Two dogs that won't eat

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

We recently got a second puppy! He is a total sweetheart. He is doing okay with crate training and potty training. What he isn't doing okay with is eating. That means we have two dogs who hate eating.
I had so many high hopes for phin. People told us that the "competition" of a second dog might improve yeti's eating habits.
Yeti ate a half cup of kibble yesterday at breakfast ... no dinner and a couple of bites of kibble today for breakfast. (He is on wellness simple LID and can have between 1 1/3 - 2 1/3 cups of food a day)
Phin ate maybe two bites of his breakfast this morning. He is currently on taste of the wild and can get up to 3 cups a day. HA! I'd be lucky if he ate 1 whole cup in a day.
I'm wondering if I'm doing something wrong here. I'm thinking I might be a jynx.
Phin seems to really want Yeti's wellness but could careless about the food he's currently supposed to have. They both play well together and they played ALL day / night yesterday so I was excited for them to have a good appetite this morning. Well I was sadly mistaken. :(
Should I try not feeding them at the same time? Maybe try feeding them in separate rooms. The problem with that is they both like me by them when they eat. I am desperate to hear success stories of having two puppies (one old and one young!)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I really think this will sort itself out with time. I think part of it is just the newness and excitement of adding the puppy to your household. Once that wears off, I think they will both be fine. The puppy will most likely LOVE his new food when you switch him in 2 weeks, and Yeti will probably go back to eating his food once the excitement of a new playmate dies down. Many people here have also said that adding a 2nd dog helps motivate reluctant eaters to finish their meal before the "competition" can get it, lol. 

I would try very hard at mealtimes to keep them from distracting each other. Maybe sit midway between the food bowls, and don't allow them to approach each other, or any "visiting" or playing at that time. If one walks away from his food bowl, don't allow the other one to follow him. That would be the time to separate them if you have to. 

They really won;t starve themselves. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I think your exactly right Karen! The newness is dying out, and were falling into a pretty good routine with the both of them. Im praying he likes his new food. We shall see :)

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our Fudge has always been a picky eater. I know this is frowned upon...but I leave the dog's food out always. Neither of my dogs wolf food down and Fudge likes to eat when no one is around. She will actually check that we are in bed and then go eat her food....sometimes very late at night. Our dogs eat very little during the day, if any, and wait until around 7pm to start eating. I have always fed my dogs this way and never on a schedule and it has worked for us. I also feed them Fromm which has several different formulas and I mix it up for variety. The older I get the less structure I like, so what works for me might not work for anyone else. I am a lazy Doodle owner :)

When Fudge was little I did worry so much about her not eating much. I tried everything and eventually decided she will eat when she is hungry. As long as she seemed healthy and was gaining weight, I tried not to stress too much about it.

If both dogs can be transitioned to the same food, I would do it, especially if your puppy is showing interest in that food. Hopefully, Karen will chime in on the best way to do that. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

They can't both eat the same food because Yeti has a sensitive stomach and is on a limited ingredient formula that isn't really the best choice for a growing puppy; but the food he's going to be switched to will probably attract him even more than Yeti's food.  

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I knew that :) LOL 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Fudge and Ned are food siblings!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Awwww....I like that :)

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Back when we just had Yeti, he was pretty used to eating 3 times a day. He liked a breakfast, a mid afternoon snack, and a dinner lol. I didn't mind honestly. Yeti is definitely a grazer. I have noticed he eats much more after a good play secession. Perhaps when Phin is fully grown well go back to "free feeding."

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Some dogs need to settle in before showing you their real appetite - you still can hope Phin will become a better eater.  Ned is not an eater - he prefers to eat alone and will even have a stare down with me until I leave!  Believe me, that is hard because while the other two are trained to leave his food alone, it is not a guaranteed thing for Charlie.  No, we don't leave Ned's food down continuously, but we have to give him his alone time.....

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you!! Right now Phin has anxiety when he cant see Yeti and Yeti gets anxiety when he cant see Phin so we try to keep them in eyeshot while we feed them. If they cant see each other they end up just crying and not eating anyways. A good friend of mines dog does not like to eat around anyone else either. It is the strangest thing, but who am i to judge :)

[Sebastian and Chester's Mom]

Oh my goodness! They are adorable!

I’m new here, so please forgive me if this has already been asked and answered, but is there a good way to feed Phin and Yeti in their crates? My Chester (the “little” guy in my profile pic) is greedy, for lack of a better word, and gets all meals, new bones, and long-lasting treats in his crate. Sebastian, my big guy, refused to be crate trained (combination of his breed mix and my inexperience with said breed mix at the time), so the rule at our house is that Chester comes out of the crate when both boys are finished with whatever meal or treat they happen to be working on. It actually helped with Chester’s crate training, and has been an integral part of Chester’s ongoing Separation Anxiety treatment.

As for picky eaters, well, that’s my Sebastian. He is also one of those who will happily devour someone else’s kibble while turning up his nose at his own. I had to start mixing something more appetizing into his kibble to trick him into eating - maybe a spoonful of canned food, high value training treats, whatever works and fits into the LID.

Hopefully this helps. I will be sending good energy to you in the meantime!

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

The couple of times we have dog sat for friends, we ended up having to feed Yeti in his kennel. It actually is not a bad idea. Im thinking well give this a shot if it doesnt end up working itself out later own.