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<blockquote data-quote="Marguerite" data-source="post: 126373" data-attributes="member: 1991"><p>I grew up with dogs, my parents were small-time breeders and we lived next door to big-time breeders. But husband & I have never had a carnivorous pet. Not for more than a week, anyway.</p><p></p><p>But I get to pet-sit for friends who live nearby. Technically it's my kids doing the pet-sitting, but as t hey have no clue, I have to step in as the expert.</p><p>The neighbour's pets are a young terrier and a very old cat. They both eat cat food (I can't convince the neighbour that the dog needs DOG food, car food isn't balanced for a dog). All moist food. They keep bowls of water there for each animal, they each have their own food bowl but they fed them both at the same time. Cat gets fed twice a day, dog only once.</p><p></p><p>And of course, the first time I did this, I saw that dog eats EVERYTHING - all the cat's food as well as her own. I noticed the cat was very fussy and this allowed the dog to push her aside and eat her food. At first I though it was dirty food bowls, so I washed the food bowls until I would have been willing to feed difficult child 3 from them. Cat was more willing to eat but still too submissive to the dog.</p><p></p><p>When the owners came back I commented on how thin the cat was, but before I could finish they said, "And she's such a pig with her food, too - never leaves anything."</p><p>I told them that I had a hard time keeping the dog from eating all the cat's food as well as her own, and they said, "Well she would, wouldn't she? Especially if she's hungry because the cat ate all the dog's food."</p><p></p><p>I clearly couldn't get the message though; every time I've minded those animals the situation is exactly the same, so difficult child 3 & I are now into a routine - while the cat is being fed, the dog is playing outside and the door is shut. The cat has fifteen minutes to eat after which its bowl of food goes into the fridge. After all, the cat is getting another meal in twelve hours... and then I feed the dog, even with the cat hanging around, and there is no way that cat will get any of that dog's food, she wolfs the lot down fast (when her bowl is clean).</p><p>And I've found that the cat is NOT a pig, she eats a lot less than the owners were allowing for her. But when I'm minding the animals, that dog gets hungrier than she's used to.</p><p></p><p>The moral of the tale - feed animals the correct amount for that animal. And stay, and watch. Any food not eaten immediately, take away the bowl. Leaving it there increases the likelihood not only of hoarding (we had a dog do this once - she was a pest with it) but also of the food going bad. We get flies here, there is nothing worse than a bowl of fly-struck dog food to really put me off.</p><p></p><p>And keep the food bowls clean - some dogs will wait until they're ravenous to eat, because the stale food in the bottom of the bowl puts them off, too. You can see these dogs will sometimes take their food out of the bowl to eat it.</p><p></p><p>I don't think occasional access to low-res food would be a problem for the pup, but it sounds like it's not a good thing long-term for either dog, to be eating any of the other's food. Bad habits.</p><p></p><p>Watching the animals eat this way - because we tie it in with walking the dog, it takes little extra time at all. And whatever habits their owners have, the pets adapt to me and my habits very quickly, they know to not nag for more food. Either that, or they have no need.</p><p></p><p>Marg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Marguerite, post: 126373, member: 1991"] I grew up with dogs, my parents were small-time breeders and we lived next door to big-time breeders. But husband & I have never had a carnivorous pet. Not for more than a week, anyway. But I get to pet-sit for friends who live nearby. Technically it's my kids doing the pet-sitting, but as t hey have no clue, I have to step in as the expert. The neighbour's pets are a young terrier and a very old cat. They both eat cat food (I can't convince the neighbour that the dog needs DOG food, car food isn't balanced for a dog). All moist food. They keep bowls of water there for each animal, they each have their own food bowl but they fed them both at the same time. Cat gets fed twice a day, dog only once. And of course, the first time I did this, I saw that dog eats EVERYTHING - all the cat's food as well as her own. I noticed the cat was very fussy and this allowed the dog to push her aside and eat her food. At first I though it was dirty food bowls, so I washed the food bowls until I would have been willing to feed difficult child 3 from them. Cat was more willing to eat but still too submissive to the dog. When the owners came back I commented on how thin the cat was, but before I could finish they said, "And she's such a pig with her food, too - never leaves anything." I told them that I had a hard time keeping the dog from eating all the cat's food as well as her own, and they said, "Well she would, wouldn't she? Especially if she's hungry because the cat ate all the dog's food." I clearly couldn't get the message though; every time I've minded those animals the situation is exactly the same, so difficult child 3 & I are now into a routine - while the cat is being fed, the dog is playing outside and the door is shut. The cat has fifteen minutes to eat after which its bowl of food goes into the fridge. After all, the cat is getting another meal in twelve hours... and then I feed the dog, even with the cat hanging around, and there is no way that cat will get any of that dog's food, she wolfs the lot down fast (when her bowl is clean). And I've found that the cat is NOT a pig, she eats a lot less than the owners were allowing for her. But when I'm minding the animals, that dog gets hungrier than she's used to. The moral of the tale - feed animals the correct amount for that animal. And stay, and watch. Any food not eaten immediately, take away the bowl. Leaving it there increases the likelihood not only of hoarding (we had a dog do this once - she was a pest with it) but also of the food going bad. We get flies here, there is nothing worse than a bowl of fly-struck dog food to really put me off. And keep the food bowls clean - some dogs will wait until they're ravenous to eat, because the stale food in the bottom of the bowl puts them off, too. You can see these dogs will sometimes take their food out of the bowl to eat it. I don't think occasional access to low-res food would be a problem for the pup, but it sounds like it's not a good thing long-term for either dog, to be eating any of the other's food. Bad habits. Watching the animals eat this way - because we tie it in with walking the dog, it takes little extra time at all. And whatever habits their owners have, the pets adapt to me and my habits very quickly, they know to not nag for more food. Either that, or they have no need. Marg [/QUOTE]
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