My dog steals food from my other dog's bowl, what should I do

Training a dog not to approach another dog's food relies on impulse control holding up every single time, with no room for error, whereas physical separation removes the opportunity completely and does not depend on the dog making the right choice under temptation.

If the dog being stolen from starts showing tension, stiffening, or eating faster specifically because of the other dog's presence, this is worth addressing directly as a guarding issue alongside the separation, since ongoing stress at mealtimes can affect the relationship between the two dogs more broadly.

Feeding both dogs at the same time in separate rooms or crates, removing bowls once both dogs have finished, and not reintroducing the dogs to each other until both areas are clear of any leftover food, creates a simple, repeatable routine that removes the problem entirely.

It can be easy to assume the dog doing the stealing is simply greedy or badly behaved, but often the underlying issue is a genuine mismatch in eating speed or portion size between the two dogs, with the faster finisher naturally moving on to investigate a bowl that still has food in it, purely because its own is already empty. Reviewing whether portions are appropriately matched to each dog's size and needs, and considering a slow feeder for the faster eater specifically, can reduce the temptation alongside the separation itself, addressing the mismatch rather than only its symptom.