Why does my dog eat from his brother's food bowl instead of his own?

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It could just be that Gina is a submissive animal and she is making sure that she isn't competing with your other dog. There are many reasons why a dog has certain behaviours, however if she is eating normally afterwards and is otherwise playing and doing well, then I wouldn't worry about it. She is just a polite puppy. Best of luck with Gina!

It sounds like Spencer is a bit more "pushy" than Scout, in general - dogs have different personalities, just like people do :) To a certain extent, this is often just something that you have to live with - it usually bothers owners much more than it bothers the dogs, in my experience. If Scout was bothered by Spencer's behavior, he would growl or snap at him; since he doesn't, he may simply not care overly much about these things. It usually doesn't work to try and force dogs to share with each other and be "fair" - these are human concepts that they don't understand. It's often best to manage situations like this by separating the dogs (using a baby gate, or crating one or both of them) when you want to give them some type of special treat or chew item so that they can both eat in peace. You can also have one-on-one playtime with Scout if you need to, while Spencer is in a different room with the door closed or in his crate. Another option would be to keep Spencer on a leash, and practice rewarding him for leaving Scout alone while he chews on a bone or plays with a toy. Many puppies become more polite and less pushy once they grow up a bit more, so you can watch for this as well. If you're concerned and would like an in-person opinion on whether there is anything else that might be helpful, I would recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate both of your dogs together and help you put together a more detailed plan for them. You can search for one in your area here: www.dacvb.org

It's very common for dogs to growl or show other types of resource guarding behavior towards other dogs when they are eating. This is probably causing stress for both dogs, so I would recommend feeding them in separate rooms or in their crates (if they are crate-trained) to avoid this problem :)

We may never know why some dogs do this! My dog will also do this sometimes. I don't think there is any specific medical reason for it. I think it is just personality, similar to why some humans finish all of one item on their plate before moving to the next. I hope this helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I think the best way is to separate them. I would recommend you continue to keep them separate when it is time to eat. If you continue to feed Molly only her diet, eventually she will understand that that is all she will get and most likely will start eating it. You can add canned chicken or chicken broth to it for example to entice her appetite which may get her going faster. Good luck!

Yes, this sounds like a dominance behavior. Is there any reason that you can't add a second dish and split the food between the two dishes? I would try that to see if that helps. It may however, make it worse as Echo may flitter back and forth between the bowls trying to be in two places at once and it may cause more anxiety. All you can do is try and if adding a second dish makes the problem worse then just go back to what you are currently doing. As long as Quiz is able to eventually eat and is maintaining his weight I would not be all that concerned.

You can feed the fast eater in a bowl designed to slow his eating. These have grooves in them so he has to work his tongue to get the food. Then I would leave him out until the other dog finishes. If the slow eater isn't finished pick up the food anyway. Do this at each feeding and hopefully the slow eater will get quicker and the slow feed bowl will slow down Loki. I recommend not having food down at anytime so they don't fight. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your dogs.