Do your doodles lie down to eat?

[Stephanie Caraway]

Stanley likes to lie down to eat breakfast and dinner. There is a photo on my page of him doing it when he was about 4 months old. I have never had a dog do this before. I was wondering if this is a doodle thing or a Stanley thing. Does anyone else have a dog who does this?

[Dianne Carter ~ Trinity Doodles]

Hi Stephanie,

One of the puppies from our most recent litter likes to lay with her face in the bowl of food while she is eating. I had figured when she was younger it was just her way to get in among the masses for her dinner, but frequently she still does it. Good thing she does not lay with her face in the water!

Dianne
http://www.trinitydoodles.com

[2ncc1ps6pecqn]

Dunkin ( 4 months ) lays down and sort of wraps his arms around the bowl. It looks like he thinks someone is going to take it from him! He does not do this with water, but he does stick most of his snout in the water to drink. He does make quite a mess. He also throws and pushes his metal bowl around when it is empty. I think he does it to tell me he's hungry!

[Patty Barnes]

I have two Labradoodles that enjoy "reclining" while they eat. Like Dunkin, my girls lie on their bellies and wrap their arms around their bowls. Perhaps it's genetic seeing as my girls are mother and daughter.

[2wpu1zztl11wu]

Chelsea,

I thought the same thing....lazy girl, kinda fun to see we aren't alone!

[Linda]

yes my Macy does and not very gracefully, she lies down with a thump.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

it is generally considered a passive aggressive behavior, it typically stems from a time when the dog ate with its litter mates. Most likely the breeder fed their pups from the same bowl. This can cause stress between pups and causes some to overeat, others not to get as much as they need and some to become very protective over their food. It is likely that your dogs is fine with you had his food but if another dog tried to approach the bowl it might be very different.

[Stephanie Caraway]

That's interesting--when we first brought him home for the first several weeks, we would randomly walk up to him when he was eating and take his food away from him and then give it back to establish dominance and see if he had any food aggression, and he always just laid there and looked at us until we gave it back. We still have him sit and stay before he is allowed to eat. He has absolutely no food aggression and in groups he is NEVER the alpha. But another dog has never tried to get any of his food when eating, either, so with a dog it might be different, as you are saying.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

that is why it is considered passive aggressive (pa). A passive aggressive dog never appears aggressive.

Most pa dogs are fine with humans and even with other dogs, it is the little things that make them tick.

Does your dog lick you a lot or head nudge you a lot when you aren't paying attention to him?

[Stephanie Caraway]

He does lick me a lot--and when I am on the phone he definitely gets into mischief. He will sometimes bark at us if he wants to play and we don't. Hm. Any suggestions?

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

This is classic passive aggressive... remember don't confuse being PA with being mean. Licking, nudging and barking for attention are all PA traits. It is like the kid who demands your attention and will get it at all costs. It doesn't mean they are a bite the mail man kind of dog.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

OH yea, you asked for a suggestion... I dont have a real solution except training, training, training. Do advanced obedience, agility, fly ball...

Once your dog is secure and confident these behaviors will lessen. Again it is like a child who lacks self esteem that drives you crazy trying to get your attention all the time. Once they grow up, are given lots of love and praise it lessens.

Back to training~ most pet store training packages will not offer you the training you need. Find a trainer that does puppy, novice, advanced, agility and other services. Find a trainer that is a behaviorist who knows how the dogs mind works.

[Stephanie Caraway]

Since we are both in the Indy-ish area--do you have any suggestions? To be honest, I did pupply class with Stanley but have been a little lax on really getting serious with the training. He can do sit, stay, leave it, down, come when called, walk properly on a leash, and shake. I realize I need to work with him more, I have just been busy with other things (my mother passed away in February so things have been a little weird this year).