• thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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    9 months ago

    Our great Dane does this. If he doesn’t want a treat, he’ll go and put it by our small dogs’ kennels for them to have. He also won’t eat treats he likes unless the small dogs get one too.

    And, oddly enough, he’s the only dog I’ve ever encountered that can free feed (great Danes are notoriously food motivated). But water, though. We have to chase him away from the bowl or he’ll sit there and drink the whole thing.

    • wjrii@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      Between the thousands of years of semi-selective breeding and the parallel evolution that made our ancestors want the selective breeding to happen, the emotional compatibility between dogs and humans is amazing. They’re not humans of course, and we do well to remember that, but the connection is eerie, and when you see a dog display that kind of pack/family oriented behavior, it’s heartwarming.

    • Polar@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Weird. All of my dogs are free feed. While raising them, we always allowed access to a full bowl, and they’ve never wanted to eat the full thing since they know they’ll always have access.