Feeding Multiple Dogs Without Losing Your Fingers or Your Mind, on Thursday's Nutrition Beat

If you've spent any time at all around dogs, you know that feeding time is a Big Deal. And if you've spent time around multiple dogs, you know how easily that Big Deal can turn downright nasty without some order in the chaos. Everything is heightened when the food bowl comes out, so here are a few tips on how to make meal times safer and more pleasant for everyone involved.

(1) Stay calm. Want a recipe for disaster? Combine three parts kibble, one part anxious owner, and two parts food-aggressive pups. Add to that your excited "OOH, it's food time!!! Everybody come on and jump around, time for puppies to chow down!" and you could have a real problem on your hands. Feeding time should be a zen experience - approach it as such. Getting your dogs excited before eating only exacerbates an already heightened experience. Stay cool, stay calm, and be in charge.

(2) Divide and conquer. Even if your dogs have always eaten together and there have been no problems, it may be a good idea to consider separating them. Competition over the food may develop over time, or there may come a time when one pooch requires a special diet, medication, or a specific amount of food - all of which are much more difficult to deal with when you have another mutt muzzle in the kibble. At feeding time for my pups, Killian gets fed just outside the kitchen while Adia gets her food down the hall. There's not an acre (or even a dividing wall) between them, but it provides the mental segregation necessary to ensure that they aren't swapping bowls mid-meal. If you have food aggressive dogs, consider feeding them in separate rooms, or using crates to keep everyone safe and sound.

(3) Stick to a routine. Try to keep a feeding schedule, so that your pups aren't starving by the time feeding time comes around. Likewise, make it clear to them what your expectations are of their behavior - no jumping up while you're delivering dog bowls, no food stealing during prep time, etc. Keep their bowls in the same place every time, so that there is no confusion about whose bowl belongs to who when chow time arrives.

(4) Use your power (for good, not evil). Feeding time is prime training time - when else do you have a more powerful motivator than a full bowl of food? Make them work for their meal, by sitting or lying down and waiting politely until you put the bowl down. Mix it up a little, so that your pups aren't merely following the routine to get their meal - if they sit automatically, try a down instead. Keep them focused on you, but don't torture - a lengthy training session while you hold their dinner hostage isn't appropriate, but a command or two will make it clear that you're in charge.

(5) Be vigilant. Leaving a room of feeding dogs is not the best idea ever, particularly if you have any that are prone to food aggression. Especially when first establishing a new feeding routine, it's critical that you remain on-hand to provide guidance as to what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior. When one dog is finished, pick up the empty bowl and do not allow him to crowd or steal any food from the pups who are still eating. If this is impossible, consider crating the dogs to provide a more concrete boundary, or feeding them in separate rooms.

For more information on feeding time in your multi-dog home, check out this article. For many guardians of food-aggressive dogs, chow time is the one they dread the most. Follow these simple steps and consider working with an obedience trainer or behaviorist to curb unruly - and potentially life threatening - behaviors. Your dogss meals should be a happy time for you and your pups, just brimming with potential training opportunities - approach them as such, and your entire pooch pack will respond in kind!