# My Puppy is a Ravenous Beast!



## TheHooch (May 9, 2007)

You can hand feed if you have the patience and make him work for everybite. THey don;t all eat that way I hate to tell you. And bloat could be a problem with a gulper. I am sure there will be others by with better ideas.

Welcome to the forum.


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## Christi (Mar 27, 2008)

You can also put a couple of tennis or plastic balls in the bowl to create obstacles for them to work around.


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## GoldenOwner12 (Jun 18, 2008)

Hi my golden retriever puppy Shelley used to be like this shes 18 weeks old. She used to jump up and bark and try to knock the bowl out of my hands. What i found work was i feed more food and also taught her to sit and wait till i put her bowl down and move away, I then gave the command eat. My Shelley used to guts down her food so what we did was feed her till she was that full she couldn't eat anymore, Then i started to feed her 1 and half cups of food each feeding my girl gets feed 2 times a day. So if your guy is getting 3 meals day try 1 and half cup each feeding that way it fills him up. Now my girl eats slower then what she did but instand of all the food gone in 2-3 seconds she now takes 5 minutes to eat her meals. It sounds like this guy was straved at the breeders wasn't given enough food when he was young. People might not agree with what i'm saying or about to say but it has worked for me, I would just keep giving him food till his that full he can't eat another bite, meaning feed him till he walks away from his bowl and food. Do this for a couple od days then start him with 1 and half cups each feeding 3-4 times a day. I would also have your puppy checked out by the vet it could be possible that he has worms.


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## Heidi36oh (Feb 27, 2007)

My puppy's always acted that way, they where starving. I started feeding more often and feed the others away from the starving pup. It will get better, he will slow down. Hand feeding is also a good suggestion.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

A couple of thoughts... 

Definitely make the pup sit before you put the food down. 

Stand there with the bowl of food and tell him to sit. Give the command once and then wait until he sits. If he doesn't sit down after a reasonable amount of time, walk away, put the bowl of food away, and try again a few minutes later. You don't even BEGIN to put the bowl down until Cinnamon is sitting down. As you go to put the bowl down, Cinnamon will probably stand up and start to go for the food. Tell him no, leave it, or make a noise, whatever you use to tell him no. As you're telling him no, lift the bowl back up. If he sits back down, you start to put the bowl down. If he stands up, you pick the bowl back up. When he is sitting politely, tell him "Okay!" in a happy voice and let him begin eating.

The two key points being, you don't set the bowl down unless he is sitting. And he doesn't approach the bowl until you give him the okay. You'll have a few stops and starts and he may bark at you out of frustration at first, but he'll figure out pretty quick that he has to behave if he wants to eat. And hunger is a real motivator. He will want to figure out the quickest way to get his food. And if sitting politely is the quickest way to get it, he'll learn to sit politely.

Regarding slowing him down, I know where you're coming from. Rookie used to eat his entire meal in less than 40 seconds. Up until Rookie was almost a year old, I had to put a toy ring in his bowl to slow him down. He had to eat around it, so he couldn't gulp huge mouthfuls of food. Some people use tennis balls, some people spread the food out on a cookie sheet. Basically you just need to put something in his bowl so that he has to work around it.

The only suggestion I have regarding the cat food and eating the other dog's food is you can't leave it down while Cinnamon is roaming free. When I take Rookie to visit my sister or my mom, we move the cat food up onto the back of the counter. If it's down, he WILL eat it. Even the leave it command doesn't work with cat food and Rookie has a really good leave it.

Regarding jumping up and trying to take food out of people's hands... that's just bad puppy behavior. If you haven't started puppy kindergarten yet, it's probably time to start some training.

And hang in there, the wild beast phase will eventually pass if you spend the time training him. Really!


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## RainbowJewels (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks for all the great advice.
He is due to start puppy training next weekend. 

I have been putting ice cubes in his bowl to eat around and it help a very little, so I'm going to try some of the other things as well. I'm afraid to try to hand feed him because he is a snapper and although he's just trying to get the food, he might accidentally bite me.

I don't think he was starved at the breeders. He was the 2nd biggest out of the 10 pups.
And he's definitely getting enough to eat now...I can not believe how fast he growing and how big he has gotten in just the 3 weeks we've had him!

He has been to the vet and tested negative for worms...but also got a preventative worm medication since we let them run around in the back yard.

Again, thanks so much for the advice! I'm looking forward to trying some of it in the morning.


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## LibertyME (Jan 6, 2007)

Does he eat in the same room as your other dogs? 
If so, the 'competition' for food can stimulate them to eat as fast as possible..


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## gold'nchocolate (May 31, 2005)

Welcome to the world of 'big dogs' :cavalry: :jester: ...LOL! None of my goldens have ever been delicate eaters. I have to put water in with their food because Biscuit used to inhale some of the peices of food and choke on it. 

When Sasha was little I used to scatter her food around an area of the floor to help slow her down. She also eats in a different room with a baby gate blocking her. I stand and watch the older dogs so that the first ones done can't help themselves to the other dogs food.

How much is your pup eating each meal? It's going to seem like a lot to you because you are used to feeding small dogs. Another thing that you might notice with goldens (labs too ) is the fact that when they drink water they like to keep the last mouthful in their mouth so that they can drool it all over the floor  as they walk away from the bowl.

When I had cats their food bowls were on my clothes dryer (in my kitchen). I'm not sure that you could teach the pup to stay away from it right now, it would be such a temptation. Kitty litter is the same as dogs LOVE cat poop!


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## RainbowJewels (Aug 18, 2008)

Well, today I made Cinnamon sit down and be polite before I gave him his dish and it seemed to help calm him. I also increased his food amount from 1.5 to 2 cups of food...just to see if it helped, which it did. By his night time meal, he sat down when he saw me coming with the dish and it took him about 2 minutes to eat...a great improvement already.
I decided to move the cat's food and water into the basement in the laundry room where the door stays closed all the time and the cats just use a small pet door to get to the litter box. That way, Cinnamon can't get to that stuff at all.

I was feeding my 2 dogs together...on opposite ends of the room, but today I fed them separately and that helped too.
Thanks again for the tips!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Way to go Cinnamon and Mom. I was going to also post if he doesnt slow down in his eating you can put a metal chain in his bowl so he has to eat around it. Someone also here uses a cookie sheet with shredded lettuce on top and they had to eat around it.


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## mdoats (Jun 7, 2007)

RainbowJewels said:


> Well, today I made Cinnamon sit down and be polite before I gave him his dish and it seemed to help calm him. I also increased his food amount from 1.5 to 2 cups of food...just to see if it helped, which it did. By his night time meal, he sat down when he saw me coming with the dish and it took him about 2 minutes to eat...a great improvement already.
> I decided to move the cat's food and water into the basement in the laundry room where the door stays closed all the time and the cats just use a small pet door to get to the litter box. That way, Cinnamon can't get to that stuff at all.
> 
> I was feeding my 2 dogs together...on opposite ends of the room, but today I fed them separately and that helped too.
> Thanks again for the tips!


Wow, that's great progress for just one day!! Congratulations and keep it up.


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## Thor0918 (Feb 28, 2008)

mdoats said:


> Wow, that's great progress for just one day!! Congratulations and keep it up.


I agree! that is good news. I have a pup that will be 12 weeks on Thurs. He was doing the same thing. He didn't get his food until he sat and I did alot of hand feeding. I guess i need to say. This is all in past tense since I am away for a little whild and I don't knwo what will be happening when I get home


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## Ardeagold (Feb 26, 2007)

Is he getting three meals a day? I scanned your posts and didn't see that. He'll need 3 meals until he's about 6 mos old. Try the 1.5 cups 3x a day and see how he does.

Muffin tin....put a little bit into each "cup". 

And definitely "sit" and "wait" are your two most important commands. You'll use them many many times in numerous situations in the future. 

For treats....tell him to sit, and then say "easy". Don't give him the treat if he's hopping or snatching. Make him take it gently.

Sounds like you're getting there. I have a 14 mo old Newf that's like a piranha. He's always been like that. But never, ever takes another dog's food....never even tried. He's learned he has to sit and wait for a treat so he plops down instantly staring at that treat.....you'd think he was starving to death every time I make him wait a second. Drool central! :lol: No snatching allowed....in fact, I make him do "something" to get it. 

Since he already sits as soon as the treat goes into my hand....I make him "down" or "stand" or something other than sit. He's sure focused then! :lol:


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