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Old August 1st, 2012, 10:32 AM
Paul MacArthur Paul MacArthur is offline
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Little dog vs Big dog at mealtime

Hi there!

I have a Sheltie and a Rhodesian Ridgeback. I'm having a hard time getting the Sheltie to eat because he seems to be intimidated by the larger Rhodesian Ridgeback. We've tried separating them but he seems to only want to eat after he sees that the other dog has finished. The only problem here, is that once the big dog has finished eating, she will sit and stare at the little dog and be like, "Hey... you gonna finish that?". I would love to be able to put his food in a separate room so that he can eat it in peace before rejoining his larger buddy, but he takes longer to eat and will rather pick at his food throughout the day rather than have a few good chow-downs.

Does anyone have any suggestions that I can try to get the little guy to eat?
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Old August 1st, 2012, 03:52 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by Paul MacArthur View Post
Hi there!

I have a Sheltie and a Rhodesian Ridgeback. I'm having a hard time getting the Sheltie to eat because he seems to be intimidated by the larger Rhodesian Ridgeback. We've tried separating them but he seems to only want to eat after he sees that the other dog has finished. The only problem here, is that once the big dog has finished eating, she will sit and stare at the little dog and be like, "Hey... you gonna finish that?". I would love to be able to put his food in a separate room so that he can eat it in peace before rejoining his larger buddy, but he takes longer to eat and will rather pick at his food throughout the day rather than have a few good chow-downs.

Does anyone have any suggestions that I can try to get the little guy to eat?
You could trying picking up the little dog's food after 15 minutes , I was told by my vet to do this with my little dog that a fussy eater. The dog will learn that if he does not eat the food right away it will be gone and will not get food until supper time. Every dog is difference and some do like to pick at their food. I knew a dog that would take a piece of kibble out of her bowl and eat it her food this way piece by piece.
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Old August 1st, 2012, 06:31 PM
Choochi Choochi is offline
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How long have you had both of them together?

You could feed them in their crates, or just feed the little one in her crate. Give her 15min with her food and if she hasn't eaten yet just take it away. Be consistent for at least a few weeks.

I've had some very good success "retraining" grazers and free feeders like this to eat at specific meal times.
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Old August 1st, 2012, 08:44 PM
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pbpatti pbpatti is offline
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Just adding my , you can sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on the little ones food to see if she will gobble it up.
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Old August 2nd, 2012, 06:51 AM
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mastifflover mastifflover is offline
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Just adding my , you can sprinkle some grated parmesan cheese on the little ones food to see if she will gobble it up.
I was thinking the same thing put something yummy on his food
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Old August 2nd, 2012, 12:41 PM
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Plain yogurt might entice him to do a little gobbling, too.
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