Should the puppy in your household be fed the same foods and snacks that are given to your older dog? Here’s another good question from my friend who’ll soon be adding a new young canine to his family when he already has an older dog.
“Tuco has dry food he can snack on during the day. I know this is bad, but he mostly eats what I eat. Chicken, no skin, lean pork and beef. The new puppy, Gus, will be used to a different diet. Is it fair to feed Tuco one thing, and the puppy another? Like a jealousy thing?”
First of all, let’s talk about the “jealousy thing” . . .
Forget it!
It’s my personal opinion that dogs don’t get jealous, per se.
I think dogs can be greedy, which means they want seconds (or thirds) of what they like. But that has nothing to do with their realizing that a dog buddy has more of it than they do. Instead, I think, it has to do with the dog buddy’s having any of “it” (the desired thing) when the dog himself has none. Certainly, in a situation where one dog has finished eating a desired food and his buddy still has some left, the first dog will probably consider helping himself to what his dog buddy has. He himself wants more—regardless of the source.
Is that jealousy? I don’t think so. I think it’s greed.
I firmly believe that dogs aren’t sitting around thinking, “Dad likes you better because you got chicken and I did not.” I feel it’s much more likely that dogs are thinking, “I want chicken, too, I want chicken!” When you see a plate of yummy food being delivered to another table at a restaurant, are you jealous of the person who ordered it? I doubt it; you just wish you’d ordered it yourself, right? I think it’s pretty much the same with dogs.
I recommend not getting carried away with concern about dogs who might be feeling a fairly destructive human emotion like jealousy. Let’s just say instead that dogs want what they like. It’s rewarding to them, and they want more of it. That goes for food, certainly. It also goes for all the other good stuff we give our animals, even love and attention.
There is absolutely no requirement of good animal stewardship that all animals be treated equally. Cows are treated differently from horses. Dogs are treated differently from cats. No one says you’re not a good gerbil owner if your tiny pet doesn’t graduate with honors from an obedience course. Even within the same species, each animal is different. Every animal, every life, deserves the specific care and consideration that it needs. And that will not be an exact duplicate of what another animal of the same species needs. Not even a littermate. Not even a twin.
Puppies don’t require the same treatment as adult dogs, just as infant humans don’t require the same treatment as grown humans. They may require more—they almost never require less—but it will not be the same. The treatment required depends on the individual animal, canine or human. It’s a matter of fairness, not of equality.
Will my friend’s new puppy be jealous of his older brother’s meals?
I say he won’t.
Will my friend’s new puppy want to eat what his older brother eats?
I say he will—at least, he’ll want to get a taste to see what it’s like.
Should my friend’s new puppy eat exactly what the adult dog eats?
Probably not.
Why?
For exactly the same reasons you don’t feed a human baby on pizza!
Puppies cannot tolerate the ingredients of many foods and snacks that adult dogs like, even if those foods are perfectly okay for adult dogs to eat. Feeding those foods to your puppy will likely cause him digestive upsets and discomfort; he may even develop life-long allergies and unpleasant physical reactions. Puppies should eat only foods that are completely safe for puppies. Pizza, tacos, spaghetti, and nacho chips may not be on that list!
Your older dog may tolerate, even thrive on, small shares of all those treats. For your puppy, though, undigestible goodies like those might mean sleepless nights and vomiting.
Puppies need foods formulated for them, without any ingredients likely to cause them discomfort or bad physical reactions. My friend can find out from the owners of his pup’s mother what the puppies have been eating in their original home. We hope it’s a good, nutritious food, not grocery store garbage that can do more harm than good.
My friend can find out the brand name, look up the label, and read the ingredients. Then, at his well-puppy visit on the day he brings his puppy home, he can ask his veterinarian’s opinion of the suitability of that food. The veterinarian will approve or disapprove of the ingredients, and my friend will add that information to his research to determine if he’ll keep feeding the same food, or if he’ll switch to another that would be, according to his research, better for his puppy at this time.
My friend will not simply go to a grocery store and buy the cheapest brand of food he can find. (Frankly, the cheapest food is probably the worst food.) He will also not be fooled by the advertising claims of any food. He will perform his due diligence. He will read labels and look up ingredients. He will get advice from a variety of knowledgeable sources, such as many staffers at independent, locally owned pet supply stores. He will never assume that just because someone works in a national-chain pet store or any store that sells cats and dogs, that person is an expert—that’s very rarely true. He will end up knowing more about pet food than he ever imagined there was to learn because he wants to make the right choices for his pet.
My friend will probably end up deciding to feed his puppy a kibble or canned food that is different from what he feeds his older dog. Eventually, young Gus may well do perfectly well on the same food his older brother Tuco eats, but right now, it’s very likely that the nutrition Gus needs to grow and develop will be different from what Tuco needs to maintain and grow older in good health.
Keeping the two dogs separated when they eat is mandatory.
Tuco is used to what’s called “free-feeding.” His kibble is available to him at all times, except when my friend isn’t home to refill the bowl. I strongly urge my friend to reconsider this feeding arrangement for his older dog once there’s a younger dog in the home. Having food available at all times is not what a puppy needs. It’s not what a puppy owner needs either, because it will ruin most attempts at housebreaking. Meals at fixed times are an important component of an effective housebreaking scheme. If a pup can eat throughout the day, anytime he wants, it’s almost impossible to predict when he will need to eliminate!
Here’s what I would do to switch the older dog to fixed mealtimes.
- Start now, before the puppy comes home.
- Feed twice a day, morning and evening.
- Feed in the same bowl location as always.
- Measure the food amount—with a measuring cup!
- Put down less than you think the dog wants at first.
- Leave the bowl down for a limited time—15 minutes.
- When that time is up, take away the bowl with any remaining food.
When the puppy comes home, continue the same schedule, crating the puppy during the older dog’s meals. The puppy should probably be fed three times a day until he’s older, when he will eat twice a day like the older dog. Meanwhile, since the puppy will be crated and the older dog will not be eating lunch, I’d suggest taking the older dog outside or into another room—play a game, groom him, take him for a walk—so he doesn’t have to watch his little brother eat while he has nothing. Don’t even give him a chance to notice!
Eventually, the older dog may learn to eat his meals quickly and efficiently, without stalling, instead of snacking off and on all day. He could learn that skill quickly, or he could appear to be starving himself and scare you. Don’t believe that! Healthy dogs simply don’t stop eating entirely. Stick to your plan until you’ve given it a fair trial. Don’t give in the first day and leave the bowl down until all the food is gone. Your dog is probably not going to starve himself!
My friend’s new puppy will be coming home in the next few weeks. I expect many more questions will occur to my friend the minute that furry little fellow walks through his front door and into his life! I’ll certainly share with you what happens next—a new adventure for one man and two dogs is about to begin.
