, to Riggs' old feeding spot.

I do put my 2 foster Crested boys in an x-pen to eat. They INHALE the food and then try to surf the other bowls. Being confined keeps them from annoying the other dogs.

Right now my guys are all getting ground everything. I stocked up on the ground stuff when Riggs started having bowel troubles.

Eating their ground meals takes maybe 45 seconds, 60 max. Eating meals with whole RMBs takes maybe 2 minutes total.

Having dogs that know to eat at their bowls makes it MUCH easier when they travel with us and stay in the hotel room with us.


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## DanL (Jun 30, 2005)

Outside year round. If it's pouring rain, in their crates.


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## Mandalay (Apr 21, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The Gang Having dogs that know to eat at their bowls makes it MUCH easier when they travel with us and stay in the hotel room with us.


The other day I gave her some raw inside just to see what she would do with it. She first went into the other room on the carpet, and I went and got her and led her back to her bowl. This morning I gave her more and she tood over her bowl and ate. I may just try this.

Mandalay does move and eat with raw though. Her kibble she will take a bite and walk all over while pieces of food are falling out of her mouth, then she goes back and retraces her steps and cleans up. With raw, she stands still and holds it in her mouth while she eats. She does not touch it with her paws at all, even when it falls on the ground. I dont think she likes how it feels.









If she will keep staying over her bowl she can eat in the kitchen.


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## 3K9Mom (Jun 12, 2006)

I was thinking about this thread this morning. It's a beautiful day, and I know we don't have many of these left.









So I gave my pup a turkey neck outside her crate and told her to go outside. Something scared her out there (she's in her second fear stage), and she zoomed back in, with the neck. She went on her bed and started to eat; then for some reason, she moved under the coffee table. 

I know, from prior experience, that if I try to get her to give up her neck or even herd her when she has one, she'll gulp the whole thing at once. So I watched that turkey neck as it lay on the bed (which can be washed). Then on the carpet. Then on the kitchen floor. 

Ugh.









Next time, she eats in the crate. No matter how sunny a day it is.


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## Lauri & The Gang (Jun 28, 2001)

Teaching a dog to eat at their bowl is very easy. Put the dog on leash before you start feeding. Hold leash in one hand, put the bowl down with the other and give the command to eat. If dog takes food and starts to walk away you simply restrict their movement via the leash, say AHK and give the command to eat again.

This works for raw or kibble. It’s also good for teaching multiple dogs to stay at their bowls.

If you worry about your dog trying to gulp down their food if you are right next to them, anchor them next to their bowl using the leash (tie it to a cabinet or something) and they have no choice but to eat there.

I used the first technique to teach my CC foster boys – and they are THE most food motivated dogs I’ve ever seen!! 

There’s only one place they are allowed to pee (outside); there’s only one place they are allowed to eat their food (at their bowl).


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

I feed in the crates or outside. If the weather is bad its the crates, if its not I frequently feed outside because its more convienent to just carry it out the back kitchen door then across the house to where the crates are. I never clean up the crates after anymore, I find they lick them clean enough. In the beginning when I was paranoid Id wipe it down with disinfectant after


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## csaiz (Dec 21, 2006)

Mine all eat in their crates


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## The Stig (Oct 11, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Lauri & The GangTeaching a dog to eat at their bowl is very easy. Put the dog on leash before you start feeding. Hold leash in one hand, put the bowl down with the other and give the command to eat. If dog takes food and starts to walk away you simply restrict their movement via the leash, say AHK and give the command to eat again.


Very useful! Thanks for the tip.

My dog is fed outside, but it's nice year-round in my city. I scrub the cement floor with water and vinegar whenever she makes a mess. I cannot stand it when she takes her fish out of the bowl and crunch it on the floor. 










Fish guts get all over the floor, and if I even let it bake for half an hour, it's like welded into the ground and leaves a stain even after a hearty scrub.


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