Meal Routine...help!

[tigajess]

Pippa my 17 week Blue roan Cocker Spaniel Female is gentle girl who at times can be a bit of a live wire. She is doing fantastic with training and commands, responds well and generally pays attention.

I am however having trouble with getting her to not jump all over everyone and bounce on the furniture in between running back to her bowl in the kitchen and eatting at meal times.

I found the behaviour worse in the morning and now try to give her a decent amount of exercise to burn off the energy before a meal. But I still find that even though she sits for her meal and starts to eat well with in 1minute she will will trying to find out what everyone else is doing and bounces all over the couch to get attention.

I was really hoping she would stop wondering away from her meal by now, or at least check on people and go back to her meal without bouncing off the ceiling and the couches

We ignore her until she finishes her meal but now she's starting to do anything that needs our attention...my problem is I don't know how to correct the behavior.

Today when she jumped on a couch and started getting into my mum's things I said "no" grabbed her put her at her bowl and told her to "eat", (this was after she was jumping all over the other couch with us ignoring her) she went back to eatting while watching me to see if I was doing anything more interesting, I ended up being where she could see me but not paying any attention to her.

What else should I be trying? :rolleyes:

[Teebs]

what about crating her, or putting her in the laundry or somewhere with the door shut, so she CANT get out and play till she has finished?

[puggy_puggy]

Yes either feed her in the laundry and leave her in there for 10 minutes, outside and leave her out for 10 minutes or get a puppy pen and feed her in there.

[Kelpie_Pup]

Take her food away. Halle is only ever given 10 mins to eat her food-normally she takes about 3mins-she learnt to eat it-not stuff herself- without playing around. Meal time is just that-not play time in our house.

You could try it. The first time she walks away from her food to play, take her food away. Don't offer it to her again. if you reeeeeally feel she is hungry, I'd wait a good few hours. They are much smarter than they let on sometimes.

She won't starve. If she is going well with all of her other training, she is obviously a pretty switched on little pup.. it won't take her long to realise that if she doesn't eat her food and goes to play when its meal time, her food will be taken away.

That is what we would do anyway

Edited January 4, 2009 by Kelpie_Pup

[ellz]

I recommend crating to eat anyway - creates a nice safe and uninterrupted place for her to eat her meals but certainly don't leave the food down for any more than 10, maximum 15 minutes at a time anyway no matter where you feed her.

Also, if she is on more than 2 meals per day at that age, you might consider skipping one of them. At 17 weeks she would be ok with two meals per day and that may also encourage her to stick at the meals she does get when they are given to her.

[Luke W]

Mh first thought echoed KelpiePup.

Prepare for an extinction burst (where the behavior gvets worse before it stops).

[tigajess]

Thanks for all the replies!

I really wasn't sure if keeping her confined while eatting was going to do more damage then good. I tried quite a few methods but I sort of panicked as she started to lose weight, she does have a nice layer covering her bones but she is quite curvy and defined now, but then again she just had a growth spurt and I remember my last dog a border collie went very curvy and thin when she was young too.

She will eat well at night if she is hungry, usually if she hasn't eatten much in the morning if I took her meal away because she left it to go bounce off the walls ;)

She actually doesn't bounce off the walls and couch usually... I assume this happens when she wants to get closer to us to get our attention when we're ignoring her when she should be eatting.

Do I just continue to offer the morning meal and hope that eventually she will eat both meals without the fuss? She gets about 1 and a half cups of food 2 meals a day. If she gets extra food during the day (chicken wing/ treats/ scraps) then the next meal is less as I know she won't want as much to eat. She gets a mixure or dryfood/rice/veg/raw meat. In the mornings I sometimes change this for dryfood with sardines/ fruit / or yoghurt. Am I feeding her more then she needs?

And what would be the correct method with feeding? as soon as she leaves the bowl do I just take it away and wait until the next meal? I'm unclear about trying to give her the right message. I must admit I'm not so good with giving the right signals generally with any dog

I will try to keep her to one area and see how that goes.

Also with feeding chicken wings... should I be cutting up the wing? and is it a case of keeping an eye on the dog until they learn how to eat the wing without any trouble?

I recently fed Pippa a chicken wing and she did pretty well, my other dogs basically swallow them without even chewing, towards the end she got part of the wing stuck on her tooth, she started to cry so i went out and grabbed the last bit, even though she didn't want to share it for a few seconds she let me pry it loose from the tooth.

[Dogsfevr]

"If she gets extra food during the day (chicken wing/ treats/ scraps) then the next meal is less as I know she won't want as much to eat."

If your dog is being picky & not in a set eating pattern then treats & scrapes are a no go.Treats are solely for training/reward.

The more treats/scraps she gets from humans the more inclined she will be to seek them out for something better than whats in her bowl.

Feeding time needs to be that eat it or lose it.I would be placing her in an area that is less stimulating because at present she is getting into a routine of fun .She is getting a reaction to her behavior which she feels is normal.

If she loses some weight it wont be the end of the world but its important for all family members to stick to the training regime.If your picking the bowl up to give latter no one can give her treats.There is no point taking her bowl away if everyone gives her a bit her & there,

She needs to learn that her meals are in her bowl & feed time is that.Whilst she is still only a pup this is the age for setting a good feeding routine for life.

In our house all food is eating in like 10 secs ,its hoover heaven .

You also need to consider she is teething so her gums could be sore which can play havoc with wanting to eat BUT even so she can stil learn that meal time isnt a game.

Does she leave tthe bowl if there is a certain food in it than others??

For example does she eat the sardines or tend to not want them??

[Kelpie_Pup]

Do I just continue to offer the morning meal and hope that eventually she will eat both meals without the fuss? She gets about 1 and a half cups of food 2 meals a day. If she gets extra food during the day (chicken wing/ treats/ scraps) then the next meal is less as I know she won't want as much to eat.

Am I feeding her more then she needs?

And what would be the correct method with feeding? as soon as she leaves the bowl do I just take it away and wait until the next meal?

I will try to keep her to one area and see how that goes.

Also with feeding chicken wings... should I be cutting up the wing? and is it a case of keeping an eye on the dog until they learn how to eat the wing without any trouble?

I recently fed Pippa a chicken wing and she did pretty well, my other dogs basically swallow them without even chewing, towards the end she got part of the wing stuck on her tooth, she started to cry so i went out and grabbed the last bit, even though she didn't want to share it for a few seconds she let me pry it loose from the tooth.

Halle is a 16 kg Kelpie and she eats 1.5 cups of food, twice a day.. she is much bigger and I would think more active.. She still eats puppy food too Feeding her too much food may be a cause for you..

If Halle gets a chicken wing or a bone, she gets very little dinner, not just a bit less.

If you are going to try taking her food away, I would do it as soon as she walks away from it. I mean, if you are 3m away on the couch and she starts walking towards you,or running or playing etc, simply walk over to the bowl and remove it. Put the food away for next meal time. I wouldn't give it back until the next meal time.

For her to be noticeably losing and gaining weight so quickly, perhaps she is eating a bit too much.

Not sure about chicken wings-Halle never had a problem eating them lol