questions and what is your pet greeting routine?

[sherry in Maine]

Hi, I own 6 dogs. They play outdoors, (except on really cold days) take walks daily, eat raw most of the time, and get regular grooming, and go to vet when necessary.

In the am, I wake up at about 5:25. Make coffee, let dogs out of crates to go out & relieve themselves.
Then I stagger in to room where the stove & couches are & sit,patting various dogs until coffee is ready. Stagger out to coffee pot, get hot coffee & swim through the river of dogs who have followed me from one room to the next.
Sometimes I use a couple of those rubber dog combs that fit the palm of your hand, and will 'scratch/brush' each one who asks.

As a person with adhd, I wonder often if there is a better way to greet my dogs in the morning. (1) Is there something I can do better? I say hi to all for about 45 minutes, in between sips of coffee.

Then for 15 minutes I look at my kindle (love it) or if I want to type something, go into computer room.

Sometimes, if I have any ready, I'll do a 5 or 10 minute bit of training with teensy pieces of stew meat or scraps or vienna sausages (containing 'extruded meat' eww) and feel very virtuous about using my morning time so conscientiously..... usually, though, not that coherent so early on.
AFter that 60 minutes is up, I get my kid up for school.
(2)How do you greet your multiple dogs? Is there an order that you do? I have read that you should feed dogs according to 'rank'- I do this mostly, but on occasion, for whatever reason, I mix it up a little bit.

(3)Do you feed your dogs in order of 'rank'? I have big and little dogs. They all eat in crates at night.

oh, and another (bonus) question I have been thinking about- my dogs are mostly raw fed. When I dont have any meat left for them, they get high quality dry kibble til I find more dog quality meat.
This isn't a problem, except one dog I have that is a fat guy. Feeding him in his crate at night (during raw food times) makes it easy to monitor his food.
When I feed dry to all, it is 'free feeding' because that's the best way it works here. If I feed dry kibble at one certain time in their crates, there is lots of vomiting later on. It isn't worth it. I dont like what it does to them.

Fat Fred eats constantly when I free feed. How can i keep him from doing it? That's when he gets fat..... I keep big dogs separate from littles during kibble eating times, so everyone can eat peacefully throughout the day.

thanks, interested in what everyone does.....

[Maura]

I'm very adhd, I don't see what it has to do with greeting dogs, other than we tend to think in terms of efficiency. You spend a lot of time with your dogs. My morning schedule changes a little based on if we have a foster dog and what he is like. Right now first thing is I throw on enough clothes to be decent, let foster Mikey out of the crate, leash him, and take both dogs outside. If it's not too slipper, I take Mikey on a 20' leash, with my border collie loose, for a ten to twenty minute walk. Mikey has a heart murmer so his walk time is short. As soon as we get back inside I feed them.

They get talked to and pets throughout the day so I don't feel that I have to devote much attention in a large block of time. They like tug of war so the three of us will play that. I do a bit of training with the foster.

I try to greet my permanent dog, Hamish first and treat him first, etc. But, that doesn't always happen. It doesn't seem to bother him. Some of the fosters are kind of alpha. I've had two that I absolutely would not allow on the furniture and made sure I paid attention to treating second, etc.

I usually feed raw, in which case I go outside, put Boston on tether. Go back in for raw meat, hand Hamish his first, then the foster. Right now they are on kibble and the Boston gets his first because I have to feed him in the crate. When Hamish is done with his I let Mikey out and he dashes to Hamish's dish and licks it like he's starving.

I don't think you should free feed or feed once a day, but twice. I think it is more natural. If you fed your fat dog twice a day he may not be so fat, and as long as he is fed in his crate you don't have to worry about him getting anyone else's food. Boston terriers all have hollow legs so we can't free feed. They do fine on twice a day.

[Haven]

Usually wake up with a Doberman touching noses with me with her face on my pillow - Stumble to the coffee pot, swing open the door and let them rush out to pewp and scan the property looking for deer scents.

Swing door back open; drink coffee for an hour then go to work. They lounge around the house all day, or in the kennel.

I pretty much just let them be dogs running outside, digging holes to stash raw bones, sharing the same food and dish whenever I feel like feeding them, etc.

They probably sound neglected compared to some dogs around here, but I have a feeling they live a very happy and balanced life just being dogs. I swear most days I can see them smile

[wendle]

Greta wakes me up before the alarm, usually about 5:30ish, but lately she is closer to 4. She paws until I ask that ever important question "do you have to go potty?" Ears perk up, "Yes!!!" Bruce is up pacing quietly as Greta wakes him up too with her moving around. Rhys is old and pretty much deaf, so she wakes up either when I move, since she is at the end of the bed, or when I poke her. I let them out to do their morning business. Tess has taken to barking at odd hours of the morning as she eagerly anticipates her breakfast, so she is now fed at night and crated. I let her out last to go potty, just because she is past my first stop. Greta always has to bark at Azura in the barnyard, who really doesn't care. Rhys has to run the fence for a while before she comes in. Since she can't hear much, when I call everybody in to eat she doesn't always hear me. Everybody else goes to a crate to eat breakfast, no particular order. Bruce and Greta always go out to help with chores before or after their breakfast. Funny how they all find their own routine, and what they like.

[mekasmom]

I sleep with all the chihuahuas. I go to bed fairly early, and let them out just before bed. Then we get up around 2-3am to go potty again. And again around 5-6 am. The big LGD sleeps on the floor at the foot of our bed on cold nights and hot nights. She goes out to guard the chihuahuas as they potty and bark to keep away anything she thinks might be lurking out there. In nice weather she wants to stay outside and bark all night.
Basically the chihuahuas are like little shadows that have to be near you at all times and sleep with you or sit in your lap.
If we go out somewhere, then come back the LGDs greet by sniffing you all over and wondering what you brought them to eat. The chihuahuas wait at the door until I open it and let them go out go potty. Then we all come in and have a big pet/kiss/lick session for a few minutes. That is about the extent of our lives and greeting.
They can all eat together fine. The smallest chihuahua bosses around the LGDs and makes them wait until the little ones are all done eating. Then LGD eats everything in site and asks for more. But, yes I can put down food, and nobody fights at all. In fact, at supper, all the dogs sit in a line and will eat from "daddy" one at a time as he hands them something from the table one by one. But, everyone here is altered, so that might have helped our attitudes.

[akane]

We do not greet dogs. It makes them hyper. We ignore their behavior.

For kibble we have one bowl. They choose to eat in pack order themselves one at a time without issue. For raw each dog has a blanket and I just go down the line dropping their frozen food. No one is suppose to get off their blanket. Who I feed first mostly depends on who stays on their blanket best or who tries to steal food.

[doozie]

My dogs are in a gated room at night. They are like an alarm clock,and we rarely get to sleep in. They go outside first thing,lots of noise,wagging,and excitement,but they really want to get out to relieve themselves,then in to eat.
Separate bowls,and each has a certain location to eat.It takes 10 to 15 minutes for all to eat,and it is back outside again.
We then all get together on the couch for a while. I can tell if one is not feeling well,or if another needs a bit more food by their eating habits and we adjust accordingly.
I could never free feed, one would just eat til they burst,another would guard the food,another would try to bury what was not eaten,that does not work here.

[GrannyCarol]

Somehow I'm down to one dog. I'm a little lost, its the first time in close to 40 years. So, I'm spoiling her horribly! She does sleep in a crate - year old smooth Collie that likes to chew and is used to a crate, need I say more? She loves to sleep and almost never complains, seems to have an iron bladder too. When she gets up in the morning (or after a nap) she likes to streeeeeetch and get gentle luvvies and snuggle a little, then she's ready to go out, where she instantly rockets off the porch to tell the world that she is UP! She will sleep in on the weekends beautifully and doesn't get up/go out the instant one or both of us start moving around, I don't want her to learn that our movement is time to go.

When I had more dogs, they ate and slept in crates and things were under routines to help me be sure they all got attention, food, exercise, grooming, etc. It really got to be more of a job and a lot less fun when I had a lot of dogs. I'm enjoying just spoiling my one baby, even as I miss the old girls this winter.

[sherry in Maine]

thanks all! I wanted to see what others did; because I was originally training some of these guys for service assist, I have been around dog trainers, and also have read lots of dog trainers blogs, emails etc.
I have always felt a bit of guilt about 'time wasting' because i do easily let time slip by (adhd). Wanted to know if this was 'neglectful' or was I doing ok....
I guess because of the associations with trainers, I always felt that each moment should 'accomplish' some kind of worthy goal.....(ha! )

I dont train any one for service assist specifically anymore, just for fun sometimes.

Thanks for your input!

[GrannyCarol]

There is nothing neglectful in enjoying the company of your dogs! That is the main purpose of their lives. I think its very cool that you spend so much time with them, they learn all the time and I think that dogs that spend a lot of time with their people become the best companions, whether they have a lot of formal training or not.

[pancho]

I only have one dog. She is with me constantly when I am at home. If I am inside she is inside, if I go outside she goes outside.
If there is anything she wants she comes to me and lets me know. I understand pretty much what she wants and she understands pretty much what I say.
She never gets up on the bed without asking me if I am in it. If I am not in it it is hers. When I am not at home she is the boss of the place. If she wants outside she lets me know. She lets me know when she is hungry and even lets me know what she wants to eat.
I found out that if I more dogs they would not get as much attention and would not be the kind of dog I enjoyed. I can take my dog anywhere and never need a collor or leash. She is trained on voice signals and hand signals.

Life is so much better for me and my dog since I decided it would be better to have one well trained dog rather than several dogs that are not trained as well as I want.

[lmnde]

The reasons your dogs chuck up kibble when crate fed, is because they gulp and inhale. When rawfed [meaty bones I assume] they have to work on each bite, chewing thoroughly and taking their time. When you go to kibbles, food goes down too quickly without much chewing. I second feeding dry food twice and in the crate in appropriate portions. Leave them in the crate for a bit longer after they are done eating before letting them to go out to defecate [unless you have accidents otherwise], so the stomach can settle and keep the food down. If they chuck up, they usually will eat it again - gross I know, but normal for dogs.

[simplepeace]

It depends on the time of year. Though I always get up and let all 3 go out to potty, though my little one also the oldest will sometimes sleep in. I turn on coffee and when I have a cup in hand I call them back in the house. It is usually very early, like 4 or 5 so I don't leave them out lest they bark and wake the neighbors.
I usually check email while I have my coffee and they all settle, until I put on my shoes - then they all get excited (unless it is really cold out an the little one stays in bed!)
I take them out to run off-leash to watch the sunrise every morning that it is above 20 degrees . The days like today when it is 2 degrees they do keep an eye on me, but they seem to know it isn't going to happen. If I put my shoes on right now they would be ready though. I want them to stay quiet, so I don't wind them up until I am ready to give them my full attention.
We don't do morning bonding, because I just want to wake up, and they just want to run.
Oh and I don't feed in the mornings unless it is a small treat after our walk. I feed raw, and in the evenings.

[Ravenlost]

At night three of our dogs sleep in the fenced in front yard, two sleep in the fenced in back yard, four sleep in the garage and the rest (11) sleep in the house...some on our bed, some on our bedroom floor and some downstairs.

When one of them wakes me up in the morning (Teagan this morning barking at the front door) I stagger downstairs and let everyone in the house who wants to go out into the front yard. Then I fix myself a Diet Coke and sit down at the computer to wait until hubby gets up. I don't let the garage dogs into the house because they will be loud and wake up hubby. When he gets up he takes the remaining house dogs and the ones in the garage out for a long morning walk.

We feed once a day in the evening. Hubby has his routine and the dogs all know who gets their bowl when. Routine makes this a much calmer time. Three dogs are fed on the back porch (not the ones who sleep out there), the five oldest dogs are fed in the garage and the rest are fed in the house, with the youngest one eating in his crate.

Sounds like you are giving your dogs excellent care and lots of attention! Stop worrying!

[Joshie]

We feed measured amounts in bowls. Each dog sits at his/her bowl and must wait until told "OK." Since the dogs need different amounts this makes sure each gets what it needs. We don't crate now but in the past (different dogs) we have. Personally, I'd not want to feed in the crate. Eating tends to make one want to potty so immediately after feeding, we let the dogs potty.

I have to admire your discipline!