Topic: Any dog experts here?

[Uncle Ernie]

I've wondered this forever;  Rosie takes a couple pieces of kibble, walks away about 3 or 4 feet to munch contentedly.  Walks over to the dish, takes acouple of pieces of kibble, walks away 3 or 4 feet and munches contentedly, repeat several times...
Anybody understand why she does this?

(and I don't mean "Because she's hungry")

[tmht]

Does she go back to the same spot every time? Also is she standing or sitting? My dog did this for a while until I raised his bowl because he didn't like bending his head that far down. He would take a mouthful walk away spit it out and lay down to eat.

[prsman23@hotmail.c]

It's just an idosyncrasy of some dogs. My current dog did it when he was a pup and has outgrown it. But maybe he just doesn't like where, or how high or low the bowl is.

[Rushoid]

Maybe she doesn't want the rest of her kibble to get soggy from her cold, wet nose.

Or maybe the kibble chafes. 

Then again, maybe she just likes her food "to go." 

[cmorgan47]

can't help you.
still trying to figure out how to keep my dog out of the cat's food.

i'll be downstairs and here the familiar clumsy chomping, only to get upstairs and see an empty cat bowl and "the dude" standing over his full bowl with a sheepish look of "what, i've been here the whole time."

[Rushoid]

can't help you.
still trying to figure out how to keep my dog out of the cat's food.

i'll be downstairs and here the familiar clumsy chomping, only to get upstairs and see an empty cat bowl and "the dude" standing over his full bowl with a sheepish look of "what, i've been here the whole time."

You call your dog "The Dude!?" I love that! His Dudeness. El Dudearino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

My dog doesn't eat the cat's food, at least not first-hand.  The cat hates it when you put the lid on his litter box, with the opening toward the wall (enough for him to get in and out). So he goes and craps in the dog's kennel. They're like feuding... forum members? 

[upperlake04]

Not a dog owner but an observation that might be relevant -

 Many hours sitting in a treestand watching black bears work over a food source (bait) has shown a pattern. Almost always only one or two animals at a time, even though there may be 20 in a 1/4 mile radius. The big ones swagger in noisily, flop down and gorge in a cocky casual manner, but with ears continually swiveling. Small bears sneak in , hesitant and wary, they quickly select something big, grab it and leave to eat it somewhere else. Little bears don't eat until the big ones are full and have left.
 
Avoiding confrontation is a good survival strategy.  Maybe Rosie retains habits from an earlier time in her life with her siblings at the kibbles bowl?   I'd better get back to work..

[cmorgan47]

My dog doesn't eat the cat's food, at least not first-hand.  The cat hates it when you put the lid on his litter box, with the opening toward the wall (enough for him to get in and out). So he goes and craps in the dog's kennel. They're like feuding... forum members? 

yeah, when the dude found the litter box he was like "sweet! you guys boxed these up for me?  could do with out the sand, but oh well, poops poop!"


reminds me of a cartoon--dog decides to give up eating poop for new years resolution.  later, he's spreading "i can't believe it's not poop" on toast.

other dog tastes it...."this doesn't taste like poop!  this tastes like #$%*!"

[kuyarico]

You call your dog "The Dude!?" I love that! His Dudeness. El Dudearino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

The Dude abides.

[Rushoid]

You call your dog "The Dude!?" I love that! His Dudeness. El Dudearino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

The Dude abides.

Aww, MAN! I forgot about "Lebowski Fest!" ( http://www.lebowskifest.com/ ) It was here in Louisville this year and I forgot about it.   

Sorry to hijack...

[nickjtc]

I've wondered this forever;  Rosie takes a couple pieces of kibble, walks away about 3 or 4 feet to munch contentedly.  Walks over to the dish, takes acouple of pieces of kibble, walks away 3 or 4 feet and munches contentedly, repeat several times...
Anybody understand why she does this?

(and I don't mean "Because she's hungry")

Because at some point in time she has peed or crapped in the spot where the bowl is. Dogs do not like to eat in their toilet. Just in cats toilets.

[Uncle Ernie]

Man- this stuff is cracking me up!
cmorgan- we had to ge the cat food up higher. Cats love to climb anyway.  As far as the litter box goes, here in the South it's called "kitty candy"

upperlake- I believe you have it.  Rosie was the runt and moving in with us is the only reason she's alive today.  In fact, she has an amazing memory. She WILL NOT let small kids get near her.  I shudder to think...

[upperlake04]

 

[burmashave]

prsman is prolly right.  Dogs have different idiosyncracies regarding how they eat.  I had a Lab that could empty a bowl of dry kibble in seconds.  Most of it went down whole, which was OK because none of it touched his teeth and he never had bad breath.  On the other hand, I knew an Old English Sheepdog that would snurfle around her bowl endlessly for just the right piece of kibble, raise her head and slowly munch it up.  A bowl would take her 45 minutes.

There is a chance that Rosie doesn't like her kibble, or that she has a tummy upset.  Labs are chowhounds, but I've seen both of mine step back from the bowl when they didn't like the food, or they had a stomach prob.  If this behavior started just recently, you might try a different brand or food to see if she does the same thing.  You may want to have her checked out if you notice any other changes (the runs, yakking, ability to do calculus, etc.).

[Uncle Ernie]

...although she's the leader of the pack today.  Dave- I'm curious if you do some kind of research or your observations are gleaned while hunting.

[cmorgan47]

cmorgan- we had to ge the cat food up higher. Cats love to climb anyway.  As far as the litter box goes, here in the South it's called "kitty candy"

tried that, but she just sits bellow it and whines.  i think she feels that since she was there first, why should she have to change for this clumsy oaf....that or their working in cahoots with one another somehow.

plus the wife hated the idea of her eating on the counter.

fwiw the runt theory is probably correct.  ours was a stray, found by the side of a country road in the middle of nowhere.  we've had him for a year, and he's just now starting to let people get near him...and then, only the ones that are over a lot.

[ieism]

    Pets are so funny. I'm pretty sure they just do all these things to take the mickey.
My chameleons favorite trick is this one: Whenever i put my hand in or near his cage, he climbs on top of it instantly to try and escape his habitat on his way to adventure. But the minute he's on it, he looks down and realizes he's sitting on a mammal a hundred times his size and that's probably not a safe place to be. His immediate response to this is to sink his teeth as deep into your hand as possible untill blood rushes out.   

[upperlake04]

gleaned while hunting  Ernie.  Some years back now, a bunch of us guys used to spend a week every midi-May at a wilderness cabin in the Pre-Cambrian Shield in northern Saskatchewan. Always was a great time, R+R had good camaraderie, the hunting part was serene or terrifying in turn.  I suspect our fellow critters have  more complex lives than we imagine.

[anubiscycle]

I am no expert, but my Golden had a similar behaviour. When his dish would scoot too close to the wall he would refuse to eat from it. He would step back bark and dance in place trying to get your attention. After a few days of this I was able to deduce that because his dish was close to a loose heat vent grille, he had the heat vent fall forward and tap him in the head when he was trying to eat. We moved the dish and this behaviour stopped.

One we could never figure out why, we had a cat that would scoop out food one piece at a time with his paw and scoop it in his mouth.  Just goofy... I guess.

[Rushoid]

I would step back bark and dance in place trying to get your attention.

I want video of you doing this! 

[anubiscycle]

I would step back bark and dance in place trying to get your attention.

I want video of you doing this! 

Ha ha I fixed it..

[cmorgan47]

on a side note, our dog has recently taken to sleeping under a blanket with his head on a pillow.  i walked in and saw him "tucking himself in"

ridiculous.

[Rushoid]

I would step back bark and dance in place trying to get your attention.

I want video of you doing this! 

Ha ha I fixed it..

Ah, but I've got it in a quote so you can't delete it! 

on a side note, our dog has recently taken to sleeping under a blanket with his head on a pillow. i walked in and saw him "tucking himself in"

ridiculous.

One of my mom's dogs has always done this. If you can't find him, just call his name and look for the wagging blanket. 

[anubiscycle]

I would step back bark and dance in place trying to get your attention.

I want video of you doing this! 

Ha ha I fixed it..

Ah, but I've got it in a quote so you can't delete it! 

on a side note, our dog has recently taken to sleeping under a blanket with his head on a pillow. i walked in and saw him "tucking himself in"

ridiculous.

One of my mom's dogs has always done this. If you can't find him, just call his name and look for the wagging blanket. 

 

[cmorgan47]

 

alright, are you just post-whoring yourself into hot-shot status here?