8 replies to this topic

[BCkris]

Ok, the past 2 weeks my little lynus has been tipping his food bowl over and spill all his food. in the morning he eats outside and in the evening in his crate. in the morning he will push his bowl far away trying to tip it over, and in his crate he will try to cover it first with his pillow and when that fails he flips it over. I have to put his food back in the bowl and sit next to the bowl and tell him to eat... then he will. a few times i just picked up his food and he didnt get to eat.
anyone have any ideas as to why he is doing this? im getting alittle frustrated! Please help!

Thank you!!!!!!!!

[flyer]

Ok, the past 2 weeks my little lynus has been tipping his food bowl over and spill all his food. in the morning he eats outside and in the evening in his crate. in the morning he will push his bowl far away trying to tip it over, and in his crate he will try to cover it first with his pillow and when that fails he flips it over. I have to put his food back in the bowl and sit next to the bowl and tell him to eat... then he will. a few times i just picked up his food and he didnt get to eat.
anyone have any ideas as to why he is doing this? im getting alittle frustrated! Please help!

Thank you!!!!!!!!

Because it's fun? How old is he. My little pup Bea did this for about a week and then would push her dish around as she ate from the floor. The metal dish made a great noise on the tile floor and she was having a blast.

[ejano]

Ok, the past 2 weeks my little lynus has been tipping his food bowl over and spill all his food. in the morning he eats outside and in the evening in his crate. in the morning he will push his bowl far away trying to tip it over, and in his crate he will try to cover it first with his pillow and when that fails he flips it over. I have to put his food back in the bowl and sit next to the bowl and tell him to eat... then he will. a few times i just picked up his food and he didnt get to eat.
anyone have any ideas as to why he is doing this? im getting alittle frustrated! Please help!

Thank you!!!!!!!!

Ahhh, the famous hide the food trick. We had a rescue dog, half BC that had to have a towel to put over her food. She'd spend a great deal of time arranging that towel over her dish, then throughout the day, she'd go back and snatch a bite or two. She did it all her life. The other dog we had never figured out where that food went, or where she was getting her tidbits.

I feed the pups in their crates and have always free fed. They've always covered up their food Robin quite tidily places a bone over any left over food in his dish and Brodie flips his dish over.
and I finally decided it was just too darned expensive to let them waste it, not to mention unhealthy as A few weeks ago I found about three days worth stashed in the back of Brodie's crate under the mat.

I carefully measured the food I've been giving them and discovered they were getting way too much according to the chart on the bag. I now give them the food, wait about fifteen minutes then take whatever they haven't finished out of the crate. They get it back whatever they haven't finished plus the measure for the next feeding at the next meal. It's working pretty well, though occasionally Brodie still flips his dish right away 'cause he's not hungry. I clean it up right away and take the food away, not giving him a chance to stash it.

Liz

[BCkris]

He is only 9 months old.... Because its fun? haa haa ok, id rather have it be something fun for him to do than a start of a bad bad habit!

[SincereArtisan]

Sounds like he is trying to bury his food...

Get a bowl with slanted sides that cannot be easily tipped, place it down and discourage the tipping behavior. If he does not eat in 15 minutes, take it up and its tough love until the next meal.

Ido used to do this as a puppy, and it about drove me nuts, due to her special diet that was EXPENSIVE. A week's worth of the above got her ironed out andshe now knows that when food is offered it is time to eat.

Feeding to a set schedule instead of free feeding can benefit you greatly in the future if your dog should get sick. You can monitor what they're eating, and when they go off food its usually a good indication something might be wrong...

[bc4ever]

Scooter used to like to tip his water bowl over! I think he could see his reflection in the metal bowl. Thankfully that stage didn't last long!

A few nights ago though, after he'd finished his dinner, he kept acting like he wanted more--licking the top of the bowl, nudging it with his nose, then gave me a very pointed, challenging look. I ignored him and all of a sudden he took his paw and slammed it on the bowl, tipping it over, then gave me another "look." No, I didn't react and he didn't get any more food. Demanding little sucker sometimes!

[shanty]

Both my dogs have flipped or pushed dishes when they were empty. Especially the water bowl which makes a loud noise and I think they just figured out the sound meant a new supply of water or a filled dish. Since both dogs were free fed and never took too much I just refill bowls when they're empty. I never heard of the hiding food bit - but it sounds cute . If it's always on the floor though I'd probably just pick up the bowl and put it away everytime they did it as that would be a nusience.

[lyndzbrown]

One of our adult BC's and the 5 month old puppy both eat their dinner and then proceed to take their empty dish to the living room. They also will take the water bowl if its empty.. I'm not sure why they "relocate" but sometimes they are still hungry and a bit more food will keep them from doing it again.

[BCkris]

i guess doggies can express their feelings in funny ways to us.... Thanks for sharing all the stories, hopefully this is a phase that we can grow out of! )