Why is my dog scared to eat near our puppy and hides her food?

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!

Until you are able to consult with a qualified trainer, I would advise feeding them separately. (Feed them in separate rooms, and pick up the food after 20-30 minutes if they don't eat it right away). Don't leave food out for "fair game" feeding. When the possibility of a fight over food is removed in this manner, it can alleviate stress for everyone. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Try to encourage Luna to eat and you may try separating them at meal time until Luna relaxes. Exercising them both may also help. if Luna continues to not eat for another 24 hours or shows any signs of illness, have her examined by the veterinarian. Here is a link about puppy introductions: https://www.petcoach.co/article/5-tips-to-introduce-a-puppy-or-dog-to-your-older-dog/ I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

This is not a terribly uncommon problem and should be somewhat easily resolvable. I would consider feeding the dogs in an area that you can keep them separate but still in visible contact with one another. If you are able to keep the two apart with a baby gate that could probably work fine. Another option would be to feed one of them in a crate, which is actually what I do with one of my own dogs. Another option might be to feed your female with a bowl that requires her to eat more slowly. This might give your other pup some additional time to eat in peace. This has the potential to backfire however, if Xena gets annoyed by the difficult bowl and just decides that her son's is easier to eat from. Hope this helps and at least gives you some ideas about how to resolve the issue. If none of this seems possible, you may need to consider some additional training for Xena including some commands to force her to come to you when she is called, and to divert her attention away from the other food bowl.

I would recommend separating Cookie from your other animals while they are eating. I would not leave the food out all day, instead I would meal feed them. With regards to the cat food I would recommend keeping the food up high somewhere your cat has to jump to get too. That way Cookie cannot have access to the cat food at all. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Aw they are so cute! Growing and being protective over food is a natural and expected behavior for dogs so there's no real way to "train away" the behavior. I recommend feeding them in separate rooms and removing the food bowls before they are allowed to interact to avoid any fighting or injuries. You can also get an Adaptil diffuser for the household which may reduce some overall stress. Most importantly, however, is keeping everyone safe by providing separate feeding areas, separate water bowls, and not allowing your dogs to interact around food. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and best of luck!

Many dogs experience resource guarding behavior, which leads them to become highly possessive over their food and/or prized toys or treats. The safest approach is to be sure that Freya and your puppy are separated in different rooms or crates while they have access to any food or treats. You can also contact a specialist in veterinary behavior (https://www.dacvb.org/) if this issue persists.