# Does your poodle do this before they eat?



## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

Jasper is the same. Well, he doesn't eat everything that moves, but he does need a little cajoling to come and get his food. Silly boy.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Nope - mine are thoroughly excited at the mere suggestion of a meal! I do ask for a Sit or Down as a way of saying Please, but Poppy practically levitates while lying flat, with the sheer joy of finding out what is in the bowl this time.


----------



## penny_ann (May 29, 2010)

fjm said:


> Nope - mine are thoroughly excited at the mere suggestion of a meal! I do ask for a Sit or Down as a way of saying Please, but Poppy practically levitates while lying flat, with the sheer joy of finding out what is in the bowl this time.


Yeah, both of my dogs are super excited at the mere mention of food as well!


----------



## JE-UK (Mar 10, 2010)

Likewise. I just have to say "dinner" and mine does the Poodle Dance of Joy.


----------



## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

fjm said:


> Nope - mine are thoroughly excited at the mere suggestion of a meal! I do ask for a Sit or Down as a way of saying Please, but Poppy practically levitates while lying flat, with the sheer joy of finding out what is in the bowl this time.


Russell as well! He runs to the spot we feed him in and throws himself into a "down". EVERYTHING in his bowl is the best! If he barks, I make him wait for his food for 30 or 40 seconds, then say OK, take it. I travel a lot and plan on taking him with, so I don't want barking in hotel rooms, and food really excites him


----------



## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

I used to make her wait in a sit/stay for about 30 seconds for her food, but I stopped doing that because a trainer said not to do that. Maybe she is just so used to doing that that she does it automatically.


----------



## PoodlePowerBC (Feb 25, 2011)

I'm thinking that having multiple dogs makes a difference? I also have a YorkieX so I think there's the worry that "If I don't eat it ... the other guy is gonna!" Looks like Gigi & Jasper are only pups?


----------



## 2719 (Feb 8, 2011)

sandooch said:


> I used to make her wait in a sit/stay for about 30 seconds for her food, but I stopped doing that because a trainer said not to do that. Maybe she is just so used to doing that that she does it automatically.



Why did your trainer say not to do this?

I make all my spoos sit and I put scrunchies to tie up their ears before I let them eat. I think it is a good idea to make them wait until you say it is okay...then they know you are the top dog. No one seems stressed by this. One wiggles her bum on the floor she is so excited for her food but she stays sitting.


----------



## jasperspoo (Feb 25, 2011)

Why yes, Jasper is an only spoo. He's quite ridiculous about food, it's like it's an imposition to get him to eat. My previous dogs were like walking stomachs.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I don't make mine wait once the food is ready, but a Sit or Down is like expecting a child to say Please - a form of politeness, rather than dominance.


----------



## caboodles (Jan 7, 2011)

truelovepoodles said:


> I make all my spoos sit and I put scrunchies to tie up their ears before I let them eat. I think it is a good idea to make them wait until you say it is okay...then they know you are the top dog. No one seems stressed by this. One wiggles her bum on the floor she is so excited for her food but she stays sitting.


I make my dog standards do the EXACT same!! They just sit patiently and wait, until I say "OK, GO", and then they proceed to eating.

Winston, the 15 month old, will actually lie down and eat.. it's pretty cute!
But Hudson, 9 months.. scarfs down his food like it's going to fall through the floor if he doesn't eat it fast enough! I use those wide, stainless steal bowls for both of them, so what I do to slow Hudson down is I flip it upside-down so it becomes donut-shaped to put the kibble in, making it a challenge but he eats fairly quickly!! 

So I'm wondering.. is he eating quickly because of Winston's presence/fear that Winston will eat his food?? ORR is that just the puppy in him, that always has an appetite?! OR is that just the way he is/the habit he developed from the breeders?!? THOUGHTS ANYONES?!? OR suggestions on how I can help him to get into the habit of eating slower? I just worry for the future.. when he reaches adulthood, and will be more susceptible to bloat .. if he eats like that


----------



## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

truelovepoodles said:


> Why did your trainer say not to do this?
> 
> I make all my spoos sit and I put scrunchies to tie up their ears before I let them eat. I think it is a good idea to make them wait until you say it is okay...then they know you are the top dog. No one seems stressed by this. One wiggles her bum on the floor she is so excited for her food but she stays sitting.


It wasn't my trainer, just a trainer from a dog training book I had read. Actually, I've read several books and magazine articles about dogs where some authors say you should make them wait and some say not to, so I'm confused by it all. 

But Gigi it already laying on the floor when I put her food down, like she's not interested in it at all, so I don't even bother with telling her to sit and wait anymore. The only time she seems interested in her food is when I add a little something new to her food like plain greek yogurt or fish oil. Then she'll devour it for that one meal, eat it not so eagerly for the next, and by the time I serve it to her a third time, she's back to her sulky disposition. I don't get it.


----------



## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I have 4 dogs, and I make them all sit while I put their bowls down - it's part of NILIF, which I'm a fan of: http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm. I put Fonzie's bowl down last, b/c he's the least patient having to wait. 3 out of my 4 eat like they've never been fed, but Potsie acts like eating (and also having to go outside) is SUCH an imposition! I often have to feed him in his crate so that the other sharks don't scarf down his food after they finish theirs.


----------



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Sophy used to be rather Ho-Hum about meals when they were kibble - then I started the dogs on raw and home cooked. Now every meal is greeted with joyous excitement, and if she refuses it, I know that it is either because she is unwell, or because she prefers that particular meat cooked, and does not recognise it as food when it is raw.


----------



## Sookster (Apr 11, 2011)

The first spoo puppy that I raised was very aloof about her food. She usually had other things she would rather be doing than eating! She never got very excited about food (but at the same time, she displayed some mild food aggression once she hit "puberty" that had to be worked on). 

Sonya LOVES to eat, and gets really excited at feeding time, but if something else is going on she will get distracted. More than food, she craves attention and if she thinks she could be missing out on attention she will walk away from her food bowl.


----------



## sandooch (Jan 20, 2011)

georgiapeach said:


> I have 4 dogs, and I make them all sit while I put their bowls down - it's part of NILIF, which I'm a fan of: Nothing in Life is Free. I put Fonzie's bowl down last, b/c he's the least patient having to wait. 3 out of my 4 eat like they've never been fed, but Potsie acts like eating (and also having to go outside) is SUCH an imposition! I often have to feed him in his crate so that the other sharks don't scarf down his food after they finish theirs.


First of all, thanks you all for your replies. At least I know Gigi isn't the only dog out there too thrilled with her meals. Mayber I should go down to one meal a day, or do you guys think she is still too young for this? 

Georgiapeach, I got that fish oil you recommended and at first Gigi scarfed down her food when I mixed it into her Taste of the Wild, but now she is doing the laying down routine again. What a picky eater!

Thanks for that site. I bookmarked it to read later.


----------



## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

LOL. No. She wags and dances happily and hovers watching us prepare it (and believe me, Z/D is no gourmet poodle meal), then sits by her bowl, waiting for the indignation known as the 'snoodle' and her invitation to eat. Then she noisely snarfs it up from her special bowl intended to slow her down, as if it was her last meal.

ETA: And she eats 2-3 times per day.


----------



## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

caboodles said:


> I use those wide, stainless steal bowls for both of them, so what I do to slow Hudson down is I flip it upside-down so it becomes donut-shaped to put the kibble in, making it a challenge but he eats fairly quickly!!


What an awesome idea! I tried this tonight with my 3 sharks, and it took them twice as long to eat. My lab looked at me, like WTH? It was great! They still finished before Potsie had eaten 1/2 his food, so I still had to put him in his crate to finish in peace, but at least the "beasts" were slightly tamed!!


----------



## Bella's Momma (Jul 26, 2009)

This is the one we have:









I liked it b/c it seemed easier to clean than some, in case we go back to raw foods some day. And it TOTALLY works. We'd previously put a ball in her bowl and it probably added 10-20 seconds to her gobble-time. This has quadrupled it. She still burps afterwards though. :/


----------



## John Rambo (Feb 27, 2011)

Rambo is a very finnicky eater, I am hoping he will grow out of it! He will consume all his food, but it takes him time. My other dogs wolf down their food like it is a race, I have even had to put a ball in their bowl to slow down their "wolfing"! But yes, my poodle is a SLOW eater, so don't feel bad:2in1:


----------

