# 8 week old puppy goes crazy at feeding times!! Growling!



## Kaycee (Dec 4, 2013)

Hello! I've been following this forum for quite some time now and having just got my first golden baby I 've joined in hopes any questions I have you guys can help me with 

My boy is a little over 8 weeks old and a sweetheart. He's done so great since we brought him home. The one thing I'm struggling with with him is his feeding time. He goes CRAZY for his food. He eats it so quickly he's coughed on it 3 times in the last week. My husband and I have resorted to handing feeding him which we don't mind. It slows him down and we make him sit between bites. Just the last two days though he has started barking and he even growled at me twice as I was preparing his food today!:no: Have any of you experienced this with your pup?? I don't know if he's just so anxious for it that he's acting out in this way or what. I'm wondering what I can do to ease him during feeding time. Any suggestions are welcome!!! Thank you!


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## lhowemt (Jun 28, 2013)

If Pearl vocalized I would just stop preparing it. Wait for her to settle, resume. Sometimes it took a while to get her fed, but she figured it out pretty darn fast.

There are bowls out there made to slow a dog's eating down, but I don't like them because they are plastic. We used to use a rock, just a bit smaller than a tennis ball, in our chocolate lab's bowl. It really did the trick since she had to push it around to get all the food.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

How much are you feeding him every day.


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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

All of my dogs gobbled their food. One dog, Shamus, would dance all over the kitchen grunting and groaning until I put it down. Murphy just lays down, not looking at me, and gets up when I put it down. But it doesn't take very long for a full grown dog to eat 
1 1/3 cups of food.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Amazon sells a stainless slow feed dog dish you can try-










Here's the link, you may be able to find it too at Petco or PetsMart.

Amazon.com: Indipets Extra Heavy One Piece Stainless Steel Non Tip - Anti Skid Health Care Slow Feeding Dish, Medium: Pet Supplies

As another member suggested, try waiting until your pup has calmed down before feeding him.


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## Kaycee (Dec 4, 2013)

I'm feeding him twice a day, 3/4 cups at a time. So he's eating 1 1/2 cups total. When he growled at me today I picked up him and removed him from the kitchen to his playpen area which is the laundry room, gated off. Do you think I should do this or just stop preparing his food and wait?

I saw the plastic bowls when I was searching online and wasn't sure about them because they were plastic. That stainless steel one might do the trick though! I think first I'll try the rock though. Thank you


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## tine434 (Nov 24, 2013)

Remi is almost 10 weeks and he just began to growl at feeding times. His is definitely just impatience and excitement. I make a point to slowly prepare his food... I make one scoop really last 3 scoopings lol. I don't stop preparing it, I just take my precious time until he calms down. He does lay and down and wait patiently after a while... and when I begin to walk and he gets excited, I stand and wait u til he calms... and before I sit the bowl down he has to sit patiently and wait. I don't speak during this time, I let him figure it out after 3 days he's constantly getting better until today no growling lol the point is, I won't move to the next step until he is calm.

Also, I don't suggest hand feeding... using a flat plate instead of a bowl can slow them down until you get your new ones in.

Another thing, how big is your pup? 1.5 cups doesn't seem a whole lot for a growing puppy. I may be wrong but I feed Remi three times daily and at 8 weeks he was 12 and some odd pounds which is 3 cups a day of his puppy food according to the bag

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## Kaycee (Dec 4, 2013)

I will definitely try what you've been doing!! He's going to hate me since it's probably going to take 20 minutes for me to get the food ready and for him to eat lol but I bet he catches on pretty quickly! 

We took Finley to the vet last week and he was 11.5 pounds. The breeder we got him from suggested feeding him 1.5 cups so that's what we've been doing so far. I just checked my bag of dog food and it says for up to 3 months to give anywhere from 2/3-2 cups of food a day. I suppose I could up it a little.


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## tine434 (Nov 24, 2013)

Does your food have weight along with age? Mine has age then a weight chart and you connect the dots kinda lol can't feed a chihuahua as much as you do a Dane lol!
Mine has a love of food also, that's the reason I feed 3X daily is because it helps keep him calmer between breakfast and dinner lol 
You'll get it worked out and your boy will do fine


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

We put a big kong ball in Duke's stainless steel bowl because he was eating so fast he was throwing it back up. It does the trick. We also have always made him sit and wait to eat until we say ok. That establishes you as the alpha.


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## Kaycee (Dec 4, 2013)

Lol! Yeah my bag of food has the weight too and I checked that also. It's a large breed puppy formula, I think that may be why it's only up to 2 cups a day since it's formulated for him. I may have to consider giving him 3 meal times a day although I don't know if my sanity will hold up through 3 tantrums lol
Thank you for your advice


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## Kaycee (Dec 4, 2013)

We have kong for him, I didn't even think to try putting that in the bowl! Great idea!!


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## lhowemt (Jun 28, 2013)

Making him wait teaches impulse control, an important foundation for being well mannered. 



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## murphy1 (Jun 21, 2012)

Feed him another half cup a day. Maybe he's just hungry. I always fed my puppies three times a day until they were six months then two times a day. As he grows he may need more food.


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