Feeding / No Bite

Question
I have two questions for you. I am hearing mixed answers to this question. I'm wondering how much food I should be feeding my 8 week old Bull pup. I'm afraid that I am over feeding him. He gets 3 feedings a day (about half a cup) and seems that he is not satisfied. He seems that he wants more. To add to that he eats so fast that he gets hiccups sometimes. Should I be concerned and should I increase his food amounts / feedings? My second question is that my Bull seems to be biting my kids when he gets excited. What are the "rules" for teaching him to not bite?


Answer
You're not feeding him enough first of all.  Put down a dish of food, more than he can possibly eat, and let him consume all he wants in a 5 minutes period. He may eat fast initially, but once he realizes there will be plenty of food, he will level off. This is called "free feeding" and eliminates the possibility of bloat. It also makes life easier as they get older because they tend to only eat what they really need instead of eating everything because they know food is only coming once a day.

An 8 week old puppy's frame of social interaction is growling and biting it's siblings. Naturally, it will exhibit the same behavior with children until it learns otherwise. He gets excited and plays in a manner he knows.

If you email me directly, I have some training information I can send along.  omaibulldogs@yahoo.com