# Where do you feed?



## crittersitter (Jan 9, 2012)

Hi, all. Just about to begin feeding raw to my 3 GSDs. I am at a loss as to where to feed them. They are used to each having a bowl around the kitchen. With raw I'm thinking to would be better outside, weather permitting. I know some people crate but I only have 2 crates and they are in the bedroom with beds in them so not an option. 

Thanks for tips!


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## liquid (Dec 28, 2011)

I feed Eevee on a towel in her crate because I have carpet everywhere, and I dont want her to run around after eating. A lot of people feed outside, which means no clean up afterwards. :thumb: If youd rather feed the dogs inside the house, I'd suggest you get a big towel for them to eat on to protect the floor/carpet. I dont use a bowl because they would take their food out of the bowl to get a better grip/chew anyway


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## twoisplenty (Nov 12, 2008)

Spring, summer and fall we feed outside. Winter we feed outside depending on the weather. If we feed inside its on towels in the kitchen. For the first while I had to stand to make sure the food was actually eatten on the towels but now they get it  I then pick up the towels and chuck them in the wash.


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

I feed in the crate


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

In their kennels, or outside. I might feed indoors this summer, last we had a LOT of flies outside even though their food was finished (meat residue on grass?). Flies creep me out like none other. I might start training them to stay in one corner of the kitchen and just quickly go over the floor with a swiffer.


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## kady05 (Jul 29, 2011)

Outside on the deck for Wilson & Piper. Sako eats inside from a raised bowl because he is SO neat about everything and never lets anything touch the ground!


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

I feed inside one at a time on a white blanket, if I'm in a rush I will feed one dog outside while the other eats inside. Once it starts to get warmer out I will probably feed outside though


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

My female eats in the kitchen on the ceramic tile in her bowl..She sometimes will spray blood especially when she bites into a rabbit head but I just wipe it off the cupboards with spray bleach..My boy eats on a rug on the wood floor in the living/dining room in his bowl...It's not a big deal, If they make a mess you clean it up...


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## CoverTune (Dec 20, 2011)

Lots of you say you use a towel.. but what about the juices etc that soak through?

I feed mine in their crates, so nobody needs to stress that their meal is going to get stolen.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

I feed outside 95% of the time.


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## ciaBrysh (Dec 16, 2011)

CoverTune said:


> Lots of you say you use a towel.. but what about the juices etc that soak through?
> 
> I feed mine in their crates, so nobody needs to stress that their meal is going to get stolen.


I feed my dogs mostly frozen food so it doesn't leak all over the place


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## twotonelover (Jan 10, 2011)

The kitchen floor for the most part haha If its a meal that requires a lot of chewing/tearing, I'll put a towel down for her to get some traction and so she can lie down if she prefers.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Outside on the lawn or in the kitchen if the weather is bad. 99% of the time they are fed outside.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

we taught our dogs to eat off of a bath towel in the kitchen. most of the time we don't use bowls.

when we first started, i sat between them so they would learn boundaries.

if they left the towel, i put them back on it. if they wanted to eat bloody beef ribs in the living room, they were moved back to the kitchen. it didn't take long for them to learn where to eat and not to fight.

when the towel gets grody, i wash it.


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## Mia (Oct 4, 2010)

My dogs feed in their crates. I wipe the mats after. All six cats feed in the dog crate room after the dogs are done. Easier and I turn the cages up and mop the entire floor after


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## DaneLover228 (Nov 29, 2011)

I feed Monty on a towel in the living room. I haven't had any problem with juices soaking through. I guess I just have thick towels. I never had any problem teaching him to stay there either. The first time I put it there, he just kept it there. Now, he runs to the towel whenever I take out food. He's a fast learner


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

We feed outside 100% of the time. We have a small backyard with a concrete porch and surrounding area with grass covering the rest of the yard. We usually tie Buck to the pillar to keep him from wandering into the mud with his food. We feed one dog a time and they eat so quickly that it is really just a matter of watching them eat and then bringing them right back in. We save the big bones for warm/clear days so they can go settle down in the grass to gnaw for a while without getting caked in mud. 

The only time I have ever fed inside was when we had some freezer burned steaks that I just cubed up and hand fed.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

I have 4, soon to be 5 dogs, and 3, soon to be 4, eat(or will be eating) in their crates.

Rhett, Brody and Dixi eat in their crates in the bedroom, they all have a blanket and a couple toys, but they are in the back of the crate. 
Everyone has a crate that is over sized for their size...so they are all super comfortable, they are all the plastic kinds, not wire, and I find it VERY easy to just wipe them right out....if the urge ever hits me!:tongue1: (Doesnt happen that often...not that there is anything ever to clean up!HAHA)
Leo eats on his "mat" on the bedroom floor, he isnt crated and likes to eat next to Brody's crate...he hardly ever moves his food off of his mat...and when he does its never for very long before he eats it!:tongue:

Keeva will also be fed in her crate.
And the kitties have their own room, so they are fed in there!:wink:


Now on days that I am home for longer then their meal time everyone is fed in their favorite spots. 
That means, Brody in the gated kitchen, Leo in the hallway so that he can see everyone, Rhett on the living-room rug/floor and Dixi next to me in the living room(on the other side of the rug with the coffee table between her and Rhett.) We have hardwoods, so clean up isnt a problem...and the rug is an "easy throw in the washer" kind!:wink: (I guess once Keeva is "of age" we will have to find her "happy spot" as well!!LOL :lol


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

They used to be fed outside, then inside on a towel, then in the kitchen...

Now I just hand them the meat and they eat wherever (not on furniture or anything, haha). Usually they eat in the kitchen but Sophie often takes her meat into the dining room. It doesn't really bother me, they do a good job of cleaning up .

Edit: I'd probably feed them in the kitchen or outside if it was something really bloody but that hasn't been necessary yet. Most of their meals are fed half-frozen, anyway, due to our crazy refrigerator.


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## Deco (Jan 3, 2012)

I feed carcasses, 1/2 chickens etc on the kitchen on a ceramic tile floor I don't allow him to take the large stuff anywhere else. Chunks and mince goes in bowl. 

After he has finished I just give the area a really quick steam mop. Dogs seem to have great immunity to bacteria found on raw meat, humans however don't.

Will probably feed outside in the summer.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Abi, how in the heck do you have room for so many crates? Gunners one big crate always seems to take up my entire house no matter where I put it.


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Sprocket said:


> Abi, how in the heck do you have room for so many crates? Gunners one big crate always seems to take up my entire house no matter where I put it.


Well in our 12x14 bedroom(yes my bedroom is the size of a stall!:tongue our dresser has a cuby that it fits into, our tv goes on that along with the frog cage, we only have a full sized bed, and one side table, as I like the bed against a wall. Then, well as long as there is a pathway for us to walk in and get dressed in its all crates/dog beds!!LOL We actually just rearranged it...so that Brody and Dixi's crates are sharing the cuby with the dresser....and then we have more room for Keeva's crate....Im hoping itll work out, cause I like being able to see EVERYONE from the bed, and before Brody was at the foot and I couldnt see him!:wink:

I swear some times...I dont really need a larger house, just a larger bedroom!!HAHAHA
(Remember I grew up in a 37' rv with a total of 5 people and 3 dogs, all over 20lbs.....this house for "just" 2 people really DOES feel large!:wink


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Wow.. that must have been cramped!! We keep our crates in the dining room, but in the new house they will go in the basement- we only rent the top of a house right now, we don't have the basement at all. We have a king sized bed and the mutts sleep with us lol- Bishop at the foot of the bed and Tess in my arms.

I always grew up in a big house with three people and a cat.. no dogs.. LOL so our house always seems really crowded!!


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Okay so thats my issue. I'm a space freak. I LOVE OPEN SPACE! lol Our room is about the same size as yours Abi  Gunners crate goes in the office though. Sometimes it floats into the living room or the kitchen or our bed room. 

The office is best because it has a heat lamp for Jonny so that small room stays warm. 

He hardly ever uses it though! We have a pile of dog beds on the floor in our room for them. 

What was the topic again? LOL OH yeah where you feed. I feed outside in the OPEN SPACE!


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## nickiklaus (Dec 10, 2011)

i feed them in the kitchen with pee pads around their bowl incase they wanna take the wing out of the bowl and chew on it on the floor


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Always in the kitchen in his stainless steel bowl


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## PeanutsMommy (Dec 7, 2008)

Peanut eats inside i do not have a choice. i have carpet so i put down a clear plastic shower curtain that i washand sanitize after each meal.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

Well, my two eat inside, usually in the kitchen but sometimes they take their dinner somewhere else (especially bone meals). Umm, feel like I'm a rather horrid housekeeper (nothing new, lol). The most I do is make sure there's no meat/bone bits out anywhere, that's (generally) the limit of my "cleaning up".


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## Jordan S. (Feb 2, 2010)

I do partial raw for Chocolate, he eats his TOTW inside, but with raw I just toss the RMB out onto the grass. I'm not really into the idea of him dragging blood and guts across the kitchen floor. :nono: I guess others don't mind it though LOL, doing the whole crate thing, cleaning the floor, laying down newspaper for every feeding seems like too much work.


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## RachelsaurusRexU (Sep 4, 2010)

Tile floor, crates, outside... Wherever.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Outside. So much easier and keeps my germaphobe boyfriend off my back. ;-)


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Jordan S. said:


> I do partial raw for Chocolate, he eats his TOTW inside, but with raw I just toss the RMB out onto the grass. I'm not really into the idea of him dragging blood and guts across the kitchen floor. :nono: *I guess others don't mind it though LOL, doing the whole crate thing, cleaning the floor, laying down newspaper for every feeding seems like too much work*.


HAHA, ya I cant imagine cleaning or laying down anything for every feeding either. They run into their crates them selves...so I dont do anything other then just walk up, put the food in and close up the crate!LOL  But I agree...I cant imagine doing anything else!!HAHAHA (And ya, nope....dont mind the "mess" seeing as how I have cleaners....Brody and Rhett dont leave anything behind...and if/when Leo or Dixi do the other 2 clean up after them!!LOL)


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Oh, you've got to train them to keep it in their bowl when they're eating :hungry:...no clean up


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

I dont even want to admit this, but try as I might to keep them on a towel, they drag it where they want it. I'f is non bone meal then they'll keep it in the bowl but if its bone in, they drag it. I have to disinfect afterwards. But once we move I'll be feeding then outside or in a crate. Our home is so tiny right now and we dont have a yard. So inside eating is really the only option.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

frogdog said:


> Oh, you've got to train them to keep it in their bowl when they're eating :hungry:...no clean up


i figure i'm doing well if they keep it on the towel. 

i have pretty much given up on bowls.

but i'm glad they don't usually drag bloody beef ribs all over my carpeting.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

AveryandAudrey said:


> I dont even want to admit this, but try as I might to keep them on a towel, they drag it where they want it. I'f is non bone meal then they'll keep it in the bowl but if its bone in, they drag it. I have to disinfect afterwards. But once we move I'll be feeding then outside or in a crate. Our home is so tiny right now and we dont have a yard. So inside eating is really the only option.


i trained mine to stay in the kitchen on the towel with leashes. i simply put a leash on both of them....this after sitting between them to keep them from fighting and they stayed on that towel. 

when they seemed to trick me into thinking they were trained....if they left the towel, the meal was picked up and they were called back. or if they took it with them, i did not try to take the meal out of their mouths, i just took them back to the towel.

course my dogs are about the size of your dog's leg.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I feed all of mine in a bowl in the kitchen, all have there spot and do well. I have a tile floor. When I give neck bones I lay towels outside, they stay on them.


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## HappyPuppy (Sep 26, 2011)

If there is any bone at all (that never stays in the bowl - with we could teach them that!), I feed out the kitchen door on the grass (starting in a bowl). I held an umbrella over Ruby ONCE in the rain. LOL Boneless I often feed in the kitchen esp if it is cold outside. I'm amazed at people who feed in their crates and have to scrub once or twice a day!!! I'm way too lazy for that.


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

HappyPuppy said:


> If there is any bone at all (that never stays in the bowl - with we could teach them that!), I feed out the kitchen door on the grass (starting in a bowl). I held an umbrella over Ruby ONCE in the rain. LOL Boneless I often feed in the kitchen esp if it is cold outside. I'm amazed at people who feed in their crates and have to scrub once or twice a day!!! I'm way too lazy for that.


I feed in the crate but definitely don't scrub it out daily. I only use it to feed, I clean it when it starts to look grotty but Deeks doesn't ever leave much. Typically I walk to the crate and toss something in it, Deeken leaves when he's done.


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## Mondo (Dec 20, 2011)

Outside for bone meals. Toby eats on the porch, Tuffy takes it into the yard. We'll see what happens next week. Our first cold snap since they started raw. Highs of -20c .. which is -4 fahrenheit. Yuck.


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## Aerodogs (Jan 14, 2012)

Inside from their elevated feeders. I have tile so it's an easy clean-up but for the most part they are very neat eaters. 

All in a row


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