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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

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Original poster

Does your dog do this? And why?

25 replies

monopoly123 · 30/11/2013 09:24

Our dog has dry food, she brings 3-4 biscuits in her mouth and eats them in the lounge, goes back to her bowl to get more and does the same. If we're in the kitchen, she takes them into her bed. Don't dogs normally just scoff their food at their bowl? What's with the moving her food around?

OP posts:

LetThereBeCupcakes · 30/11/2013 10:14

Is she particularly anxious? Our rescue used to do this - she would take her food somewhere she felt secure. What if you put her food bowl somewhere else, like in a quiet corner?

Original poster

monopoly123 · 30/11/2013 10:35

We've had her since she was a puppy, she's 2 now & she's always done it. We've got a cat, who will eat the dog food if he's starving but he is usually off somewhere & has never bothered her while she's eating. She doesn't seem to be particularly anxious.
Dog gets fed in the kitchen, cat on a shelf in the utility room - dog would love to eat cat food & always tries to get it when the cat is eating.
Even in the morning the dog doesn't scoff her food, she will leave it & snack on it - takings mouthful of biscuits to the lounge/bed/corner.

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LetThereBeCupcakes · 30/11/2013 10:55

Oh. Then don't know! Our girl stopped doing it when she settled into the home. If yours was worried about the cat stealing her food I doubt she'd leave the bowl unguarded.

personally I would pick the bowl up after about 15 minutes if she hasn't eaten her food. She'll soon learn to eat it when it's there! Free feeding a dog (i.e. leaving the food down all day) can make it difficult if you need to take them to the vet (if they need treatment you may need to know when she last ate) and it's also harder to see if she's off her food. Don't know if it would stop her carrying the food around though. Out of interest, what breed is she?

Original poster

monopoly123 · 30/11/2013 10:57

She's a chihuahua. I think you're right re the free feeding, will try and put a stop to that. At least it's not wet food she's carrying around.

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tweetytwat · 30/11/2013 11:02

our little dog has always done this too. Even when she was an only. She is a bit neurotic and a dainty eater. She was from a rescue though we've had her ten years now and she still does it.

headlesslambrini · 30/11/2013 11:06

headless dog does that as well. not all the time and usually when the kitchen is busy. Sometimes she scoffs the lot and other times she does this. We started adding water to her biscuits to soften them up a bit and to also get more water in her as we didn't think that she was drinking enough. This has helped. Headless dog is a springer so very soft mouthed.

Primrose123 · 30/11/2013 11:09

Our rescue whippet does this with dry food. If we treat her to a little bit of cat food or chicken or something she loves, she eats it quickly out of her bowl! I think she's just not a terribly 'foodie' dog. I've had lots of dogs and none of the others have ever done this.

Isthatwhatdemonsdo · 30/11/2013 11:37

My mums chihuahua does this. Perfectly normal.

Lilcamper · 30/11/2013 11:47

If you think about it, eating out if a bowl isn't natural for a dog. It's something us humans make them do

LostInWales · 30/11/2013 11:54

My whippet boy will do this with food that isn't kibble, bones or eggs things like that, he seems to like to eat them on the carpet . My pretty little whippet girl puppy likes to throw her dry food out of the bowl with her paw and then chase it round the kitchen. Double . I'm not sure if they are very good examples of normal dogs though.

Original poster

monopoly123 · 01/12/2013 12:03

I moved her food bowl & she just took a mouthful of biscuits to where her food bowl used to be.

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VivaLeBeaver · 01/12/2013 12:06

Little dog does it a bit, not too much.

My old dog did it non stop. She'd take the gobble and run back to her bed munching and spilling food as she went. Would lie on her bed for ten seconds to finish her mouthful and jump up and repeat. She must have been exhausted. Each bowl of food took 50 trips from kitchen into dining room and back. She never ate the dropped kibble off the floor either!

lostblonde86 · 01/12/2013 12:16

Yes our JRT does this most of the time unless I'm cooking in the kitchen, or she has freshly cooked food then she just eats right out of the bowl. Other wise it's in her crate our other dog (yorkie), eats where ever he likes normally laying on the back door Matt next to their bowls.
Think it's a safety thing

chipsandpeas · 01/12/2013 12:19

my dog does that, brings a mouthful in, spits them out, looks at them and eats them and goes back for more and repeats it til its all gone - he occasionally does with any wet food and titbits he gets as well

i like to think hes looking at what hes eating and wondering if thats all hes getting before eating it anyway

WhereBeThatBlackbirdTo · 01/12/2013 14:03

Can I just say (and you probably already know this, so forgive me) but cats really shouldn't eat dog food. Our vet once said dogs can eat cat food but dogs shouldn't eat dog food.

I can't remember why, though. Something to do with kidneys, I think - but I could be making that bit up!

neepsandtatties · 01/12/2013 14:30

My dog does this with his dry dog food, although does eat it all within about 2 minutes, just he takes it out to another room to eat bit by bit. He's a rescue who came in as a stray puppy, so I've put it down to him having to scavenge and hide his food from other dogs, but it sounds from other's experiences like it might just be a quirk.

glowgirl · 01/12/2013 17:39

My dog does this when he thinks there may be something better going on, no behavoural problems just nosey :)

puggywug81 · 04/12/2013 17:24

My puggywug does this too, she just seems to prefer eating on the rug, she is too cute though so I don't mind!

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 04/12/2013 17:30

my dog is such a boring eater

Im loving the dog who kicks the food about the kitchen floor!

OnaPromise · 04/12/2013 18:59

My rescue greyhound does it, not with his kibble but with other stuff, usually stuff he has stolen out of the bin.

ExitPursuedByAChristmasGrinch · 04/12/2013 19:00

Not with his dry food, but anything extra like the remnants of DD's bacon butty he takes under the table.

notwoo · 04/12/2013 19:08

Ours does this! V annoying to keep finding little crumbs near his favourite patch in the living room.
He also takes his ill gotten gains from the bin to the same spot.
Funny creatures.

Original poster

monopoly123 · 04/12/2013 20:11

Yes she likes to throw her biscuits in the air and catch/chase them too. Dogs are weird!
The vet had told us that about the dog food and the cat & the cat is stopped if caught in the act. But definitely worth mentioning in case people don't know.

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Original poster

monopoly123 · 04/12/2013 20:13

Posted too soon, meant to say cat hasn't eaten dog food for ages and is kept well fed on his cat food to stop this.

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happydaze · 04/12/2013 20:31

My little JRT does this too, although he will eat freshly cooked food straight from the bowl, anything dry and more 'long life ' he will either take to his bed for a leisurely chew or will take it to a nice muddy spot to bury, we often find tasty treats buried in pot plants around the house!

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