# Puppy not eating out of bowl



## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

Starting last week, Ruby decided not to eat out of her bowl. Nothing has changed, same bowl we always use. If you dump the food on the floor she will eat it. I know that she won't starve herself but just not eating much when I leave it in the bowl.

My Vet recommended just leaving the food out. This morning she ate out of the bowl but she puts the food on the floor and then eats it. She barely at a 1/4 cup/ I give her 1 cup/3 times a day (14 weeks old).

Is this normal V behavior?


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## tripod (Apr 4, 2011)

My VB dose that too. When i asked my vet about it, he recommended putting her food on a plate instead. She started eating right away after i tried that


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

Our vet recommended the same thing for Holley. She stated that sometimes Vs just do not like set meals. Holley also will pick her food out of the bowl sometimes and drop the pieces everywhere and then go pick them up. Our vet also stated that they will eat when hungry and the more you try to cater to them, the more picky they get. We were worried about Holley not really wanting to eat and were putting little pieces of chicken in with it. The vet said Holley was training us well. We stopped doing that and she now eats when she wants. It takes her a little while but she is healthy with her weight so that is what matter I guess. Fussy little pups aren't they? haha.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah did that, too. After a week she wouldn't eat off the tray I tried either. 

She would (and still does) eat out of the cat's bowl. So Savannah's food bowl became her water bowl (which the cat also likes drinking out of whenever Savannah is not around). The cat's old food dish (which Kitty never liked and I just never got around to throwing out) became Savannah's food dish.

It took until Savannah was almost 7 months (Kitty is beyond being a scardy-cat and runs from ev-er-y-thing), but I now feed Savannah and the cat dinner in the same room. They both eat dinner better when the other is present. Breakfast continues to be a work in progress.

As to the amount, when Savannah was that age, she would skimp some meals and make up for it at the next. So if she ate the 1/4 cup you described for breakfast, she would eat 1 and 3/4 cups at lunch or even worse would skimp on lunch and make up for both meals at dinner. It helped to minimize distractions at meal time. It also helped for me to be in the room. Ultimately, some meals, she just didn't seem to focus on eating and would find something more interesting to do. It made me nervous and I would hover trying to coax her to eat, but she would do as she pleased and eventually I started letting her. She eats 2 meals a day now, but she doesn't always finish breakfast. Whatever she doesn't finish becomes her lunch.

Yet again, I am not a vet or a trainer, so I am not advocating a solution, just giving my story.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

Around 4 or 5 months Kobi went from devouring every meal to only eating if and when necessary. I just leave his food out now for convenience. Lots of times he waits til 9:00 or 9:30 to pig out. I think he goes the whole day waiting for me to give him something tasty... if that fails, he actually eats his food.


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