[nagdu] Feeding dog during long day?

Nicole Torcolini ntorcolini at wavecable.com
Sat Oct 11 23:53:51 UTC 2014


Yes, I think that twelve hours is probably a long time for any dog.
Completely independent of the behavioral  part, you might consider giving
her a snack in the middle of the day. Just remember to adjust her breakfast
and dinner accordingly if lunch/snack is more than a few calories.

Nicole

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Daryl Marie via
nagdu
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2014 10:19 PM
To: nagdu at nfbnet.org
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Feeding dog during long day?

Hi, Nicole,

Thanks for putting into words pretty much what I do.  After about 6:00PM,
though, she just loses some focus and seems to just think about food.  She
will work, and actually pretty well, but things that wouldn't phase her at
4PM will be fixations at 6:30.  This is why I am thinking about feeding her
on those days where I am at the gym late, especially if she's eating her
breakfast as early as she does.

She does not ever eat directly after we get home. She needs to de-stress,
see hubby if he's home, and just chillax.  I completely understand that
"Um... forgetting something?" look... she gives that to me if she wants her
supper, especially if I am in the living room and hubby is cooking. LOL

It was just something I've noticed over the past month of so that workout
days seem to be more problematic, especially if she doesn't eat until we get
home.  12 hours seems to be a long time for her...

Daryl and Jenny (who is maniacally chewing a bone)
----- Original Message -----
From: Nicole Torcolini <ntorcolini at wavecable.com>
To: 'Danielle Burton' <danielleburton94 at gmail.com>, 'NAGDU Mailing List,the
National Association of Guide Dog Users' <nagdu at nfbnet.org>, 'Daryl Marie'
<crazymusician at shaw.ca>
Sent: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 18:44:01 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: RE: [nagdu] Feeding dog during long day?

To answer the question that Daryl  had first. Ultimately, it is up to you
what you do. You could just bring the food and feed her. Since Jenny is
young, it might go away on its own over time. However, if it does not go
away over time, you may find yourself in a bad situation some day where
Jenny absolutely refuses to work because she thinks that it is dinner time,
which, JMHO, is not acceptable behavior. These dogs are domestic dogs. They
may not know exactly when they will eat yet, but there will be another meal;
they are not going to starve to death. I wonder if giving Jenny a treat or
two would help get rid of the "must have food" frenzy. If you do decide to
try to work it out, I would suggest doing the following. When she misbehaves
because she wants dinner, use whatever techniques you would usually use.
When you get home, do not give her dinner right away. As a matter of fact,
do not give her dinner until she calms down. Giving her dinner right away
will just make her think that she will get dinner if she acts silly. Once
she stops misbehaving, you can go back to giving her dinner as soon as you
get home. On the days that you do get home on time, mix it up a little. Some
days, give her dinner on time, and some days do not give her dinner on time.
	Moving to more general... Our dogs can have some kind of schedule,
but the world should not come to a grinding halt just because they do not
eat. Lexia knows that she gets lunch soon after going out in the middle of
the day, which is fine. Sometimes, she wants it to be that way when she goes
out in the evening. When she comes back inside, she will park herself in a
certain spot and stare at whoever is around with this look on her face like,
"Um, excuse me, aren't you forgetting something?". Of course, as funny and
pathetic as this is, it does not buy her anything. She gets sent back to her
blanket, and dinner comes when it is time.
You should be able to move the time that you feed your dog by anywhere from
a half hour to an hour in either direction without having problems. Usually,
Lexia eats dinner somewhere between 5 and 7, normally close to 6, but it has
been as early as 4 and as late as 8 before. How do I do that? If it is extra
late, then she has to go out later. If it is early, I give her a few treats
before she goes to bed; she is one of those dogs who will vomit bile if
there is nothing in her stomach. If you have one of those dogs, then you may
just need to feed three meals a day, which is what I do. However, if this is
the case, then you really need to make sure that whatever lunch/snack is
does not have too much fat and protein. Lexia eats a certain kind of dog
biscuit for lunch instead of her food, but it is not the treats that I use
for rewards.
Finally, if you are worried about not being able to take your dog out until
a certain time, then give your dog the opportunity before going into
wherever it is that you will be for a while. Even if a dog does not
absolutely have to go, a dog will usually go if given the opportunity. If
you are worried about number 2, then there are things that you can do, like
walking your dog or playing, that will make your dog more likely to have to
go.

Nicole and Lexia

-----Original Message-----
From: nagdu [mailto:nagdu-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Danielle Burton
via nagdu
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2014 11:50 AM
To: Daryl Marie; NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog
Users
Subject: Re: [nagdu] Feeding dog during long day?

All this talk about feeding and schedule brings me to a question I have
myself. 1'M in college and I feed my dog at 7:00 in the morning and 5:00 in
the afternoon. Next semester I'll be in class from 3:00 to 6:50 in the
afternoon. I also have a class at 10:20 in the morning to 12:30. I right now
take her out at 12. how would you guys feed and park your dogs with this
schedule? I don't want to feed her too early or too late. 

Danielle and Willa 


> On Oct 10, 2014, at 12:12 PM, Daryl Marie via nagdu <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
wrote:
> 
> Hi!
> 
> jenny has been doing really well on the whole over the past few 
> months,
but I do have a quick question.
> 
> She eats breakfast between 6:00-6:30 every morning, because I go to 
> work
by 7:30.  On days where we don't do anything after work, she is nearly
flawless in her work, but if I have appointments after work, say after 6:00
PM, she just loses her head.
> She usually eats her dinner between 5:00-6:00 PM when we're home, or I
have plans for the rest of an evening, though she has eaten later.  I have
never been much of a schedule person, and Jenny doesn't seem to mind minor
changes in routine in the evening... but if I am working out at the gym,
she'll get her dinner when we get home at 7:00PM.
> I am wondering if it might be helpful and keep her focused to feed her
before leaving my workouts... or would this likely confuse her? Is this just
a quirk I have to live with?  If I feed her a partial meal, how "partial"
should I feed her?
> 
> Any advice would be appreciated!
> 
> Daryl
> 
> _______________________________________________
> nagdu mailing list
> nagdu at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nagdu:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/danielleburton94%40
> gmail.com

_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.co
m



_______________________________________________
nagdu mailing list
nagdu at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nagdu_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nagdu:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nagdu_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40wavecable.co
m





More information about the NAGDU mailing list