Sharing one bag of liver between several dogs

Liver treats for multiple dogs come down to one bag and separate budgets. Work out each dog's share from its own daily calories, break the pieces to suit each mouth, and hand them out one dog at a time, by name, so the quickest dog does not end up with everyone's liver.

How do you split liver when dogs need different amounts?

Give every dog its own number. Dogs in one house can have very different daily calories, so a fair split by eye is rarely a fair split by budget. The 10 percent ceiling on treats from VCA Animal Hospitals, with 90 percent of calories left for complete and balanced food, is worked out for each dog on its own, never for the household as a whole.

The calculator on how much liver a dog can eat does one dog at a time. Run it once per dog with that dog's daily calories, from your vet or its food bag. Our label gives 81.6 kcal ME per ounce, and the calculator uses that to return a weight of liver for each dog.

Then make it physical. Weigh each dog's share onto a small plate or into a small container, one per dog, and label them. A container with a dog's name on it is a budget you can see.

How do you hand out liver without a scramble?

By name, one at a time, with each dog in its own spot. Say the first dog's name, give the first dog its bit, and move to the next. If you give the sitting dog its bit while the other two hover, you are teaching the other two to hover.

Start with the dog that is most likely to push in and ask it to stay put while you do the rest. A dog that is waiting quietly gets paid, and a dog that is crowding gets nothing yet. Keep the order the same from day to day, so the dogs learn the routine rather than the race.

Our pieces are medium sized and break apart by hand, so the size can differ dog to dog: bigger bits for the big mouth, flakes for the small one. Do all the breaking before the dogs are in the room.

What if one dog guards treats from the others?

Separate them for liver. Put the guarding dog in another room, behind a gate or in its crate with the treat, and give the others theirs somewhere else. This is a management step, so everyone eats in peace while you work out what is going on.

We cannot say why a dog guards, and we will not offer a plan for it. A trainer or your vet can watch the dogs together and tell you what they see. Until then, liver goes out in separate spaces, and nobody has to defend anything.

How fast does a multi-dog home go through a bag?

It depends entirely on the budgets, which is why the calculator comes first. There are three bag sizes, 1.5, 3 and 6 ounces, and the liver inside does not change. An open bag should be used within 30 days and kept sealed in a cool, dry place, so you want a size you will finish in that window.

With several dogs, a larger bag often fits. If you want to stock up, the Beef Liver 3-Pack is three bags of the same size. Only the one you open starts the 30 day clock, and the others stay sealed on the shelf, where the best by date printed on each bag still applies.

Can you train two dogs with liver at the same time?

Better to take turns. Short sessions go best with one dog working while the other waits on a mat or is in another room. The working dog gets all the attention and all the rewards, and the waiting dog gets its turn next.

Training both at once with the same bag means each dog watches the other's treats, and you spend more time managing than teaching. If you have to, give each dog a different cue and a different spot, and keep a separate container for each.