Dog Community

Why......

Posted : 9/25/2006 9:27:45 PM

is my boxer all of the sudden playing with her food?

My boxer is a glutton and always eats her food immediately when the bowl is put down, but lately she has been playing with it - i.e. picking up her food bowl and carrying it around, trying to bury it by taking clothes out of my laundry basket to cover her bowl up with.....

She's driving me nuts and making a mess (she insists on eating her food with warm water in it and has been getting wet, yucky dog food all over the place).

Just curious if anyone has any ideas why she does this. She is not fed around the other dogs so there is no danger of them trying to "take" it from her. She does this every few months for several days, then she stops and once again eats all her food right away.

Edie

Posted : 9/25/2006 9:47:00 PM

Maybe she's trying to tell you that she's had enough of her current food and is trying to get rid of it by burying it?? [

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What are you feeding?
How often do you rotate to different foods?
Does she get plenty of variety,or the same food for every meal?

Amber Miller

Posted : 9/25/2006 10:12:18 PM

Currently feeding Wellness.

I don't think she's tired of this food..as she will happily eat anything that lands in her bowl and normally scarfs it down right away as if she hasn't eaten in a week.

I don't rotate foods per se, they've been back on Wellness for several months now, switched from Innova...but do normally switch brands a few times a year...on the quest for something better.

I will probably switch to Canidae in the next week or so in an attempt to save a little money.

She gets a decent amount of variety in the form of add-ins such as canned food, or homecooked.

She has done this on other brands before too.

Twin

Posted : 9/25/2006 10:20:38 PM

Maybe put her in a crate when she eats? Or else the back hall. Somewhere where she is restricted on going so that she does not wander around the house with wet kibble to make a mess with. At least the days when she does this behavior...[

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Have absolutely NO idea why she does this? [8|]

Cally01

Posted : 9/25/2006 11:34:53 PM

I would hazard a guess that she may be storing it for later consumption. She may not be really hungry at these times, perhaps a little off on those days etc. I have seen dogs hide food under blankets etc before when they are not hungry, but, want to store it...something like burying a bone to eat later.

I also see this behavior a lot in the kennel dogs where I work when they go into heat. The hormonal change puts them off their food...they want to eat but get disinterested and try to bury it.

Margaret Tyler

Posted : 9/25/2006 11:54:14 PM

ORIGINAL: Cally01

I would hazard a guess that she may be storing it for later consumption. She may not be really hungry at these times, perhaps a little off on those days etc. I have seen dogs hide food under blankets etc before when they are not hungry, but, want to store it...something like burying a bone to eat later.

I also see this behavior a lot in the kennel dogs where I work when they go into heat. The hormonal change puts them off their food...they want to eat but get disinterested and try to bury it.

Good point. I think I remember answering your last post concerning Innova and tummy upsets?

I'm glad the Wellness is working for you.

Considering what Cally01 said, are you following the feeding instructions on the food? Maybe he is getting too much in one feeding.

Maybe he liked the Innova more and is not happy with the Wellness. Or maybe because the Innova made him sick he is causious about eating all types of kibble.

Maybe try putting his food in a food/treat holding toy that he has to work/play to get his food out of. This link displays a large variey of trea/food toyshttp://www.pet-shop.net/html/active2.html

corvus

Posted : 9/26/2006 4:03:16 AM

When my dog was an only dog and still on kibble, she would occasionally try to bury some for later. I think she just didn't like it that much, to be perfectly honest. She's on homecooked/raw, now, and believe me, that stuff is gone in a matter of moments. No playing around whatsoever.

chewbecca

Posted : 9/26/2006 7:26:43 AM

ORIGINAL: ddbsr4me

is my boxer all of the sudden playing with her food?

My boxer is a glutton and always eats her food immediately when the bowl is put down, but lately she has been playing with it - i.e. picking up her food bowl and carrying it around, trying to bury it by taking clothes out of my laundry basket to cover her bowl up with.....

She's driving me nuts and making a mess (she insists on eating her food with warm water in it and has been getting wet, yucky dog food all over the place).

Just curious if anyone has any ideas why she does this. She is not fed around the other dogs so there is no danger of them trying to "take" it from her. She does this every few months for several days, then she stops and once again eats all her food right away.

That is SOOO cute.
I know it's driving you NUTS, but it sounds SO cute.
Ella used to flip her bowl over to let me know that she was displeased with her food.

jessies_mom

Posted : 9/26/2006 7:39:32 AM

I was thinking the same thing as chewbecca; it sounds sooo cute. Cally is probably right about her trying to save it for later; if Jessie doesn't want to eat a chew or bone I give her, she'll take it outside and bury it. She'll dig it up later and eat it.