Training your Icelandic Sheepdog and the Feeding Bowl

Hello Folks

I got asked, how do you feed the dogs, and do you ever have any issues? As you can see, some of my dogs truly love each other, best buddy's Dalla and Lily sharing one of the dog chairs together.

Well I do feed all the dogs together, but each has their own bowl and we have a routine.

So the dogs do tend to get excited when the food is being prepared, I feed in steel bowls(if at all possable avoid feeding food or water in any plastic) and I put the food bowls down in order of the pack.

So if you can picture it, I say, Back, and then call the dogs name that I want out, Oppa, and then the rest back up knowing that if their name was not said that they will not get to eat out of that bowl, then I move over a couple feet and call the next dog out.. I continue doing this until all the dogs are eating, Now my labby girl always gets feed last, not because she is low on rank, point in fact she is top dog of the house but because she is the faster eater in the group. I always pour something over the food, most of the time, I have some leftover veg water or dripping, and then I add enough warm water to be able to flavor and fill each bowl, I only let the water sit long enough to start a tiny bit of softening to the food, its point is not to make the food soft as to help slow down the eating, and help make sure everyone is getting water into themselves.

So then I just stand in the middle of the group and as each dog finishes, I take their bowls up, and just keep standing, now with me there, if someone looks at a lower Ranked dog, I will say their name.. and they know that means back away.. once everyone is finished, then all the dogs go outside for bathroom time..

This works for me, one because its routine and the dogs are use to it, althought with each new dog, the training start all over again, two because I respect my own dogs ranking and make sure to feed the top ranking dogs first, and third because as the TOP DOG, I stand watch to make sure no one forgets that I have the final say.

But before we get to that point, each dog goes though "feeding Bowl" training.. This starts as a puppy, the first lession is that food comes from peaple, and peaple control the food, but we are always kind to you..

I do this one, by never free feeding, they learn that I make the food, and that I give the food, but they also learn that there is enough food to go around.. no one goes hungry and that is important.

So the second thing is that you need to sit before the bowl goes down on the floor, this is a matter of me very calmly and nicely letting the dogs know that I am top dog, if they have to sit before the bowl goes down it helps teach them manners, control of their own bodies and that humans are in control, this works great once the puppies are eat out of their own bowls, when they are babies, and getting feed altogether, that is the time to teach the "Puppy/Come" command.

So once they are eating on their own bowls, when they start out with the litter, they all share fairly nice with each other, so I try to use that to advantage for when they start on their own bowls, I pet them, touch feet, ears, very gently tug on tails, all while still letting them eat and telling them what a good puppy, this gets them use to the fact that I can and will touch them while eating.

Second is to teach them that I can take their bowl away, and that goes like this, put their feed in a cup and put down a quarter of their feed in their bowl, and let them eat it, just before they are finished, down to the the last two or three bites, say, "Give" and take it away, and put another 1/4 in the bowl and put down again, and repeat until you have given all the food.. now with a litter, I might only do this once per puppy but with my own puppy or dog, I will divide into four, this teachs, two main things, Which, I can always give up my bowl to mom, but its ok, because she is always going to give me something back for it, and something I will slip a little something special on the return of the bowl, a piece of carrot, or meat etc.

This is important, as you want a dog that if a child reaches down and touches them while eating or takes their bowl away, that they will just stand there wagging their tails waiting for "what comes next"

Now, sometimes, you get some growls and hovering over the bowl, MY FOOD, MY BOWL, now some folks then start feeding the dog in a crate, in a different room, at a different time from the other dog or dogs.. I personally think that this is not a good idea, I say, don't take the easy way out, work though the issues, and that means hand feeding your dog.. take the bowl of food, and make your dog sit and nicely take the food one handful at a time.. over and over again.. this many take a couple days/weeks.. but at some point the dog is going to go.. ok I have to behave and I will always get my food.. Once you have good hand feeding happening, and yes, you have to make them do something to get that food, Sit, down, shake a paw, sit pretty, stay, but something, NO free lunches in this house.. :)

Once you have good hand feeding then put his bowl down in front of him, and say, his name, the command sit/stay, then put a handful of kibble in his bowl, and then release him.. then repeat until you have control and once you have that kind of control of each dog and each bowl, then you can feed the dogs together in the same room, and make sure you stand there and be the Ref, so that each dog knows and feels that you will be there for them, and that they don't need to be tough themselves because the rules are in effect.

Hope this helps a bit

Barks