Odd food behavior

[Christy&Riley]

Hi everyone

It's been awhile since I've been on the site but when Riley started acting odd I knew just where to go. :-)

Riley is 3.5 years old. She has always been submissive, particularly when it comes to food. Waits for ok to eat, steps away when we reach in her bowl, etc. In fact, sometimes we would say ok and she would still wait and look at us like "are you sure?" The first odd thing was that she wouldn't eat food out of a bowl when she was little. I know we shouldn't cater to her but we used paper plates instead and all was well. Seemed harmless enough and I can just throw the plates away and not have to clean them.

The past several months she started a new behavior. At first she would start using her nose to push her plate around as if trying to dump it. Other times she will take pieces off the plate, move them to a towel or rug nearby and eat them. Most odd is that she will use her nose to cover her food with a towel that has been sitting nearby. Sometimes she will cover a portion of the food and then eat the rest. Other days, she just eats off the plate no problem. Today I noticed she ate some food and the rest had been pushed on the floor. I moved the plate to see what she would do. She went over and tried to cover the food with the towel but it wasn't big enough so she would get one portion of food covered and realized the other side was exposed. She kept going back and forth working on it until I told her to stop.

My initial thought is that she doesn't like the food but I know we shouldn't give in and change it because I don't want her to be picky. We've been using the same brand and formula for a few years but alter between a few proteins. I haven't been able to pin point a particular flavor she doesn't like though. Just curious if anyone else has seen the type of behavior. I am told that her personality is quite unique so it could just be another funny Rileyism. Just not appreciating the food all over.

Thanks for your input!
Christy

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

I would pick up the food and remove it as soon as she stops eating. This behavior is equivalent to digging a hole and burying a bone or uneaten food for later.
Serve the rest for her next feeding.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

LOL, Helga, GMTA!!! 

[Christy&Riley]

We used to leave her food out for 10 minutes. If she didn't eat it was put away until dinner. Now that she is older, she often only eats once a day. Sometimes we leave it out and she'll eAt later. Maybe we have to go back to the rigid schedule. Thanks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, I would definitely put the food away after 10 minutes. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think this is related to her not liking the food. It sounds a lot like the instinct some dogs have of hiding or burying some food item (think of the cliche of a dog burying his bone) to protect it from other dogs/animals until he's ready to eat it. 

I had a Poodle who, when she was given a high-value chew item like a bone or pig's ear, would walk around with it looking for a place to "hide" it; she'd set it down somewhere, go back and move it somewhere else, etc. and then not long after, she'd just settle down and chew on it. Made no sense to me, but it was harmless. This same dog would also move pieces of her food from her bowl onto a nearby rug and eat them from the rug instead of from the bowl. 

It sounds like perhaps Riley isn't always hungry enough to eat all of her food at a given meal (not unusual) and is trying to save it for later. Does she ever finish all of her food at mealtime? If not, you might try cutting back a bit on the amount you're giving her, or if the behavior happens mostly at one particular time of day, i.e. breakfast or dinner, you might try cutting back at that meal only. If you're free-feeding, I'd stop.  

[Christy&Riley]

It figures she would be the cliche and it does seem like she is burying it. She definitely does it with a purpose. So funny to watch.

When she does eat, she usually cleans the plate. Sometimes she'll leave a few pieces. If she plays with it, it is usually before she eats anything. She is also always interested in a treat. She is no where near overweight, and she's active, so she could use the calories. However, if she skips a meal I don't give treats because I didn't want her to think she could pick which food she gets. Is that the right way to handle it? Is it ok to treat if she skips breakfasts?

We both work so food doesn't stay out when we're gone. Just now and then on the weekend we might leave it out longer. One night Eric left it out when she hadn't eaten all day and she ate after we went to bed. easy enough to make sure it always only stays out a few minutes going forward.

Thanks Karen for your advice!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think treats should be used as rewards only, so if she deserves a treat for something, she should get one, regardless of whether or not she has eaten her breakfast (or any meal) on any given day. 

I wouldn't leave food out longer than ten minutes, even on the weekends. Missing a meal or two won't hurt her. :)

[Christy&Riley]

I wish I only needed to eat once a day. I could then get into the pants that are gathering dust in my closet. ;-)

[Cheri & Bonny]

Bonny is 7 now and has been doing all these same behaviors for years. We used to have a cat who would "share" her food so we left a rope toy next to the bowl. Bonny would push it into the bowl until she was ready to eat. Any new treat gets taken to her favorite rug where she either eats it or leaves it. As it never lead to any negative behaviors and we don't have other pets, I just give her the daily food in the morning and let her eat when she wants.

[Christy&Riley]

Funny how they like to take food to a rug. Thanks for the feedback.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

No advice here, just a giggle for how hilarious this would be to watch. I love DK!

[Christy&Riley]

She certainly has a personality. LOL :-)