They Get The Exact Same Food And Amounts

[peglywegly]

Hello Greytalk,

I recently was adopted by a new shy grey named Remy- he lived all his life here in Tucson and a track with a very bad reputation. He is not as skittish as he was 2 months ago. He loves his open fenced back yard we live on an acre and he, like Pete our 1st grey moved in with us Aug 2012, love running zoomies. That took him a couple of weeks to figure out it was allowed. He like to isolate in the bedrooms on a bed all by himself. right now he is here in the living room on the dog bed. yesterday was the first time he mouthed a toy, he didn't get it to squeek, but he touched it and nibbled it. baby steps....

My husban d and i read "help for the shy dog" 'greyhounds for dummies' Having Pete come straight from the adoption kennel and his neuter surgery was simple compared to Remy and his special needs. he had been in a foster home for months, and was skittish jumping up at every move, or noise.

 

my question is this, Pete who can tell time and knows when breakfast or dinner is late, has been not so interested in his breakfast and he lays down when i put the bowls in their holders. he is allowing Remy to eat all of his breakfast. they get the same 1c & 3/4 plus over cooked white rice and stewed chicken thighs w/water for softening the dry, Kirkland kibble.

Pete is not going to starve I know that, but does anyone have a suggestion as to why he volunteers his breakfast to the new dog?

 

thanks in advance for any input.

 

peggy, pete, remy, Buddy, and the 4 cats.

[Guest Lygracilux]

Hmmm, I'm no expert at all, and would love to hear others chime in!

 

But IMO dogs are so strange haha. It could be a few things:

 

1)Pete knows what its like to be nervous, and new to home life and is saying to Remy "here you have the food, I want you to be comfy and happy"

OR

2)Remy has already become the "alpha" of the two. No matter what breed of dog, there is a pecking order to things so by nature Pete must wait for his dominant counterpart to be finished first.

 

I'd like to think its the first one, because thats so cute to me.

I dont know if you feed in the same room or not, but I'd separate them so they cant see each other while feeding if possible. (:

[Guest normaandburrell]

My Brassy was so submissive he would let any dog that was visiting eat his food. I would separate them.

[greysmom]

Just because he's timid and/or anxious in certain situations, doesn't mean he isn't a leader type. My spook is definitely the most confident dog -in the right instance.

 

I also think it would be good to feed them out of sight of each other. Or feed them at different times. Don't let Remy eat Pete's food, he doesn't need two meals. Either baby gate him away or let him outside so Pete can eat undisturbed.

[peglywegly]

Thank you all for the suggestions. Remy's bowl will be moved for breakfast tomorrow.

Pete has learned his manners from our Golden Buddy, so I Iike the idea that he wants

Remy to feel more comfy.

I really don't think Remy is Alpha in any way, well he has marked in the living room, where they both are being fed. one time it was accidental, one time he peed on the cat tower.

[scullysmum]

Feed them in separate rooms

[Neighsayer]

I have five dogs, and feed in three different rooms so they all get to eat their own meals.

[sobesmom]

Congrats on your new addition! I agree with the others to separate them at feeding times. I fed 2 dogs in the same room, on opposite sites of the room and stood in the middle. It's just not cool to take someone else's food. If Pete chooses not to eat, just pick up his food. He'll eat the next meal. Remy as a new dog will eat anything he can get ahold of, but he probably doesn't need double portions.

 

As to the "why" of it - greys are goofy - don't loose sleep over it.

 

It's also cool that Remy started checking out a toy! Like you said, baby steps!

[peglywegly]

Thanks for all the help. I feed Remy in the room he has chosen for his own, he has a bed, against the wall with a good view of the door. (still skittish) The cats take turns laying on the twin bed in the room, he doesn't really enjoy the cats at all, they are very in control of this house, all the dogs know that. Breakfast has become each eats their own food, dinner is the same I hope future issues are as easily solved.

 

thanks Greytalk

[GeorgeofNE]

Not sure what track you are referring to with a "very bad reputation," but one of my friends is the chairman of the AZ racing commission, and it's HIGHLY unlikely any of your dogs issues have anything to do with the track he was at.

 

A nervous dog is a nervous dog. I just adopted one myself. Track life wasn't for him. Doesn't mean he wasn't treated well--he just needs a different life.

[XTRAWLD]

My boys are VERY tolerable of eachother, they eat bones close to eachother, fed close together. Kasey is so called "alpha", well as best as you can get with a weird boy. Kasey isn't big on food and Ryder can't get enough of it. Before we had Ryder, Kasey would often pick at his food. He would leave kibble all day and just have some whenever. With Ryder around though, 2 things happened. Kasey realized his food isn't going to stick around forever, since Ryder will eat it. Secondly, mommy will put his food away he doesn't finish it - so either way he loses access to his food. It encouraged Kasey to actually eat more! (Switching to raw also helped him become more interested in food as well) I'm getting to my point I promise. Kasey does go through spurts now and again where he won't eat his food, and Ryder usually tries to rush in to finish it off once Kasey leaves his bowl. I stop Ryder - Ryder knows the command "ok" means I have allowed him to eat what Kasey didn't. Without me there to stop him, Ryder would scarf his own food down and I'm certain would finish off Kasey's while Kasey was still in the midst of eating. You will need to control the behaviour of the second dog to NOT eat the first dogs food. The only other thing I've ever done is to help the first dog maintain some dominance and self esteem by putting his food down first, he's the first to get treats, he's the first to get bones, etc.

Edited October 16, 2014 by XTRAWLD