# She thinks she is going to be a free- feeder



## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

So the past few days Dooney hasn't been eating her breakfast in the morning (DH feeds her about 30 minutes after he gets up) she waits to eat it until RIGHT before I walk out the door to go to work. 

I don't want her thinking she can just eat whenever she wants or that her food will be out for her all day, she used to be really good about eating within 15 minutes. She did this last night as well. So I picked the food up after about 15 minutes and told DH to give it to her in another hour or so-wait 15 then see if she eats (which she did).

Just want to make sure I am handling this right or if any other suggestions.

Thanks!


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

she is 8 1/2 months old btw


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

I'd pick it up after 15min., and then she won't see it again until next feeding.

Do that...or get another dog


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

I'd feed her twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. No hour later if she doesn't eat. If it's not consumed when you put it down the first time, it's not put back down until the next meal. She'll learn to eat when it's given to her. But this also means NO treats between meals too.

Eevee isn't big on breakfast either though, a lot of dogs aren't. :/ Some days she eats, others she doesn't. I notice she eats it fairly quickly during growth spurts and barely eats if at all in the mornings when she's not. She ALWAYS inhales her dinner though, regardless if she ate in the morning or not.


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## Scarlettsmom (Jul 12, 2011)

ChancetheGSD said:


> I'd feed her twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. No hour later if she doesn't eat. If it's not consumed when you put it down the first time, it's not put back down until the next meal. She'll learn to eat when it's given to her. But this also means NO treats between meals too.
> 
> Eevee isn't big on breakfast either though, a lot of dogs aren't. :/ Some days she eats, others she doesn't. I notice she eats it fairly quickly during growth spurts and barely eats if at all in the mornings when she's not. She ALWAYS inhales her dinner though, regardless if she ate in the morning or not.


That's what Scarlett does. She looks at the food in the dish like I spit on it or something. If she hasn't eaten it in a few minutes after I put it down, I KNOW she isn't planning on breakfast. I pick it up and throw it out. By dog dinner time, her stomach is ggrrrooowwwllllinnnnggg SO loudly! She seems to like if I add the fishoil to both dinner and breakfast.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

what time do you feed her in the am
and what time do you feed her in the pm??
how much are you feeding her at each meal?
is she getting a snack during the day?
maybe she's not hungry. hopefully she still
likes what you're feeding.


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

Feed her around 6:30 am- a kong with some yogurt or PB during the day and then dinner around 6- 2 cups of TOTW at each feeding.

DH and I were talking and it seems like she did this last time we got to the bottom of the dog food bag. Our cat is obsessed with a "fresh" bag of food and I am wondering if she is doing the same thing. I am getting a new bag tomorrow- I will watch again towards the end of THIS bag and see if the same thing happens again.

If we do skip Breakfast- do I still just give her 2 cups at dinner, or give her 4?


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

If she skips a meal, I would NOT fed her double the next meal. I would just give her the normal amount. Maybe she is just getting to much total food a day. Siren weighs 70+ lbs and only eats 2 2/3 cups of TOTW per DAY total. I should say she only NEEDS that amount, she would gladly ready more, but she would get fat.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

If she doesnt eat the meal when its placed out for her, it gets removed and THATS what she gets next meal. Plain and simple. by doing what she's doing, you're allowing her to control the food situation and that can lead to other problems. If she doesnt eat her meal in the alloted 15 minutes, thats it until next meal time. No hour later stuff. 

If she's doing this because you're at the bottom of the bag, if you're not already, you should be keeping it in a sealed, air tight container to keep it fresh. Even dog food goes stale. I dont know about you, but i dont appreciate eating stale cookies, chips or crackers... would you?

Dont let her control the situation.


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## Dooney's Mom (May 10, 2011)

KZoppa said:


> If she doesnt eat the meal when its placed out for her, it gets removed and THATS what she gets next meal. Plain and simple. by doing what she's doing, you're allowing her to control the food situation and that can lead to other problems. If she doesnt eat her meal in the alloted 15 minutes, thats it until next meal time. No hour later stuff.
> 
> If she's doing this because you're at the bottom of the bag, if you're not already, you should be keeping it in a sealed, air tight container to keep it fresh. Even dog food goes stale. I dont know about you, but i dont appreciate eating stale cookies, chips or crackers... would you?
> 
> Dont let her control the situation.


we do keep it sealed  This has only happened for the past 2 mornings, so I definately wanted to nip it in the bud.

I will try cutting back on her food a little bit as well- I was feeding the amount indicated on the bag. Her weight has been good.

thanks everyone!


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

msvette2u said:


> I'd pick it up after 15min., and then she won't see it again until next feeding.


I do the same. I don't play the mealtime game. Food goes down, if dog wanders off (so actually I only have it down for about 5 min, cause if my one dog leaves either the other dog or the cat will be in it  ), then the food just comes up and gets popped into the fridge until the next meal time.

I also then need to consider if I may actually be overfeeding, so may want to cut back on the amount fed for am and pm. 

If I have a picky eater that won't eat for days, then I will add 'yummy' to the kibble to get them eating right away. But this is for a dog that is too bored with the meal to eat for DAYS and is not otherwise having any medical issues. Same rule though, if the dog wanders off the bowl is up until the next meal.


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## jprice103 (Feb 16, 2011)

BlackGSD said:


> Siren weighs 70+ lbs and only eats 2 2/3 cups of TOTW per DAY total. I should say she only NEEDS that amount, she would gladly ready more, but she would get fat.


Dooney is only 9 months old, so I think that 4 cups is about right for her for now based on the recommended feeding guidelines. I think the amount drops to more in line with the amount you feed Siren when they reach 12 months...although it should be a gradual drop.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

BlackGSD said:


> If she skips a meal, I would NOT fed her double the next meal. I would just give her the normal amount. Maybe she is just getting to much total food a day. Siren weighs 70+ lbs and only eats 2 2/3 cups of TOTW per DAY total. I should say she only NEEDS that amount, she would gladly ready more, but she would get fat.


I agree about the making sure she doesn't get compensated at night. It may take a couple days but she will get into the routine you establish without starving herselfl That is what I did with my previous dog. My current dog is a free feeder.
As for not wanting the bottom of the bag, open your next bag from the bottom. Just kidding.


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## BlackGSD (Jan 4, 2005)

jprice103 said:


> Dooney is only 9 months old, so I think that 4 cups is about right for her for now based on the recommended feeding guidelines. I think the amount drops to more in line with the amount you feed Siren when they reach 12 months...although it should be a gradual drop.


The bag recommendations are just a starting point, each dog is an individual. Siren has been eating the same amount since she was just over 6 months of age. She ate more when she was littler, but at 6 months started putting on too much weight and needed to be cut down as far as how much food she was getting.

Maybe she {Dooney} it's just trying train her owners, or maybe this is her way of telling them she is getting too much.


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