I have long advised friends and family members to keep their dogs’ mealtimes vague, in order to prevent “clock-watching” and demand behaviors from dogs who are anticipating their breakfast or dinner. Not for me, those dogs who wake me by barking for breakfast, no matter whether I’m sick or worked until 3 am the night before. Not for me, those dogs who start pacing, drooling, or staring at 4 pm every afternoon. By keeping mealtimes somewhat unpredictable, within a range of an hour or two, I haven’t ever had to deal with those anticipatory behaviors – even when Daylight Saving Time changes. I’m not one of the people who posts memes and pictures of my dogs freaking out about dinnertime twice a year!
Oh, sure, either of my dogs might do a little happy skip in the kitchen, as I walk toward the dog food area – which happens to be next to the microwave in which I heat my coffee. But if I tell them, “Not yet!” they resign themselves to waiting – alertly, but not underfoot. Or, dog forbid, whining under their breath.
Another Dog Is Throwing Things Off
Things have gotten a little testy over the past two weeks, however. I have been dog-sitting a 14-year-old deaf dog, little Leila, who belongs to a dear friend. Leila has strong opinions about mealtime – and spins and chases her tail for attention, and barks, barks, barks, when she is certain she’s going to starve without food. I have a hard time with barking – but what am I going to do? She’s old, and deaf! Easiest just to feed her when she starts up! Naturally, my giving into her demands has resulted in some incredulous “WHAT DID SHE JUST DO?” behavior from my two dogs. “SHE got fed and we did not? Perhaps WE should skip about and make noises!”
Taking my own advice when it comes to my own dogs, I’m ignoring the noises and skipping about. Otto gets it, and retires to the floor with a groan and a politely wagging tail. Woody is more persistent, and keeps trying a charm offensive, coming to me every time I sit down at the kitchen table with my laptop or at my desk in my office, and placing his heavy head in my lap, looking up at me with imploring eyes and that seductive slowly wagging tail. “Pleeeeaaassse? We are so VERY hungry.”
Prepping For Otto’s Surgery
Worse: Over the past two days, it has been necessary to skip Otto’s breakfast. Yesterday he had a chest x-ray, in preparation for today’s general anesthesia: He is having yet another tooth removed – he has somehow suffered another slab fracture of a molar (this is his third), so the tooth has to be removed. Also, the vet is going to scope his throat; he’s been having a lot of regurgitation, and we have been treating him for acid reflux and a possible esophageal ulcer. And when Otto has to go without breakfast, I don’t feed Woody, either; doing so would be just mean.
“Some experts recommend making dogs fast one day a week all the time,” I tell my dogs. “You are going to live. Mealtime is just delayed.” So the moping and charming persists for hours.
Do you have set mealtimes, or do you wing it with your dogs?
If my dog gets me up a little early, after he goes outside, he gets to eat right away…or else his built-in anxiety takes away from MY relaxing cup of coffee. (and that won’t do) For his later meal, it is usually within a half hour of the targeted time. He used to get a small midday meal, but he slowly stopped eating that one and now inhals all of his late meal.
Gotta love ’em!
My husband (a thoroughbred horse trainer) enjoys feeding the dogs, and he is a man of schedule and routine.
He takes the three Border Collies in the Dog/Peace Mobile (No one ever fights in the Dog Mobile) to his breakfast place, and they sit in the Blazer and look around.
They are totally Jazzed about going, although they do nothing.
He feeds them their morning milk at the same time, and he does dinner at 5pm.
All they DO is bother him from 3pm on… The puppy being the ambassador of hunger and a chow hound to boot.
He has taken to warming their milk… Really!!!… And using kitchen shears to cut up the raw chicken legs (BARF diet) a little so the poor helpless dears can manage to consume it… (Eye rolls)
When he went away on a trip, I took over the feeding.
This is what I do to change the dynamic:
The first day I blow their minds by feeding them at 3pm.
Feeding time STOPS when the puppy (chow hound) gets through her Fifth or last chicken leg.
If anyone (my 11 year old BC) is still lording it over her food, in an attempt to bait the others into trying to eat it… Giving her a chance to zoom in and bully them… And, one chicken leg is where she is at… One is all she gets for that day.
Then I wait until 6pm the next day. I don’t take any guff about being fussy, either.
I don’t warm milk, or cut their food up for them. (More Eye Rolls)
I hand it to them whole or chuck it to them.
By the second day, the recalcitrant 11 year old is suddenly uninterested in baiting and bullying. And, she eats her food with no problem.
NO ONE gets to bother me over it.
I tell them “Not yet, Go lie down somewhere!”
And, that’s what they do.
But, I am a Canine trainer, and know better than to let them take control.
I have pointed out to my Husband that he trains HERD animals, and I train the Pack Carnivores that eat them… It is two different scenarios.
But, since he enjoys it so much, and gets something out of the interaction, the most I do is tease him for being such a softy.
I I purchased locally two of those dog food bowls with tunnels and curves in them to slow down my golden retriever voracious eating.. and they work perfect…he has to go round and round and into each little crevice to retrieve his food.. but them they are worth it, home goods, tj maxx, marshals all had them…
I have an AmStaff/Great Pyrenees rescue (Skye) and a LH Dachshund (Mia). They never get insistent about their food. I feed twice a day. No set time. They both will sit in the kitchen on their respective “anti fatigue” mats if I’m in the kitchen for any reason. My big dog just watches me with this pensive look like Eeore while the Doxie stares at me in eager anticipation tail wagging a mile a minute. I used to feed them both in the kitchen, but then I realized the Doxie had her bluff in on her big sister banishing her away from her elevated feeding stand with just a intimidating glance. So I moved the big dog (65lbs) to another room that can be closed off with a gate from the persistently glutenous (13 lb) Doxie. 🙄. Now I don’t worry about Mia over eating on the sly and Skye getting all of her portion of food. 🤗
Meal time around my house with 5 terriers is pretty fluid. I feed once per day, in the evening, around 7:00. I will feed them earlier, but try to avoid later. They don’t demand food, and don’t get excited until I say, “get in your boxes”. With 5 male terriers, and 1 or 2 foster terriers in the house, they all are fed in wire crates lined up in my craftroom. It just keeps me sane, and prevents piggy behavior. Oh, and I do fast all the dogs once per week – on Fridays when I take my parents out to dinner. The boys all know that day each week that mom comes home really late means they all go to bed hungery!
Great article & comments on how different we all are. And while I know this is WDJ, my two have the dubious distinction of living with three felines – they are the truly discontent. And while our furry, fanged family can generally expect to eat within the same two hour window morning & evening, life does happen. We have housesitters with different schedules, sometimes we have to leave extra early (granted, they normally think it’s amazing to be roused from sleep to be fed a meal), sometimes we have to come home late. And horror of horrors to the dogs- they have to fast every Friday night. We did choose that night because it is the night we are most likely to be out. So you could say we have flexibility within predictability in our family. Bon Appetit!
We like on a farm with four working dogs and one house dog. They have no idea what a schedule is other than they will be fed in the morning and evening…at some point. The old blind house dog is closest to a schedule. She is blind from SARDS and is more driven to eat and does better on a schedule. Like you, we try to keep it within an hour or two. Our own meals don’t even have a schedule. Like the house dog I eat closer to a schedule as per health requirement but still not a dedicated schedule. Onward and upward at our home.
Three of my 5 dogs have a perfect clock and let me know when it is time to eat. That said, they are patient when I have to vary the schedule and when we are traveling for trials. It works out – I find it a rather endearing quality that they can tell time 🙂
My 18# mini-Schnauzer / Shih Tzu mix would never even consider eating dry kibble (3 days no eat …“I’m not eating this junk”) … loves Stella & Chewy and Primal Freeze Dried. I feed her from 8:00 AM ± 30 min and at 6 PM ± 30 min. She never begs for food (never feed from table) but does watch when I start to rehydrate it. She is excited to follow but waits patiently until I tell her to eat. Going into the backyard or for a walk is a different excitement … Jumps and round & round in circles or goes to look up at her harness and leash to request a walk. Hunts in the back yard 5-8 times a day. Will respond to “later” but will return within 20-30 min to “request” backyard trip usually to hunt. She early on learned that demanding did not work ( I would not respond) so she asks to go out by licking my hand. I am 79 and love this little rescue dog and her refined manners.
Our dog is a bad eater who gets even more finicky when stressed. Routine helps him feel calmer so we have a set routine – but not a set time. Walks and meals follow each other in the same rhythm each day but an early weekday it might mean we do our morning walk at 7 am and he eats before 8 am – on a late weekend morning we might walk after 9 am and he eats around 10:30 am etc. We’ve tried to sometimes change it up but he doesn’t take to it, he’s a finicky eater especially when stressed so if things get too strange he just won’t eat at all.