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P Hudson · 07-09-2011, 12:43 AM

We have a two-year-old Yorkie, and several weeks ago we brought home a new Yorkie puppy. The puppy will be five months old at the end of this month and is on Blue Buffalo puppy food, while the older dog has graduated to Blue Buffalo adult dog food. But they keep insisting on eating each other's food, though we try to keep them from it and have even put their bowls in different rooms.

To add to the chaos, just days after we brought home our new puppy, I tripped over a barrier we put up to keep the puppy out of the kitchen and broke my leg and ankle, so while I'm in a wheelchair, my poor husband is trying to take care of me and both dogs--the puppy, of course, is not potty trained.

I've always preferred to self feed, especially with a puppy who needs to eat frequently. She's not a tiny baby (4.5 lbs. at last vet visit) but I wouldn't want her to need food and not have access immediately. Even on self-feed I will find her bowl empty because the adult dog sneaks and scarfs her food down whenever he can. The puppy, in turn, seems to prefer to eat the older dog's food rather than her own.

If I could walk right now, I might be able to come up with a better solution, But because the puppy needs the extra nutrients that are in puppy food, we decided to just put puppy food in both dogs' bowls so she'd always be eating that no matter which bowl she ate out of.

My husband said the vet said this might make the 2-year-old gain too much weight--he's already a BIG Yorkie at 12 lbs, but he's not fat and I've never seen an overweight Yorkie. So can anyone here weigh in on this? Do you think it would hurt my two-year-old Yorkie to eat puppy food?

07-09-2011, 12:43 AM	#1
P Hudson YT Addict Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: VA USA Posts: 407	Puppy and 2 year old eating each other's food . . . it's complicated. We have a two-year-old Yorkie, and several weeks ago we brought home a new Yorkie puppy. The puppy will be five months old at the end of this month and is on Blue Buffalo puppy food, while the older dog has graduated to Blue Buffalo adult dog food. But they keep insisting on eating each other's food, though we try to keep them from it and have even put their bowls in different rooms. To add to the chaos, just days after we brought home our new puppy, I tripped over a barrier we put up to keep the puppy out of the kitchen and broke my leg and ankle, so while I'm in a wheelchair, my poor husband is trying to take care of me and both dogs--the puppy, of course, is not potty trained. I've always preferred to self feed, especially with a puppy who needs to eat frequently. She's not a tiny baby (4.5 lbs. at last vet visit) but I wouldn't want her to need food and not have access immediately. Even on self-feed I will find her bowl empty because the adult dog sneaks and scarfs her food down whenever he can. The puppy, in turn, seems to prefer to eat the older dog's food rather than her own. If I could walk right now, I might be able to come up with a better solution, But because the puppy needs the extra nutrients that are in puppy food, we decided to just put puppy food in both dogs' bowls so she'd always be eating that no matter which bowl she ate out of. My husband said the vet said this might make the 2-year-old gain too much weight--he's already a BIG Yorkie at 12 lbs, but he's not fat and I've never seen an overweight Yorkie. So can anyone here weigh in on this? Do you think it would hurt my two-year-old Yorkie to eat puppy food?