I''ve got Doggie Drama

[kenny]

We have two 1-year old dogs, half Chihuahua half ShiTzu; they are sisters
We don't leave food out all the time
They get fed twice a day.

Yaya is a pig.
She scarfs her food down fast and lets out a big burp.
Meanwhile Kizzy won't touch hers.
She waits till Yaya is finished.

Then of course Yaya wants to share Kizzy's.
Kizzy does not dig right in.
She waits till she has Yaya's full attention.
Kizzy will take a few kibbles and carry them in her mouth and set them down a few feet away.
Yaya follows, but Kizzy will snap at her.
She doesn't touch her, just one quick little snap at the air in Yaya's direction.
Still the message is clear.
I KNOW YOU WANT MY FOOD BUT STAY AWAY!
What a brat!

So to get Kizzy to actually eat all her food requires constant supervision - which is BS.
I won't do it; Jose will, and he is the one who usually feeds them.

I've tried separating them but then Kizzy won't eat.
She loves the drama.

This is getting old.
Kizzy's on the right; otherwise they are angels from heaven, full of love.

 

[Mara]

haha i would just let them work it out on their own.

kizzy will eat when she is hungry enough. and she may realize, hmmm that sucked being so hungry so i won't do it again.

i believe for the most part that dogs can work out 'issues' with other dogs, even sibs, on their own without human interference and then you aren't furthering the drama.

 

[kenny]

Mara that sound like good advice, not increasing the drama.

But I'm sure Yaya will eat all of Kizzy's food in a heartbeat.

Maybe this is good.
Tomorrow Kizzy will be more hungry and fight for her food.


I was thinking of taking away Kizzy's food after say 5 minutes then she'd be hungrier for the next meal.
But I like the idea of putting down two bowls of food and walking away.

 

[Mara]

yep exactly, sure yaya will be bursting at the seams but kizzy will be like DAMN now I am hungry 10 minutes later when the food is all gone.

the vet has told me that dogs can go for 3 days without ''not eating'' really affecting them, aka they have enough stores for it not to be a big deal til 3 days. so you do have some time to experiment and see if just putting the bowls down and walking away helps the situation between them at all. maybe if they have a little catfight they will get over it quickly.

 

[Morticia]

I don''t have any advice. I just wanted to comment on how cute your dogs are! Wow, what an adorable mix!

 

[widget]

Why aren''t those cutiepies in the "No Pedigrees Allowed!" Forum?????

They''re ADORABLE!!

widget

 

[fire&ice]

"letting" the other dog eat first is a dominence thing. I''d let them work it out. If Kizzy doesn''t eat within a scheduled time, pick up the food. Also, you could try feeding them in their crates. That is how my females breeder kept the peace at her house. Me, I keep my own peace.

My male is tenative about eating. If he doesn''t eat, I just pick it up. Mara is correct. While a puppy can not go without eating frequently, a dog can go quite a while.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/23/2006 12:29:47 PM
Author: widget

Why aren''t those cutiepies in the ''No Pedigrees Allowed!'' Forum?????

They''re ADORABLE!!

widget

Oh, and I forgot to add - I have issues with your thread.

We have pure breeds because I am allergic to dogs except for certain known breeds.

And, Kenny - they are adorable. I remember their birthday party!

 

[Kaleigh]

Kenny,
I have this problem with my dogs too. Callie sounds just like Yaya. A total pig. Casper is older and a slower eater. I let them work it out on their own. But I do try to put their bowls down in seperate places outside, just far anough away so Casper has some time to eat before Callie moves over to his bowl. He has learned to growl at her. Meaning back off from my food!!!

 

[kenny]

Thanks.

 

[kenny]

I can''t resist; must post more pics.
Let''s see if these work.

Here''s is when they graduated from puppy school

 

[curlygirl]

Oh Kenny, I don''t have any good advice about the eating issues, although I agree with Mara that they will probably work it out amongst themselves. I just wanted to say that Kizzy and Yaya are absolutely precious!! I love the graduation outfit and all the super cute sister photos. Too adorable!!

 

[decodelighted]

CUTIE PIES!!!!

I have a similar problem with two cats. One is a big pig/food bully and one is a picky eater/submissive. Over time - one is just fatter than the other! But we do open feeding here, so there is food out all day. That way they can go a different times. When it gets interesting is when it''s "wet food" treat day .. and by now Clem has learned to protect her food from her bully sis.

It''s also fun to see them pounce on treats (even the dog gets involved in this).

 

[Diachi]

It sounds like two things to me.

1) Yaya is a piggy

and would eat both foods if she could.

2) Kizzy is trying to assert her dominance over Yaya with the food instead of eating, when given, like she should.

I would seperate them completely or, if you don''t want to do that, use timed feeding to assert that you are the alpha and when food is given, its time to eat!

I would choose the later if it were my dogs. Put both dishes down on opposite sides of the room and monitor their eating. If Kizzy waits for Yaya to finish and hasn''t shown interest in her own dish (but has had enough time to eat) pick both bowls up and try again the next feeding time. Toy breeds can be notorious for their eating habits and refusal to eat and they can go for a few days without eating if needs be. However, since they are so small, IMHO, they are more sensitive to issues and cannot tolerate as much as larger breeds. Perhaps adding a yummy topping such as boiled chicken or lean ground beef at first will help "encourate" Kizzy to eat right way. Then you can wean them off the topping and go back to regular feeding once Kizzy figures out that she needs to eat if she''s hungry-when you say so, not her.

And seriously...They are the two cutest dogs I have ever seen (besides my little ones of course

)!!! My good friend LOVES terriers and that wiry hair and wants to find a small dog that looks like a terrier mix-I showed her the pictures of your angels

and she about wet her pants!!! Where oh where did you guys find them???

 

[kenny]

Thanks Diachi.
Here's a pic of their mama, Peanuts:





Papa-Chihuahua is out there somewhere with a bottle of Tequila looking for his next conquest.
I know it looks like there is some terrier in there, especially in Kizzy but we think there isn't.

And since you asked, we adopted them from Hearts For Hounds, a non-profit rescue organization for small breeds in Southern California.
They go to the pounds (death row) and find the dogs (mixed or purebred) that seem to show the most promise as good pets.
Then they take them to the vet for a check up, shots and get them fixed.
Then they put them into one of their several foster homes till permanent homes can be found.
They really care about the dogs; they come to your home to see if your family and the home is a good match for the dogs.

They request a $200 donation to cover their costs.
You have to agree to give the dogs back to them if it doesn't work out, and they don't cash your check for a while for that reason.
It's a good organization.

hearts for hounds

 

[kenny]

So this eveing I put down both bowls and walked away.
I peeked from a distance.

Yaya ate all of both bowls.
Kizzy got nothing, and will be going to sleep hungry.
Kizzy is already 30% lighter than Yaya.

Am I doing the right thing?

This is strange, I thought Kizzy was the dominant of the two.

 

[JoangA]

I have the same problem with my 2 Mini & Cooper. Cooper will eat his food in 2 bites, Mini will pick then walk away. Of course Cooper then eats hers.

What we ended up doing, is feeding Cooper his entire meal in a large Kong, in his bed, that way it takes time to eat. We also tie him to the door stop so he can''t go and eat Mini''s food. If Mini doesn''t eat hers and Cooper is done, we pick up all the bowls. Of course Mini might ask for food later that evening, Hubby will feed her, but not me.

This has worked well for us. It slows Cooper down, makes his meal time an event. It''s really cute when he has to work really hard to lick the bottom of the Kong.

 

[fire&ice]

Date: 3/23/2006 9:02:50 PM
Author: kenny
So this eveing I put down both bowls and walked away.
I peeked from a distance.

Yaya ate all of both bowls.
Kizzy got nothing, and will be going to sleep hungry.
Kizzy is already 30% lighter than Yaya.

Am I doing the right thing?

This is strange, I thought Kizzy was the dominant of the two.

Kizzy could be the dominant one. She could be resource guarding & then challenging Yaya. A couple of things - you could initially make Kizzy''s food more interesting by adding chicken soup or gravy - this is not a long term solution - you just want to break this cycle. You could try to feed them both in their crates.

Our two are feed in separate "corners" - the same time - the same exact space. We stick around. Our presence is enough to divert any dominance issues. If one doesn''t eat - the food is picked up.

Some dogs are just more in tune with food. Our gal is called ''goat dog'' - she''ll eat anything all the time. Our male can be picky.

Good luck.

 

[kenny]

I think we've found a solution.

This time Yaya is in the pen, but we alternate so it doesn't mean anything in their little doggie minds.

 

[kenny]

BTW here are a few things we do to establish position.
When we come home we greet each other but not the dogs till a few minutes have passed.
When we enter the door we make them back off and not run out for about 30 seconds.
Then when we say "come" they run into the backyard.

They are only allowed in the kitchen and the den, which have vinyl flooring.
We had gates at the doors but these are no longer needed if we are present.
They stay where they are supposed to unless we say, "come", then they walk behind us to the other room like baby ducks.

They sleep in crates, which they love and walk into themselves when told to.
The crates are too small to feed them in.

They are just big enough for them to turn around in.
They snuggle with Jose for about 2-3 hours every evening while he rots his brain watching TV.
They get tons of love, but on our terms.

 

[msdarlinjoy]

I think we need an expert!

We need to call ...

The Dog Whisperer!

"Cesar Chavez"

will know exactly what to do ... He will not only have kizzy & Yaya trained, he will whip you into shape too!

All in about a 30 minute show!