# Puppy personality and eating



## Andreak (Dec 9, 2014)

Happy new year!! I introduced myself and our puppy Finn a few weeks ago who is now 11.5 weeks old. This is our first vizsla, we've had springer spaniels in the past. Anyway, now to my questions. I keep wondering when is this puppy going to really break loose and give us a run for our money?? Don't get me wrong, we've had a little bit of the sharkies but they are diminishing with training and he definitely has his crazy moments. He now sleeps 10 hours at night in his crate, either straight through or with one potty break. He plays a little too hard at times with our 2 year old cavalier King Charles spaniel Wilson. Wilson is teaching him and he is learning. Potty training is going pretty well, I can't complain there. I believe it takes many months for them to totally get it. He loves to nap on us and he will lay around by himself too and is doing well with the crate. Overall he is a real relaxed sweet puppy and We keep thinking when is this going to change? One thing We are a little concerned about is his eating. From the first time we fed him, he is obnoxious about eating, it's like he is starving and desperate. We pet him while he is eating and offer little bits of chicken or beef from our hands. We also sometimes feed from our hands. He has let out a few growls, never snapping or pausing. We just continue and he is always fine. We are just concerned it will get worse and turn into a problem with resource guarding. We have not responded at this point at all to the growl. Is there more we should be doing? We have had him 4.5 weeks and feed 3 times per day, we have probably had 6 growls. Just yesterday we upped his food again to see if it would help him feel more satisfied and relaxed and I think it did. I feel like we are feeding too much for his size and age though. We fed him a total of 4.5 cups yesterday. We were at 3 cups and he seemed so Unsatisfied. He weighs about 13-14 pounds. Any advise would be appreciated. Other than the eating he has been so much fun, we are really starting to feel a bond with him. Thanks


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## hcrowder (Dec 26, 2013)

Glad to hear all is going well. We also feel blessed to have our little girl and she is a riot, adding so much joy to our lives. I can't say we had it as easy as you are experiencing but I would say, don't look a gift horse in the mouth. 

As for the food, I can't help with amounts as Penny is raw fed so the volumes don't equate. However, I will say that she ate way more than we thought she would, considering her size and age. I would go with what your puppy looks like. Try feeding a little more for a week and if he still looks good keep up the extra food. We found that Penny could go from pudgy puppy to skinny minnie in about two days depending on how much she decided to eat. We have been lucky that we have never had to control her eating, we just give her food until she stops eating. At Finn's age we were also feeding 4 times a day. 

To help prevent resource guarding we also remove Penny's food periodically and then give it back so she knows we are in control of her food and we will give it back to her. I also hold her high value treats such as peanut butter in her kong, bones, antler, etc. She has to keep next to me when eating these things as it isn't like a piece of chicken than she can take and then chew somewhere else. 

Finn is going to change a lot over the next few weeks. I imagine that if he has only growled a few times this is something that isn't a big deal but that you are right to be working on.


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## Andreak (Dec 9, 2014)

Thank you. We too hold bones, bully sticks etc. in our hands while he chews. Sometimes we let him do it on his own and there doesn't seem to be a problem. I think we are a little gun shy because our daughter had a cocker spaniel that had extreme resource guarding from 7 weeks old. He aggressively bit me and drew blood when I tried to take a raw hide away. I couldn't believe a 7 week old puppy could act that way. Anyway, enough about that but it makes us more cautious and uneasy.


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## Rbka (Apr 21, 2014)

We are kind of strict about Nico's "interactive feeding" routine. He too was a puppy glutton and would sometimes make himself vomit from inhaling his food too quick!

We feed him in a muffin tray (6 compartments) and make him "earn" each portion. He has to complete tricks (bow, beg, shake, etc) and tasks (putting toy, bone, ball in crate or bringing to hand). It takes time and patience but has worked very well with us. He learns quickly, enjoys the tasks, and understands that food is earned and not given randomly. We have done this almost every mealtime for about 7 months and have no intention of stopping (although his eating speed has slowed considerably as he's become comfortable with the interactive feeding). We point at which compartment of food he has "unlocked" with his behaviour until he earns them all. This technique also works for us because my spouse and I overhear how the other interacts so we can be consistent with commands and training.

On another note -- Nico was a very easy puppy but is now a moody teen at 1 year. Always worth a read: http://www.trader.co.nz/versatiledogs/articles/awkward.htm

Enjoy!!


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## Andreak (Dec 9, 2014)

I am happy to report that two days ago we started offering more food each feeding and he seems to be satisfied now. He's not crazy at feeding times and is relaxed while eating. He actually has started walking away and then coming back for more, sitting and even laying down while eating. I think he might have just been famished all the time. I read on this site that some let the puppy eat until they are full so we tried it. I really thought he would eat until he was sick but that doesn't seem to be the case. That article was very good Rbka. We might try the muffin tin idea too for something different.


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