New Dog and Feeding Time

[crazyshirley2100]

Hey!

I have a new to the house 10 month old female great dane. She is dominant.

My 3 current dogs:

Beau, 13yr old neutered male lab, still being fed first out of respect. Discussions on quality of life, etc. already begun.

Lacie, 9yr old neutered female mastiff/rott, the one who gets the most face washing, etc. Fed second; not obviously dominant; very quiet demeaner, unless her 'baby' Willow is involved.

Willow, 4yr old neutered female beagle, baby of the house with visions of grandeur... spoiled by the introduction of a big clumsy dominant female. Fed 3rd.

We are, as you might imagine, having some barking, whining, taunting (by big new girl) pack disharmony. My question is.... where do I fit the new big girl into the feeding pecking order. Last night, my husband fed her last, out of habit. The night before, I fed her first.....what do you recommend. I know she is destined to be the doggy first. If I make it so now, will that decrease the unrest? It is getting better every day....lol.

 

[brock23]

Can they eat at the same time just in separate rooms?

 

[Doberluv]

With my "pack," I am the one who decides important things, not any of them. I don't want them thinking in terms of any one of them being "dominant" or rather....making or enforcing rules. I make the rules. I decide important things and they do not. I would advise that you let them know that you are the leader and that besides small things, you make the decisions and set the boundaries for all of them. I would vary who gets fed first, switch it around every meal time and seperate them when they're eating. I have complete peace within my family of 3 dogs (was 4) and me. I believe in prevention and setting the stage right from the beginning that it is not up to them to have to figure things out.

 

[crazyshirley2100]

Interesting

I will try that. I have moved them to a larger room for feeding to shake things up a bit. I am the hbic....they have no misunderstandings there, but I have always let their behaviour define the pecking order. I will rotate feeding order from here on also.

thanks so much

 

[Doberluv]

Hey....that's just my opinion. You should probably do more research and see various sources and then decide what you feel more comfortable with...what makes the best sense to you.

Best wishes!

 

[crazyshirley2100]

Thanks!

6 days together and we are all getting along much better! After reading around, I feed them in random order, although Keira is often last since she is the most trouble. I hold the food bowl over my head (she is a great dane and 100lbs at 10 mos) and ask her to sit once. When she does not or if she paws or does any unwanted behavior, I turn and walk away. (I have been wearing a long sleeved shirt so I dont get scratches when she jumps and cavorts about like the goof she is.) I just continue that until she sits with all 4 paws on the ground, then she eats. It only took 3 times last night. rofl.

thanks for all the help. This site is a wonder of good advice.

shirley

 

[Doberluv]

That's great that you're letting her know that she won't eat until she sits/waits and waits for your release word. It sure doesn't take 'em long, does it? LOL. It sounds like you're doing fantastically!!! Keep us posted.

 

[crazyshirley2100]

Update:
Keira now sits when she sees her bowl. She rarely jumps up on me at all. I have had to learn to curb some of my hand gestures which I think she was interpreting as an invitation to bounce about. Trainer...train thyself.

We lost our rottie/mastiff lady of 11 years. My husband calls her the quiet girl. The vet thinks it was a stroke. House sure seems empty.

 

[Doberluv]

I have had to learn to curb some of my hand gestures which I think she was interpreting as an invitation to bounce about.

If you're doing something with your hands that aren't a command, you can replace her in her sit/stay or whatever it is she's doing when she mistakenly thinks you're giving her the cue to bounce about. She should learn one hand signal and anything else you do does not mean she can get up. LOL.

I practice with my Dobe this very thing. When he's in a long down/stay and I'm standing way off, maybe 150 ft away, I like to practice different cues; one time, a whistle, one time "Lyric come" one time the hand signal only. For the hand signal, I bring my arm up across my chest from my elbow. To keep him watching, I'll scratch my nose, put my arm up in the air, squat down, walk to the side, wave my arms around, just vary movements and he watches like a hawk. Then I'll do my signal for "come," and he comes a racin'. LOL. It took a couple of replacements and no reward for him to get it. And I started out standing close to him and for a short stay and he then applied it to the distance etc.