[peterluquer]

OK, so when Lollypop is given breakfast or dinner in the kitchen (dry kibble), she will typically take a small mouthful and run into the dining room onto the rug and eat her mouthful, then go back to the bowl. This may happen between one and four times (back and forth, back and forth) before she settles down by the bowl and eats her meal. Yes yes, I know basset's are unpredictable, and it doesn't really concern me too much....or should it? Other than just being a daft little girl, would anyone know WHY she might behave this way? I find in rather endearing, although I find almost everything she does endearing!

 

[Vik12]

bahahahhaha


Mine does the same thing, we eat in the living room, is she copying us? I once brought the bowl into the living to see what happens. She didnt do it.

When she was younger she would tip her bowl over and eat off the floor along with carrying handfulls around in her mouth. Now she only does the mouthfull in the living room once in a while, like she is saying, :Hey, remember how funny I was?"

 

[Kirska]

Anabelle does this too and I thought it was strange. My mother-in-law actually came up with the best explanation for it. In the wild let's say a pack of wolves kill a deer. The strongest of the wolves will be able to just sit and enjoy it. The weakest of the wolves will have to grab a bite and run away in order to avoid being snapped at by their stronger pack mates.

It's the same behavior, just translated to dogs. They don't want to hog the food source or risk being snapped at or attacked by higher ranking pack members so they grab a bite and run away from the food source to eat it.

 

[Vik12]

Well that fits the personality of my basset, makes sense.

 

[bklantz]

mine kind of does that too, first she tips the bowl over with her nose and then a lot of time she will pick up one piece and start throwing it up in the air playing with it until finally eating it about 5 feet away. She does this several times until she decides that she will just eat all the kibble on the floor where she dumped it. I've never worried about it, as long as she eats her food I am happy!

 

[LuciaB]

My Chihuahua takes mouthfulls, drops and eats them away from her bowl. Our basset we had to switch to a shallow bowl, actually using a round cake pan at the moment. We had a really cute dish for her but realized her nose wasn't fitting in it well, the large shallow dish works best for her.

 

[Mom2Flash]

Flash won't eat a meal if anyone is watching him. He gets fed in the breezeway and will sit/lay patiently while I fill his bowl. I put it down right in front of his face and he absolutely won't touch it or sniff it until I go back into the house and he is alone.

 

[Lightning&Stomps]

When Lightning was a puppy (and an only dog), he would spill his kibble all over the kitchen and eat it very slowly. When I got Stomps Lightning decided he'd better make short work of his food and I eventually had to find ways to slow down his eating. Now that he's an only dog again (10 years later), he's started taking his first mouthful of kibble into the living room to eat before digging into his bowl, and in general eating quite a bit more slowly. I would love to know why they take their food into another room to eat it. I find it hard to believe that it's some memory from their days as wolves--Lightning has NO typical instincts. I think he's just a nutty eater.

 

[2hounds]

I've heard that dogs transport their food to somewhere they feel safe??? No idea though. My boy Gibbs does this sometimes, but not consistently.

~Heather

 

[Mikey T]

Not uncommon. If desired the quickest cure for the behavior is a second dog.

 

[Kirska]

So Anabelle has started taking this behavior to an extreme. Yesterday she grabbed a full mouth of food and walked clear across the house into the bedroom which was pitch black. She went to the corner where the dresser is and actually buried this mouthful of food under some clothes.

When she didn't come back to the kitchen after about 5 minutes I went looking for her and found her just laying on the ground in the dark guarding this food. I turned the light on and she saw me and got all excited. I uncovered the food and she turned around and went back to the bowl in the kitchen and kept eating. About 10 minutes after she finished eating she went back in the bedroom and ate the food she had hid.

It was very strange...

Later that day our other dog was laying near that spot and snapped at her when she came in the room for no reason. I'm starting to wonder if there is something to that corner of the room. It's a narrow path between the bed and wall.

 

[vb3]

Sometimes Rosco won't eat his food unless you give him a few bits of kibble yourself, and also if you place them on the floor.

 

[peterluquer]

So Anabelle has started taking this behavior to an extreme. Yesterday she grabbed a full mouth of food and walked clear across the house into the bedroom which was pitch black. She went to the corner where the dresser is and actually buried this mouthful of food under some clothes.

When she didn't come back to the kitchen after about 5 minutes I went looking for her and found her just laying on the ground in the dark guarding this food. I turned the light on and she saw me and got all excited. I uncovered the food and she turned around and went back to the bowl in the kitchen and kept eating. About 10 minutes after she finished eating she went back in the bedroom and ate the food she had hid.

It was very strange...


Later that day our other dog was laying near that spot and snapped at her when she came in the room for no reason. I'm starting to wonder if there is something to that corner of the room. It's a narrow path between the bed and wall.

That is hysterical!

 

[Nitrosmom]

And I thought Nitro was the only dog that did this! He will bring his mouthful of food to where ever I am in the house. He eats under my desk, and the end of the sofa, he just brings it to me. I can reach down and pick up his food, to which his response is to **** his head and give me the "but I'm starving look" until I set it back down for him.

 

[Maggie Sues Dad]

I think that is the only exercise that Maggie gets

 

[lvnMattie]

Mattie will eat her food at her food dish but she likes to flip it and eat it off the floor instead of her bowl.