Where to eat?

Where a raw dog is fed ends up being more of a consideration than where a kibble dog is fed.

Raw food is messy- the ground meals aren't too bad can be eaten out of the dish without much mess.   Working meals are quite the opposite.

Daintree dogs always eat on a bed, a towel or inside their crates.  They like to lay down and be comfortable to chew on a bone or pull apart a rack of ribs.  They can eat on the grass outside on nice days, or a spread out piece of cardboard indoors or on a deck. 

The puppies will grab their chicken backs and take off to the crate, a bed, or the upstairs section of the pen which is covered with a blanket.  Of course this can translate to rugs, mats, carpeting, human's bed, etc. in the home environment so be sure to teach your puppy where he or she is to be eating, and make sure you stick to your guns about it.

No sense in having a $9000 Persian rug or brand new white berber getting smeared with chicken grease and/or elk blood now is there?

Try to remember you are the boss, and your reaction to what your puppy tries will be what shapes him or her in the future.  You can be firm but loving with regard to this.

OPTIONS ON HOW TO DO THIS:

1. Put your puppy in her crate or ex-pen to eat.  She might protest but if she is hungry the protest will stop right away so she can chow down!  After a week or two, she will be running in there as you carry this dish towards it.  You can put old towels or washable materials, crate liners or cheap beds inside the crate and wash them regularly (every few days is enough.)  This is how I trained Rhys and Bhindi, and they love their crates to this day, and still eat in them almost every meal (often with the door open now.)  Then leave her in there for a few minutes after she is finished to digest.
2. Decide on an out-of-traffic area in the kitchen or dining room, place a washable bed there or old towel, and put her on leash so that she can't stray from the area while she eats.  Connect the leash to something sturdy such as a table leg, or tied to a door.  You don't have to keep her connected for the rest of her life, just a week or two until she gets that that's the spot where she eats and there is no negotiating.  If she tries to drag her meal to another area, you can just bring her food back and remind her where the 'dinner table' is.