# Hand feeding



## mrsjefferson (Mar 19, 2012)

We read that it's good to handfeed a dog when you first get it so they don't get food-aggression, and my children were only TOO happy to oblige. So at least once a day the poor dog has to have the patience of a saint while one of the little ones hand feeds him each bite (especially my 14mo, she only gives him once piece at a time, my 5yo and 3yo put a small handful out on the floor for him, or hold a small handful from his bowl). 
Today Snoopy hasn't been much into eating. It's our first day of being 100% on the new food (the old owner had him on Purina Puppy Chow and we finally dropped down to just a few pieces of it in each meal yesterday), and so I'm wondering if it's lacking that smell so he won't eat it? Even though he clearly preferred the new stuff and would eat it first and then eat the old stuff. He did finally eat all his breakfast, I give it to him around 7:30 and usually he huffs it all down in 5-10 minutes, but today he didn't finish it until about 10:30. And now it's 2:20 and my 3yo is finally getting him to eat, when he usually eats lunch around 12-12:30. He's played fine and gone potty fine today. Is he just having an off day for eating? He's also had 6 tiny little treats earlier, but that's it. We leave the bowl on the floor too for each meal, and then pick it up when he's done (otherwise my 14mo will hide it lol).


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## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

You should leave the bowl down for about 15-20 minutes and then pick it up, even if he hasn't finished his food. You want him to learn to eat his food when it is given to him. It worked well for one of my dogs, who used to be a very picky eater. 

How old is he? Sometimes dogs skip meals, but if he is really young you want to watch out for hypoglycemia.


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## mrsjefferson (Mar 19, 2012)

Snoopy is 4 months old and 6lbs. He went through it all weekend, barely eating, unless my kids were right there really trying to get him to eat. He just ran over to his food bowl that I meant to put away earlier after he ate half his breakfast and looked at it, looked at me, and then was like "hey, are you going to sit here and hand feed me?" I didn't, and after a minute he finally scarfed it all down. That makes me happy. Maybe he just didn't feel good for a day or two.


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## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

IMO it's also an excellent idea for all family members to constantly remove bones, toys etc from a pup at different times, it teached them to relinquish an item without aggression.

I will also pick mine up for a cuddle or wake them up for a pat when they're in a deep sleep so as to prevent any show of aggression when suddenly awoken, moved etc. Especially important with young kids around imo.


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## mrsjefferson (Mar 19, 2012)

Oh yes, my 1yo is quite adept at taking toys from the dog. lol He usually just thinks she's playing and tries to playfully get it back. It amazes me how gentle he is with her in particular. He nibbles on her fingers when she shoves them in his mouth, but he never bites her. She is also the one who usually walks by him sleeping and then wakes him up by poking at him or just kind of laying her body lightly over him on the pillow so she can hug him. He does a great job. But I never thought of desensitizing him that way. Good idea!


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