my dog wont eat his food in the kitchen!?

[Pam]

Hi,

Bodea picks up a few pieces of kibble from her bowl in the kitchen and eats them in the dining room. Then she gets tired of that and eats all of the food in her bowl in the kitchen, lol. But, she will not eat unless my cat Sid (black male cat) lets her. He's jealous and guards her bowl until I tell him to move along. She just wags her tail and waits, lol.

Bodea is so sweet. The cats sure rule the roost at times, don't they? Mine liked it a lot more around here when they out-numbered the dogs. Now that it is two to two they aren't so brave.

[JenBKR]

Where are you when your dog takes his food into the living room piece by piece? Roscoe does the same thing, he gets a mouthful of food and brings it into the living room, spits it out on the carpet, then eats it there. Of course, that's only when we are in the living room. If we sit in the kitchen while he eats, he eats it all there. Try sitting in the kitchen with him and see if he eats with you there.

[mr.chiwawa]

Mister my chihuahua does that all the time. It doesn't bother me one bit as long as he eats. However I do know that when he was a baby baby at the breeders he was the runt and had to fight for his food. He learned to do so by taking some and moving it elsewhere. I think it's cute and like I said doesn't bother me

[carrie]

This is part habit part instinct.

Dogs, no matter what size they are, have the instincts of wild dogs.

A dog that is fed regularly is open to the temptation of the wild dog - save some for later! Don't let anyone else that wants to eat the same stuff as I want to eat know where my food is!

Find a place to feed your dog where it can be isolated with the food for five minutes - the bathroom is a good place.

Put the food down, shut the door and after exactly five minutes go and pick up the feed bowl, put it out of reach and ignore your dog until it is lying quietly. DO NOT GIVE THE FOOD BACK TO THE DOG!

At the next feed time do exactly the same thing. Be strict!

Also cut the food you give the dog to half at each feeding time to encourage the dog to eat it all.

The dog will soon concentrate on eating.

[lizbud]

Where are you when your dog takes his food into the living room piece by piece? Roscoe does the same thing, he gets a mouthful of food and brings it into the living room, spits it out on the carpet, then eats it there. Of course, that's only when we are in the living room. If we sit in the kitchen while he eats, he eats it all there. Try sitting in the kitchen with him and see if he eats with you there.

Bingo. I thought the same thing. Unless you've let him make a habit of it
already. Puppies and new dogs might do this because they want to stick with you wherever you go. Makes them feel safe?