Eating out of the bowl

[Michael]

Hi, I looked for a thread on this topic but no luck. If you know of one, feel free to direct me to it - don't want to waste your time.

Thing is... my dog takes its food out of the bowl and eats it on the floor. We try to get her to sit in front of the bowl and eat over the bowl, but she can't seem to grasp the concept. Its always take food, put on floor, eat, then repeat. I don't really mind, but it drives my wife crazy! ...It wouldn't be so bad, but unless that area is cleaned up well right after, we will start seeing ants, and that's not cool.

Any experience or advice? Is this just a dog being a dog?

Appreciate it.

[critter crazy]

My dog Duke does this, only e carries the food to his bed, then eats it. Not sure why some dogs do this, and not sure why. I dont mind my dog doing this, hasnt been a big issue!

[Jakesmom]

My Sophie does a modified version of this as well....though she has gotten better about eating out of her bowl as she has gotten older (she used to require a white human china bowl as well, now she will eat of of a regular stainless dog bowl). Maybe you could put down a washable matt under her bowl and then wash that off with her bowl?

Jake's mom

[Canis-Lupess]

I agree with the above about putting a washable matt or a cut out square of lino especially for under her bowl down under the bowl or where your dog tends to place the food in order to eat it.

Mine does it with certain food, say if there are some potatoes left over from dinner, she loves those so I'll stick a couple in with her food and she tends to do the same thing with those or a large chunk of meat that takes a bit more chewing but something that helped to cut down on it is one of those food and water dish holders you can buy where you can adjust what height they are at so that the dog doesn't have to put it's mouth down to floor level. My elderly dog is much better eating this way and less likely to take stuff out of the bowl. These are also useful for larger dogs who have a hard time splaying their front legs to get down to floor level to eat.

[Karen]

As well as a "placemat" that's washable, you could try putting a "cookie tray" under her dish, so it is easily cleanable after she eats, if she eats on the floor next to her bowl. It it dry (easier) or wet food she does this with?

[Genny]

Our poodle Gretta does this. We feed her in the kitchen and she takes her food into the living room to eat

[Freedom]

Yup, just dog being dog; or maybe I would say, just that personality!!

Sugar will stand and eat at her bowl if she is REALLY hungry. Otherwise, each piece of kibble is picked up; then she trots to the family room, hops up onto the love seat on her blankie, puts it down, scans the area to see if we have anything better, then eats the piece of kibble and hops right down to start again. If I feed her 2 or 3 hours late, THEN she stays at her bowl.

My cat, Chestnut, will only eat his kibble . . . off of a hardwood floor. Kibble just tastes better served properly, ya know? So he takes a mouth full, walks out of the kitchen to the hallway, dribbles the kibble out of his mouth, keeps one piece and eats it. Then he checks over the ones he dropped, eats the ones which pass muster, and heads back to the bowl for another mouthful. He's done this 3 meals per day for 8 years. Never found a way to modify his habit.

Good luck with a tray under the dish; it may not provide the right ambiance!

If you ever took a cooking class, maybe you remember hearing, "Presentation is everything."

[ratdogg]

my old ratdog (not a real breed) used to prefer eating off the floor. My current doggy Princess enjoys eating her food from the bowl, but when I give her treats she ONLY eats them off of the carpet...its really funny. I just chalked it up to a cute quirk.