Doggy help

mckayleesmom wrote: Ok...lately Gunner hates his dog food and waits for the puppy to finish and finishes off what she didn't. The puppy also has been eating gunners food and ignoring her own.


Is there a dog food that is good for both of them? Also..would it be bad to just let the puppy eat regular dog food?

cameragirl21 replied: I have an almost 2 year old Himalayan (she'll be 2 on Jan 7, I believe) and she was given to me during the summer so I got her from her original owner and a kitten who turns 6 months on Jan 5 whom I got when she was only 6 weeks from the breeder. I feed them both kitten food and my vet said it is fine for my older but still fairly young cat to eat kitten food. They both love it and this way I make sure the kitten only eats kitten food. I was told it IS important for my kitten not to eat adult food her first year. Because at first, I too had this problem, my Himmy was eating the kitten's food and my kitten was eating the Himmy's food so that is how I solved the problem. Kitten and puppy food is more nourishing and healthy anyway. Just make sure it doesn't make Gunner fat, it is more fattening too because it encourages growth.

mckayleesmom replied:
I only give her a cup at a time....so its just what she doesn't finish..which can't be much or sometimes is the whole cup.

DVFlyer replied: Dogs will eat until they get sick.... and fat. Use the recommended amount unless you see him/ her getting too skinny or too fat. A little skinny is better than too fat....

Keep the puppy and dog food separate. The protein level in the puppy food is set so that it controls his growth.

The dogs will eat their own food if that is all that they are offered.

DVFlyer replied:
A cup sounds like a lot for that little dog... but check the package.

Whatever she doesn't finish in 5 or 10 minutes gets picked up... I *guess* it would be ok to put that food in Gunners bowl (as long as it doesn't go over his daily food allowance), but don't let him eat from her bowl.

mckayleesmom replied:
I give her a cup because chances are that Gunner will nibble some here and there...she usually walks away when she is full an then he eats the rest.

lisar replied: I say give her the cup, but don't let the other dog have it. Keep them separate when you feed them. And when they are done then remove the food so that the other doesnt get it.

mom21kid2dogs replied:
Common misconception and completely untrue. Many trainers and books support and reinforce this but it simply is not the case in real life. All 4 of our dogs are/were open feeders~meaning when the food bowl is empty, we refill it. We have never owned an overweight dog. They only eat until they are full and stop. Parker is a lab/beagle; Dudley was a cocker; Bailey was a lab+something huge (possible collie or greyhound). All were the perfect weight for breed and size until they died. We went to this method with our severely food agressive dauxie at the recommendation of our vet. Every other "regular" treatment for her aggression was a dismal failure. Although it did not cure her, we could at least walk by her when she was feeding without getting bitten. We were sold and it's not failed us yet. Like us, the dogs are exercised regularly but they've never eaten to excess as open feeders.

cameragirl21 replied: I would have to agree with Cheryl on this one, I grew up with a German Shepherd who was an open feeder and he was never even a little fat. Of course we exercised him constantly but I don't recall him eating any more than what was necessary.
My cats are both open feeders too, that way I am not obligated to be home by their schedule and just keep their dishes full at all times so that they can eat whenever they are hungry. Neither is fat, either.
I would say the solution to this problem is to feed both dogs puppy food because tthey will go into each other's dishes...they are like kids, if you don't give them both the same thing they will inevitably want whatever the other one has. Puppy food is not harmful to the adult dog although it is more fattening because it encourages rapid growth. It is probably also tastier for this reason.
I have both my cats on kitten food now and they both love it. When my kitten reaches 1 year old I will either switch them both to Royal Canin's Persian specialty food or another high grade adult cat food. For now, though, they're both very happy with the kitten food.

lisar replied:
I have to agree here also. I have a German Shepard who has an automatic feeder. It keeps the food bowl full at all times. And he is by no means fat. I always thought he was to skinny but the vet says he is just fine and healthy.

As for my other 2 I feed them twice a day mainly cause they are inside dogs and I know their schedule as to when they want to poop and pee. So I feed them so that I can keep them on schedule.

mckayleesmom replied: I think it depends on the breed...Lucy will stop eating when she is full...but when Gunner was a puppy...he would eat until he was about to explode and I didn't realize that some dogs don't stop themselves...

DVFlyer replied:
You mean I could be wrong about something???

Gotta be a first. (but I wonder, then why many trainers- including everyone I've talked with- and books support this?)

Although I would guess most dog's that people think are a proper weight are too heavy..... even if the vet says they are ok.

mom21kid2dogs replied:
Yeah, but look at the bright side . . . .you made it 364 days this year!!!

My guess is that the heavy support for regimented feeding goes hand in hand with food motivated training. A hungry dog trains much easier than one who doesn't have hunger motivation.

For the record, with our nice control group here in Ohio of 4 dogs and 3 people, open feeding worksWAY better with the dogs that it does with the people~imagine that!!!