You should definitely be feeding separately. It's dangerous, in my opinion, to feed dogs so closely together. It allows resource guarding to surface (Why your puppy got snapped at...the puppy has no business messing with another dog's meal).

My dogs all eat up in the dog room in their crates.

 

My girls eat together without supervision, and there are no problems.

If any of the other three family dogs are with us, they all eat together, but I supervise closely.

 

I only have one dog but when I visit people to have dogs I always feed Sydney separately. She resource guards from other dogs and that just leads to trouble between the two dogs and also increases the behavior. You NEED to feed your dogs separately and keep the puppy out of their food, because the more they feel that their food is threatened, the more aggressive they will become with regards to their food. By allowing the puppy to bother them while they are eating, you might be creating a resources guarding problem that was never there before.

 

Mine all eat in the kitchen, about 10 feet apart, and the puppy is hooked to her tie-down at mealtimes. I stand there and supervise. I would recommend keeping the puppy seperate, either a different part of the yard, or on a leash or something.

 

Yes, my pup is kept tied up before and after meal times(I got the idea from Labmom4 ). Meal times are very serious in this household. I've even thought of tying up Rascal because he likes to wander over to Pippa's bowl to see if anythings left. -.-

 

ok. thanks for the replies!!

 

Yea, I separate. Pip guards food, Maisy eats relatively slowly, and Squash is clueless. So Squash eats in his crate, Maisy in one room, and Pip baby gated in an adjacent room.

 

I have always fed separately because of Murphy's Law, I prefer safe than sorry after.

 

I don't have a problem with feeding MY dogs together, they are free fed from the same bowl, BUT if you have a RG dog I would definitely separate them.

 

No..
Everybody eats together..
Food agression between dogs in the same home is really bad. This can be difficult to stop at first, but its worth doing.
Right now my Rottie pup is learning not to steal food from the others..She may get a nip on the nose from the big dog .and a warning from me.
Thats how it works..Thats how they learn..Just dont let it get out of control.
Do not feed them seperatly..Make them share food , toys and treats.

 

My oldest dog has resource guarding issues in the past and sometimes now (with dogs) but we still feed them next to each other anyway. We're the leaders so it's sort of a "get over it" thing and she has. At the start she was weary, but our new dog slowly learned how our dog is with food so he just doesn't go near her when shes eating, and she respects his food. They know whats up. They both eat their food patiently. And ever since they've been eating right next to each other her overall resource guarding with toys/food is pretty much non-existent with our new dog. The RG is probably still there, but she doesn't practice it anymore with any of us or our new dog.

 

For me, it depends on the dog. Boone is apt to try to eat someone else's food so he eats in the kitchen. The door is closed and the girls eat in the diningroom. No one dares to bother Katie while she eats, she's old but a fierce old gal.
Other dogs that we've had have eaten in the same room, fairly close together with no issues

 

I only have th one dog right now, but when I get another one they will eat separately. I may do the feeding the crate thing with any other dogs I get (Porter wont eat if we aren't home or in his crate.

When we were staying with my grandfather I fed Porter in our room and would put up his dog's food when he was gone (he likes to have food down all day) because his dog would attack anything that came near "her" food.

 

My 3 eat in the same room about 5 feet apart from each other. They all go sit by their dishes and wait for me to feed them. They don't try to steal the other's food. I used to have one that would finish his own then want to go eat the other's, so I would block him from going near them.
For the puppy, tether while eating, far enough that he can't pester the other dogs.

 

Every one here eats separately. I have a largely reformed/managed resource guarder and a severe resource guarding I'm working with. There is just zero reason a dog should get any where near another dog while eating (and people for that matter)

 

Mine all eat in the same room, each at least three feet from the other - supervised though. They all know their own bowl, and all will growl at any other dog attempting to poke in. One will snap about it if pushed and if there are visiting dogs that don't respect other dog's bowls, she is fed in her own area. All can be in the same room (supervised) with bully sticks or bones as long as they don't intrude on each other's space, and can even share a plate that I put on the floor to be 'cleaned', but I had to work harder on that with the guarder.

SOB

 

my boys eat in their crates but their crates are right next to each other. brom used to have huge rg issues when we first started raw (it was just THAT good! haha!) but now he is great.

i always fed separately because at first my older dog was eating raw and the puppy was eating kibble. when i switched to raw i still kept them separate because i don't see the need to stress them out during meal times. i had to hand feed brom tiny pieces of meat for a few months and he got so much better. no more gulping and grabbing food if i looked like i might get too close. he was never guarding from the other dog, just me for some reason.

anyway, now brom doesn't care at all if i put my hands in his crate when he is eating. i don't just put my hands in his crate to prove to him that i can and will whenever i please, i will put my hands in to add more food or to give him his fish oil or whatever and i think that helped to get him to trust me, that i am not going to take his food away. if i had to take his food away now for some reason he would step out of the crate and allow me to.

even though there are no rg issues anymore i still feed them in their crates because they eat raw and it is much easier clean up. also, brom eats much faster than iorek and wouldn't think twice about "helping" iorek finish up.

 

I have Frank and Angel seaparated for feedings because Angel is a very fast eater and will steal Franks food if given a chance (and Frank will give it to her wilingly). When Rocky was here he ate right next to Angel and the two of them did fine, no issues.

 

Toby and Cameron eat about 5 feet apart from each other. When we first got Cameron he'd gobble his food and then try to get Toby's. We would stand over them to redirect him if he went for Toby's food. He learned pretty quickly not to bother Toby.

A few years ago we had another collie with us for about 6 weeks. Nina was a lovely girl but she was a land-shark. We had to feed her in the bathroom with the door closed until our dogs were done or she'd try to steal their food. If she had been a permanent addition to our household we would have taught her some better manners. But since it was just a temporary thing, it was easier to separate her.

 

Hi. This is my first post. I realize that this is an older post, but I am having a problem and found this site. I have Irish setters, labs and jack russels. I have always fed separately , each in there own crates. They are side by side. And it has always worked well. They feel safe about being in ther own crate and no one can get there food, but they are together and that encourages all of them to feed. I have slow eaters and fast eaters. And I have thoughs that donot want to eat, at times. I can also see any agressive problems, if they bark at each other while eating. It has been years since I had anyone protect there food. Everyone one seems to get a different amount of food to keep them fit. My older Irish setter, she is 15. Gets her food wet with water. It seems to work very well, that way.
I had major abdominal surgery about 3 weeks ago and my husband has been taking care of the dogs. I just found out that he has been letting them out in the large run and has been dumping food out in a pile for everyone to eat all at once. I could see them from my window with ther heads on the concrete and did not understand what they were doing. I thought maybe they were eating poop. So today , I managed to get up to the kennel and say 2 dogs scarfing all of the food down, the old Irish stepping in the food, and the jack russels trying to get a morsel or .two that rolled there way. My male JR was actually standing back in a corner, not eating at all. I was wondering why the food was lasting longer. he wasnt giving them enough food in that pile. This is very upsetting and disheartening and do not know what to do.
So, NO, I do not not think it is a good idea to food dogs together in a pack.

 

My guy gets fed in his crate with the door open. When his 'cousin' Poppy is here the gate is closed because she will eat his food (and he will give it to her). Now we have a corgi/chi mix staying with us for 45 days and I'm probably going to feed Ranger with his crate open again and feed Jay on the mat about 10 feet away. Ranger finishes before him and Jay will give a grumble if anyone gets too close. Everyone respects each other so I think it'll get along.

 

I think that sounds like it will work out just fine.

 

I do crate/separation for new dogs and pups, "doing is learning" just as not being able to do is learning. This from the start sets the base line on how meals go in a group. (nothing happens, you eat your food, you wait until everyone is done, and its done nothing else happens everyone is safe, relaxed, calm during meals) no one bothers you, you don't bother anyone else. Activity habit is formed

I need time with a new animal so they can learn skills that will be helpful, leave it, stay, wait, "they can hear you and see you" during higher then normal dog situations. So your able to take the first learning above and continue to work with the dog when there is no crate/separation..

Time in training "depends on the dog" how long they stay in each step.... which means if a dog can't handle it, he stays in the crate/separation. never put my other dogs in a position to have to teach a new dog/defend their own food when it comes to having their meals not fair to the other dogs. Dogs needing pouncing each other in a home as a normal position/roll for them to take on is a very bad idea...

Never had a new dog not melt right in to the group about eating their meals with respect for everyone else,, but if they didn't I would continue to work with step one and two.. no reason to ever stop taking the opportunity to work on skills and not hold it negatively against them. It's not a punishable factor about their meals ..

 

i think crates are a really good idea. It prevents surface guarding and prevents problems. I do stay with the dogs when they are eating, incase someone has a problem. I do believe in crate rest for the large breed and deep chested dogs, this will help to reduce the possible twisted stomach or bloat when they jump around when they are out of their crates right after eating...

 

Leeo and Blu Boy ate together ... side by side with nothing but a bowl of water separating them. They grew up as puppies and were taught that way. Leeo is gone now ..... so each dog eats in the same room but about 6 feet apart from each other. I sit in the middle and supervise. Once they are finished I remove the food dishes and they are free to roam. Leaving a food dish down can cause serious issues ... even when empty with my guys and gals.

 

My mom's three dogs eat together without problems. When we have the neighbor's dog over at our place we feed them one at a time though, to prevent squabbles between her and Mike. I don't know if he's a resource guarder when it comes to other dogs, but I don't want to find out.

 

All 10 of mine eat side by side. Everyone respects the other. Nobody will take food from anothers dish but anything on the ground is up for grabs, even if it's only 1/2inch from the dish.
Now if one leaves their dish it's open game and the others will jump in and share amongst themselves any leftovers.

I cannot say this often enough: I am truly fortunate to have so many of various sizes (from big to bigger to giant ), age, and breeds, some intact some not, that get along so well.