Did I overstep by feeding the dog ?

[choooch]

My sister has a dog and two small kids. Whenever I go to her house, if I see the dog food bowl is empty or the dog's water bowl is dirty- I change it / add food to the bowl. Their dog doesn't eat at set time, but tends to just always have food to pick on.

I'm just trying to help out, as I know my sister is busy, so when I notice it, I just do it.

I noticed her husband and her were a bit weird about it and told me not to worry about it and that they feed their dog.. It was a bit awkward and I felt like I annoyed them..

I'm a bit worried I was out of line. Was I ? Or are they out of line to make me feel awkward ?

Topping up the water bowl. I'd say feeding the dog is overstepping.

It might be that that feed their dog at a specific time.
I feed mine in the morning and again in the evening. Anyone visiting in the day would see an empty bowl.

Agree with @OrigamiOwls

Sorry, topping up the water bowl is fine, that should say!

Sorting the water is really kind. Feeding not so much - YABU there ( though with good intentions!)

We have the same set up in that the dogs don’t have a set meal time, they just have food as and when, and I always appreciate my family topping up either their food or water as needed if they notice it.
I don’t think it’s a big deal, but if they don’t like it, then now you know and you won’t help do that from now on.

My dogs eat at 7am and that's it. Apparently healthier. I would be fucked off if someone else fed them.

I suspect they thought you fed their dog as they weren’t doing it. It’s overstepping.

What makes you think the dog has food to graze on if when you visit the bowl is mostly empty?

I feed my dog in the morning & evening, at any other time his bowl would be empty and I’d think it was super weird if someone visiting decided to give him food randomly.

I'm sure the dog doesn't mind, which is the main thing. But all the dogs I've had, unless they were ill, scarfed down their food as soon as it hit the bowl, so its default setting was empty.

How can you keep dog food topped up? Mine would gannet the lot and be fat fuckers.

Yes definitely overstepping. I think topping up water is okay but you don't know the food situation. I would find it undermining despite your good intentions.

YABU - don't feed other people's pets unless you've been asked to!

Topping up/refreshing the water bowl is fine but putting food out is not.

My parents dog gets fed once a day in the morning - some days she will eat it all in the morning, some days she will eat most of it in the morning but leave some to graze on through the day and very rarely she will only eat a little in the morning and then will eat in the evening. She gets the same amount of food every day based on the recommendation from the vet for her age, size and breed, the odd extra helping and treat from any soft touch who eats in her presence and falls for her puppy eyes is fine but if it was a regular thing then she would quickly become overweight and it would be detrimental to her health.

Is your dog not starving by 7.00 pm? Mine has three small meals a day and still seems hungry. He’s 14, btw, and as sprightly as a puppy.

Neither of my dogs scoff entire bowls, I keep two bowls topped off and have 2 for, muscly, slim dogs. And there is always food down. Different dogs treat food differently.

However, I would continue to top off the water but wouldn't feed someone's dog unless they asked.

You shouldn't top dog food up

Most dogs eat twice per day. Some people, if the dog doesn't finish dry food, will leave it down. But it doesn't get topped up unless it's the evening meal.

Plus I'm wary about feeding my dog. You feed the dog, the dog shits. You need plans for that, not random shitting all day.

Dogs shouldn't have food all day long they over eat and get fat.

I wouldn't top up food, graze feeding/free feeding isn't great for dogs, even if it appears to work (ie the dogs don't trough the lot in one go and don't seem to be fat), because they're not meant to have food available all the time. It can cause all sorts of weird and wonderful behaviour issues that behaviour nerds like me love unpicking.

But that asides, you have no idea what is going on with a dog if the owner isn't there, so don't feed, just ensure there is water. Dogs can go many hours between meals (and should).

Cats graze all day but dogs one eat twice usually. You don’t feed people’s pets without asking.

Why on earth would you feed the dog? Mine are fed twice a day, treats on top are fine, but they don’t get proper food just because the bowls are empty. Yabu, I would not be happy to have someone feeding my dogs more than their carefully calculated allowance.

YABU for feeding the dog. I wouldn’t do that unless I asked and they said it was ok or if they asked me to feed the dog.

Water, however, is different. YANBU for topping up the water bowl.

No. Feeding someone else’s dog is not the done thing.

Definitely don't feed someone else's pet without asking. Most pet owners are careful not to let their pets overeat as overweight pets get poorly very quickly.

It would not even enter my mind to feed someone else’s pet, unless I was worried about neglect and then I’d be doing more than just feed it.

Fair enough on water, but even then I’d only do it is the bowl was empty and they looked thirsty and only after checking it was ok.

Our dog grazes, will go a couple of days without eating, she’s still a pup, we use to feed her 3/4 times a day, but now most of the time we just leave what’s out until it’s finished and top her up when needed. There are times she’s really hungry though, but, how anyone other than DH or myself would know when she needs more food 🤷‍♀️ . Sometimes after a big exercise she will wolf her food, but we wouldn’t necessarily top her up straight away. Only we know when it’s ok to top up.