What I find interesting, is that with my first dog, the only time he would ever stand up to the cats was when they got too close to his food bowl (which wasn’t ultimately a problem; the cats seemed to accept having absolute dominion over the entire rest of the house as a fair trade). But the water bowl, only a few feet away, was peacefully shared by all of the quadrupedal residents with nary a growl or dirty look.
My dog takes about 5 minutes to chew and swallow a tiny slice of fruit.
He can scarf down a big Rice Krispy Treat cube in a second (Rubik’s Cube sized chunk stolen off the coffee table).
Is it possible to tell if a dog is being dominant or submissive by how quickly it eats their food then, based on the logic that a dominant dog shouldn’t have to worry about others taking their food and therefore may eat it slower? My dog is pretty submissive (I can easily take away a bone or her food and instead of growling or trying to bite me, she just stares blankly at me) and she eats ridiculously fast.
Exactly ditto for my golden (a breed that is beta in utero, practically).
They are dominant or submissive based on how you treat them. YOU decide who is dominant or submissive. (You or them.) My dog eats his food very slowly but he knows where his place is. He (he was 3 at the time when rescued) would growl under certain circumstances but I have been vigilant in fixing this. After a year, nary a growl. Now, rather than growl he removes himself from the situation.
Neither of my previous dogs wolfed their food because they felt submissive. They just ate, because they were hungry. And yes they were submissive. My White Shepherd growled over her food and treats a couple times. I stress: a couple times. Corrected. No more growling.
um. i was going to say “they don’t have molars.”
As for hunting dogs, they try to pack in the calories when they have the chance. Once they are on the move they will run all day. They want to store up for the hunt.
Many hunting dogs make great house pets but that tendency has to be monitored. The food supply has to be measured, they may need to be on a low calorie diet and treats have to be limited. Yet, they will eat when given the chance because, by their nature, they are preparing for the hunt. If you don’t monitor the hunting dog’s diet they may eat themselves into obesity, develop back problems and die well before their time.
I’ve read a theory about the difference between food and water that makes sense to me. When dogs would encounter food (say, a dead deer) there’s a limited amount of meat, so they compete. When they encounter water (say, a lake or pond or river) there’s essentially an infinite supply, at least to the standards of a pack of dogs. If there’s enough water for everyone, there’s no need to fuss and fight.