Preventing Dogfights At Meal Time

Even dogs who are best friends all day long may become fighters when it's time to eat. We have to remember that dogs are just animals and food is an extremely strong stimulus for many of them. The instinct for getting as much food as possible as quickly as possible often results in fighting among canines at meal time.

If you have two or more dogs, the obvious solution is to feed them in different places. This will work just fine if it's a doable option for you. However, if your house or yard is not situated in such a way that feeding in several locations is easy, there are methods you can use to prevent fighting while feeding your dogs.

One of the first things you have to remember is to establish a habit of feeding locations. If you have two or more dogs, always feed them in the same bowl which is placed in the same location every day. Do not mix the bowls up and do not let the dogs feed indifferent or alternate locations. Each dog must eat in the same bowl at the same spot every single day. This is the single most important factor for maintaining peace at meal time.

It's easier to begin this behavior in the beginning then to correct it after it's gone on too long in an undesirable fashion. When feeding to dogs in different bowls, let's say across the room from one another, it's important you remain in the location until each dog is finished while this training is going on. You must act as the referee in making sure that a problem dog does not eat some or all of his or her food and then travel to the other bowl to consume the rest or begin a fight. In no situation should dog be allowed to go to any bowl that is not he is and he is exact location. This is the biggest stimulus for causing a fight.

If you have three or more dogs and trying to teach them to eat in the same bowl in the same location each day, this becomes more difficult. It really helps if two of you are able to act as referees during meal time making sure that nobody gets out of bounds. If a dog does approach other dogs bowl and tension is seen between the dogs, it's important at this time not to rush in and cause more tension but to simply step in between the dogs and saying no. In other words use your body as a shield more so then your hands grabbing the dogs and physically moving them away. Oftentimes, simply stepping in front of the dog when you see his or her intentions of going to another bowl is enough to distract him or her and read turn the animal to his proper location.

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