# Puppy won't eat from bowl



## dwurms (Apr 17, 2013)

Hi, we brought Samoa home a week ago and she refuses to eat from her bowl even though she will drink from the same exact bowl style...both are metal. We have tried a paper plate and paper bowl, but no luck. Typically she only eats from the floor, but now this morning she barely ate anything from even the floor! She is in an ex pen and often barks from there during this time, not sure why.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

I am not sure about the bowl, but my recent puppy would not eat unless someone was in the room with him - and I had to sometimes shake the bowl a few times during his meal to get his attention. 

Also, my Lexi does not like bowls with sides because her tags click on the bowl and it freaks her out. Could that be the issue?


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## dwurms (Apr 17, 2013)

No tags yet plus using paper bowl and tried paper plate. I got into the pen and brought some food to her and the little diva ate some, not a lot. What is odd is now she does not seem interested in even eating off the floor. She is still peeing and pooping fine so she must be getting enough food, right? She is only 11 weeks o,d, so not sure what to be worried about vs not.


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## clare (Feb 6, 2010)

Our first Hav,Dizzie always wanted me close by when he ate,he was not a big eater until we brought our second Hav,Nellie home.It is normal for some Havs to be faddy eaters.


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## gertchie (Jan 28, 2012)

I thought Ozzie was the only one! He started eating out of a bowl but then all of a sudden wouldn't. It happened in the late fall when it was cold and rainy and a mouse had gotten into the house. I think he might have seen it eating out of his bowl and it scared him. He drinks his water out of a bowl just fine. Now he eats his breakfast out of his kong and his dinner off a little china saucer. I know some people will say I should have just forced him to eat out of a bowl but we eat off plates so he can too!


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## FRANKBULLETT (Mar 31, 2013)

*One kibble at a time.*

Bandit will eat partially from the bowl then will bring each piece of kibble out and sit on the rug and eat it individually - then go back for another. It seems to be more an issue of not wanting to miss any action as the feeding area is a little out of the way (as is most I would guess). Quirky but I figure just part of the personality. As long as they are eating and not causing any damage or major issues its fine by me. After all, I am being trained as well.


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## Regina (Mar 9, 2013)

My brother's dog actually carries his bowel into the living room where everyone else is sitting. LOL, it truely is a site to see. I thought my brother was joking with me until I saw it for myself.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

gertchie said:


> I thought Ozzie was the only one! He started eating out of a bowl but then all of a sudden wouldn't. It happened in the late fall when it was cold and rainy and a mouse had gotten into the house. I think he might have seen it eating out of his bowl and it scared him. He drinks his water out of a bowl just fine. Now he eats his breakfast out of his kong and his dinner off a little china saucer. I know some people will say I should have just forced him to eat out of a bowl but we eat off plates so he can too!


I don't think there is ANY problem with going with the preferred container for feeding a dog. (Kodi doesn't care what he eats out of, so he has stainless steel "dog bowls"... our cat, OTOH, eats out of antique china! ) I DO think there's a problem with letting a dog get used to only eating out of your hand. I, personally, would also have a problem with a dog wanting to eat off the floor all the time... it's hard to keep that adequately cleaned.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Regina said:


> My brother's dog actually carries his bowel into the living room where everyone else is sitting. LOL, it truely is a site to see. I thought my brother was joking with me until I saw it for myself.


That's pretty funny! That would be worth it just for the entertainment value!!!


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## misstray (Feb 6, 2011)

Brody pretty much eats every meal from a puzzle toy. He'd probably be trying to figure out what the "trick" was to a regular bowl! ha ha


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## Regina (Mar 9, 2013)

krandall said:


> That's pretty funny! That would be worth it just for the entertainment value!!!


Yes, he truly is a Velcro dog although he is not a havanese, he loves his people. If we are in the dining room he is cool with that and will keep his bowl in the kitchen because he can see us. He never begs for our food, he just doesn't want to eat alone  funny little boy.


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## dwurms (Apr 17, 2013)

Thank you for all the tips! I moved Samoa's feeding mat, water bowl and food paper bowl outside of the ex pen. Still not interested in the paper bowl, but when I tried the paper plate again with kibble leading up to, it worked! I think she mainly didn't like eating in the pen, even though we were in the same room. Once I was closer to her, she did much better...lets see if she keeps up the progress tomorrow &#128516;

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

My boys will not eat if I am not in the kitchen with them. Sometimes, they will stop eating and I tell them, "eat" then they go back to eating. If they do not eat a meal, like Jack does sometimes, Dexter will eat it up. Jack will eat the next time for sure. 

When I first brought home Dexter, he would not eat from bowls, I had to use flat type dishes. 

Now, Dexter has no problem eating now that Jack is here, Dexter meal is gone in a few minutes. Jack........just waits for Dexter to finish and if Dexter tries to get Jack's meal, he does his little growl, then Jack eats. They are such characters!


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## RickR (Feb 15, 2007)

Bessie and Max both eat on plates. I get them at Value Village! We also have to be
in the kitchen with them. Paula


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## Cailleach (Jan 30, 2010)

When my pups were small I used The Rule of Seven. I rotated different kinds of "bowls"...a frying pan, tin foil pans, plastic, ceramic, portable fabric bowls, muffin tins with tennis balls on top the food like a puzzle and kongs. We are lucky that they don't much care about what they eat from but not so much when it comes to chewing on things they steal...mostly shoes.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

When mine were little I added some goodies to get them to eat. I stopped at about a year old. I would cook some chicken breasts and save some of the broth. I put the sheared chicken and broth in ice cub trays. The sisters got one cub each in their food. I just microwaved the ice cube and added to the dry. They would gobble the food. Their have also been a few times when they wouldn't eat when I would hand feed them.
Mine eat from my fiesta ware LOL


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

Zoey and Maddie only eat when I'm home next to them too. Our schedule is so messed up because I work at different schedules. I have a open bowl policy here. They eat out of the same bowl and sometimes in the middle of the night. I just fill it up when its empty. I'm lucky because they aren't over weight or under weight. I do think Zoey pigs out a bit more than Maddie.


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## Ewokpup (Nov 3, 2012)

If she isn't eating hardly at all you should try hand feeding her and check with the vet. With Bama wouldn't eat at first (she was sick) and the vet showed us how to put the food in her mouth and also we gave her nutri-cal so she wouldn't get hypoglycemic shock (think that's the term). 

Is it possible something startled her while eating from the bowl and now she associates that experience with bowl eating?


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## Momo means Peach (Jun 7, 2011)

Momo very rarely eats out of a bowl. She will gather some up in her mouth and go somewhere else to drop the kibble and then eat them one at a time. I can only guess, since I got her at 4 1/2 months, is that is how all the dogs ate at the breeder's house.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Ha, Suzi, my boys eat from Fiesta Ware too, the smallest plate. Augie would not eat kibble from a bowl when he was little, but would from the plate. They get run through the dishwasher. There probably was a time when I would have been grossed out by dogs eating off my dishes, but these Havs are family! Finn will not eat if I am in the kitchen with him. He waits until I leave his area. And Finn has a Fiesta Ware bowl for water; Augie has a stainless steel bowl. The bowl of choice is the stainless steel one, for some weird reason.


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## swaye (Mar 28, 2013)

Sofie at 4 months is still peculiar about her eating habits. She does not eat much in the morning. At all meals she eats a bit walks around some and it might be 5 minutes before she goes back to her bowl. Take a few more bites and so on. She may or may not finish lunch. Dinner is the best meal. Doesn't dawdle as much and most always finishes her meal. We have tried paper plates, the floor and even a food toy with no better results. The food toy lost its novelty after awhile. So I pretty much quit worrying about it,use stainless steel bowls, don't hover like I use to and she seems to be doing fine. Gaining weight and peeing and pooping ok.


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## littlebuddy (May 30, 2007)

Django refuses to eat unless his bowl is next to us at the kitchen table. Most of the time he won't eat unless the food is on the floor, I find myself putting small amounts on the floor at a time. The bowl is right there in front of his nose and he won't eat out of it. Sometimes i have to put his food in a different bowl and feed him in a different room to get him to eat. But, he will NEVER eat alone. Someone always has to be close by. 

There was a time when he had a few pieces of kibble left in his bowl and I was watching TV. Poor thing would run and get a piece of kibble and then run to me on the couch, eat it, run back and get another piece of kibble.......I felt so bad I finally got up and brought his bowl of food next to me. They are funny little creatures.


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## Alcibides (Feb 14, 2012)

*Prefers china plate and company*

COunt LUcky in with those Havs who prefer a china plate for his food (he will drink water from a metal bowl) and my company (busy in the kitchen). I don't mind any of it. He eats quickly and well (especially since I top the food with a bit of chicken) and plates are easy to clean. I sort of appreciate that he is a little dude of fine taste.


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## kathyc (Mar 7, 2013)

Our HAV Werli [ were-lee ] First needed to be fed by hand if we wanted him to eat the most. Then he would eat out of a plate, then he liked to put some on the floor. But if we want him to eat the most we have to feed him by hand so he`ll eat a bit more. We`ve never had a puppy like our little bundle of joy. He certainly is a test.


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