This is a dog that was really fearful/skittish when I adopted her at 11 weeks but has made a lot of progress. She's always been inconsistent with food, e.g. she would seem to be indicating that she's hungry a couple of hours before feeding time, then ignore her food when it's put in her bowl, only to eat like she's starving an hour later.
After doing some reading here and elsewhere, I've been trying to train her to the strict feeding times, putting her bowl down and taking it away if she hasn't starting eating in twenty minutes, and she doesn't seem to "get it". She missed both feeding sessions yesterday, then slept in her crate (where she eats) last night instead of on the floor beside my bed, but when I tried to feed her in the morning, nothing.
I know if I leave it out all day for her, she'll eventually eat, but that's sometimes problematic because there is another dog in the house that's food-aggressive.
She also eats enthusiastically if I deliver it in a novel or stimulating way. I found a food dispensing toy and she went bonkers over that (I would have to load it three times for each feeding) for three days and then decided she wasn't interested in it any more. This morning I found that she would eat her kibble if I scattered it on her crate liner a handful at a time (but wouldn't eat from her bowl). I tried a different, plastic bowl instead of her metal one but she wasn't any more interested.
Is it better to stay the course until she figures out she needs to eat food out of the bowl when it's put there? So far I haven't held out past two missed feedings without giving in and bringing the food back later, or looking for novel/stimulating ways to feed, or whatever.
After doing some reading here and elsewhere, I've been trying to train her to the strict feeding times, putting her bowl down and taking it away if she hasn't starting eating in twenty minutes, and she doesn't seem to "get it". She missed both feeding sessions yesterday, then slept in her crate (where she eats) last night instead of on the floor beside my bed, but when I tried to feed her in the morning, nothing.
I know if I leave it out all day for her, she'll eventually eat, but that's sometimes problematic because there is another dog in the house that's food-aggressive.
She also eats enthusiastically if I deliver it in a novel or stimulating way. I found a food dispensing toy and she went bonkers over that (I would have to load it three times for each feeding) for three days and then decided she wasn't interested in it any more. This morning I found that she would eat her kibble if I scattered it on her crate liner a handful at a time (but wouldn't eat from her bowl). I tried a different, plastic bowl instead of her metal one but she wasn't any more interested.
Is it better to stay the course until she figures out she needs to eat food out of the bowl when it's put there? So far I haven't held out past two missed feedings without giving in and bringing the food back later, or looking for novel/stimulating ways to feed, or whatever.