# 2 dogs, one dish or two?



## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

We have a 1 year old that eats little bit out of her food bowl here and there during the day. I guess this means she self feeds and that works for her and for us. She is on the thin side, never eating what she could according to the bag. 

We are getting a puppy this summer and are wondering if it is okay for the 2 dogs to share a food and water bowl. Mia is not food motivated or possessive of food. Toys may be another question though!

Our dogs will be medium sized dogs, 18-22#. 

Thanks for any thoughts.


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## applesmom (Jun 9, 2007)

You might run into a bit of a problem there. 

It's not recommended to allow puppies to self feed. They grow so fast and their calorie requirements change almost weekly (depending on their size and rate of growth). By allowing a puppy to self feed along with another dog, theres no way of monitoring how much food it's getting and could even lead to stomach upsets and obesity.

I've always felt that each dog should have their own dish and be allowed to eat without having to share it's food with another dog. 

The short answer would be individual feeding dishes.


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## Sonn84 (Mar 29, 2008)

I have 7 dogs and 7 food bowls but only 2 water bowls a large tub thing for my outdoor dogs and an automatic waterer inside. Seeing 7 dogs line up at their individual bowls is quite funny the puppies haven't gotten it completely down but they are learning. Good luck


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Based on the food scrabble we had today- get them separate feeding dishes. This was our most submissive dog today decided he wanted the food in the geriatric's bowl. We ended up with a dog fight.


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## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

I highly recommend different bowls. I have four dogs, four bowls and they are fed in different areas. This way no problem with food aggression.


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## Mac'N'Roe (Feb 15, 2008)

Good advice all around. two separate bowls. I had two puppies and at first they wanted to share food back and forth. I trained them which bowl was theirs and they get it now. Separate bowls will be better


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

I can't imagine having two dogs free-feeding - even from separate bowls.

You would have no real way of knowing what each is eating during the course of the day.


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## DogsforMe (Mar 11, 2007)

I'd have 2 food bowls & feed in different places.


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Let me see I believe I am 9th link and all of the above say 2 bowls, I'm sensing a pattern. Now I cannot drive to your house and beat you up if you only use 1 bowl  But I would be thinking bad thoughts about you. This is one of those things that will work and you will never know it because bad things will not happen. PLEASE 2 bowls and I also do not like free feeding, because as said above how much a dog eats is quickest way to keep check of dog's health.


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Got it, loud and clear! 2 bowls.

So, how do I stop free feeding? I just put food down and she won't touch it until tonight if she follows her usual pattern. I am going to take her food up now and have my daughter put it down for 20 mins around noon. Then take it up and do the same at dinner time. I think that is what we are to do, correct??? I know she won't starve. 

Our only other dog was a maltese and she was more like a cat so sometimes I do things without thinking that Mia is a larger dog and much different! 

Thanks everyone!!


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## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Cobalt said:


> Got it, loud and clear! 2 bowls.
> 
> So, how do I stop free feeding? I just put food down and she won't touch it until tonight if she follows her usual pattern. I am going to take her food up now and have my daughter put it down for 20 mins around noon. Then take it up and do the same at dinner time. I think that is what we are to do, correct??? I know she won't starve.
> 
> ...


Have you had worm check done on her recently, I am not a stool sample person, as sometimes depending where worms are in the system they can be negative and it's a lie. I like to worm my dogs once a year. It would not hurt though for worm check. Worms could affect appetite and you said she was thin. Check gums if they are a pale white instead of a healthy pink could be worm problem.(hooks/whips/round) That being said what you are doing is ok, I normally feed once a day, I am more hard core though if dog doesn't eat I try again next day same time. I am not advising you to do this, I have much more experience. Just do what you are doing now. Please remember one thing, this is not meant to take the place of a good Vet's instructions. There are dog's out there that live to eat(eat anything) and others that eat to live.(picky type)


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## Patt (Feb 12, 2008)

Cobalt said:


> So, how do I stop free feeding? I just put food down and she won't touch it until tonight if she follows her usual pattern. I am going to take her food up now and have my daughter put it down for 20 mins around noon. Then take it up and do the same at dinner time. I think that is what we are to do, correct??? I know she won't starve.


Yes! I feed twice a day, if they don't eat breakfast after 20 or 30 mins I pick it up. Next time they eat is dinner time. No treats or food in between. 

Good luck.


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## Shaina (Oct 28, 2007)

Patt said:


> Yes! I feed twice a day, if they don't eat breakfast after 20 or 30 mins I pick it up. Next time they eat is dinner time. No treats or food in between.
> 
> Good luck.


Same here -- the first week or so I ended up picking it up with food in it several times, but she figured it out and there's never been so much as a kibble left over since.

If she's eating normally she also gets a frozen pack pumpkin Kong around noon, to give her something to do in her crate.


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## doggone6 (Sep 7, 2007)

Patt said:


> Yes! I feed twice a day, if they don't eat breakfast after 20 or 30 mins I pick it up. Next time they eat is dinner time. No treats or food in between.
> 
> Good luck.


Me, too. It's the only way.

I'd also recommend separate bowls. Ever notice how the "best" toy in the house is the toy one dog has and the other doesn't (and MUST obtain immediately)? Same thing with food. Separate bowls cut down on squabbles.


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Thanks! She did not eat until lunch and then only 1/2 a cup. At dinner time she ate about another 1/2 a cup so I left it down to see if see would eat more and she has not. 1 cup of Fromms Surf and Turf at 18# is about 1/2 cup short but not too bad. 

She was just tested for worms, was wormed and tested in August when we got her. Gums are not pale but I will check with vet when we go.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> We are getting a puppy this summer and are wondering if it is okay for the 2 dogs to share a food and water bowl. Mia is not food motivated or possessive of food.


A shared water bowl is one thing. Expecting two dogs to share a food bowl is just silly! Why on earth would you even entertain the idea?


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Because my last dogs were tiny and it's a different world with a maltese. They shared and didn't mind. My sister's do too but Mia is a real dog! lol


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## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

Basically I agree with the general idea here - it is not a good idea to expect two dogs to share the same food bowl and free-feeding is not a good idea either.

That having been said, I have seen pairs - always male-female pairs - begin to share the same food bowl or bowls *on their own*. When that happens, some people do encourage it because it does makes feeding time easier. 

Personally, I would stay with separate bowls even in those cases so as to be able to monitor at least to some extent how much each dog was eating. It's very important to monitor a puppy's food intake. But I would never even try a shared food bowl unless they have made the first move and have been doing it for a while. 

I've never encountered a problem with shared water bowls. I'm not saying it's impossible and some people tell me they did have such a problem, but I have never seen it myself even with 'hard-case' dogs.

Good luck and make sure you introduce the dogs to each other properly.


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Thanks Poly... we are hoping to get another female but we need to do more research. People have preference for one sex or the other and we have never had a male pet of any kind other than fish and hamsters. I have 3 daughters, lol. We do not want a male but if it's better for the dogs, then we will have to consider no second dog or a male, simple as that.


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## QKid (Apr 5, 2008)

I'd get different bowls. Think about this - what if they wanted to eat at the same time? You'd run into a bit of a problem there.


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Thanks, we'll have 2 bowls.

We are taking care of the neighbor puppy and the puppy ate out of Mia's bowl and she didn't mind. It was interesting to see how she would react to another dog in her house, no problems. 

Mia is eating twice a day now. I added pumpkin to her food to encourage her to eat right away in the am. By dinner time she was ready to eat again.

Thanks everyone!


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