FEEDING RITUAL - Waiting

Feeding time can be an exciting and active time in some households. I am told of food spilling, people tripping, dogs jumping and general chaos leading to people just leaving food out for their dogs to eat at will. For a few reasons, free-feeding is not something I provide, but what I do create in my home is a structured and relaxed energy surrounding our feeding ritual.

After we've walked - accomplishing a task before being rewarded with food - my dogs have a particular location in which to sit while I prepare their meal. This location gives them the opportunity to see what I'm doing while ensuring everyone's safety and composure. It doesn't take long to prepare their meals, but there are a few steps, and having my dogs sit until I call them to their bowls gives them another task to perform, and it provides them with the predictability that food comes when everyone is calm. There is a serene feeling and reverence for the gift of food in our house.

This isn't all to assert my power over them, though it does create an understanding that all good things come from me, but it gives everyone a job, a place, a security that we each have a role in this ritual and it's always a gift, happily provided and received.


Luna watching carefully and patiently. Fosse interested in both the meal prep and the squirrel he sees out the window.