Eating like a squirrel

All three my dogs, a spaniel/schnauzer cross (Bella), boerboel (Zona) and my SPCA rescue, a pincer/jack russell cross (Chante), live outside and sleep in comfortable beds in the garage. They also eat at the same time in the same area of the yard by the back door.

The smallest of the three, Chante, only eats her pellets one at a time. She picks one up out of the bowl carries it a few feet away and then starts to eat. She does did until her bowl is empty. The other two dogs hoover up their pellets and I am afraid they are beginning to catch on to Chante's eating habit and have started pinching some of her food. Now Chante is still healthy and does get a lot of additional nutrition to the pellets but I want her to eat her pellets as well.

Why does she eat like this and how do I get her to eat more efficiently?

 

This is the first time I heard of the behavior, and Chante is quite unique then. Have you asked your vet for some suggestions? If you worry that her food would be eaten by other pets, I would keep her separate from the other dogs so she will have her full portion.

Not sure how old she is but I hope she would outgrow this.

 

She is 5 years old at the moment so I doubt she will ever outgrow this behaviour. I think it stems from the fact that she was the only pet in the house and could eat her food in her own time for the first two years. I try and soften her pellets with fat extract or milk and this seems to help

 

She sounds like a really unique dog I think it's one ' of those things that some dogs do, not very common, but I guess she saw this kind of behavior somewhere. My schnauzer created her own pillow (by folding the carpet) the second night she slept in my room, because she saw me I was using a pillow as well

 

You can change tack and give them something else like soft bones or dog porridge to fill them before giving them the pellets. Since they would be partially full from something less palatable, they wouldn't be enamoured by the pellets. Dogs are normally protective of their own food and you should supervise them when they are feeding to counter intrusive behaviour. Have a leafy branch at hand to scare any dog that does so. Dogs are fast learners and will soon learn to coexist.

 

I don't know if this is directly related but this can be of help. My pekingese Barbie is picky with food. Our dogs usually ask for crumbs when we eat snacks while watching tv. That habit extended to the scraps when we eat meals. There are times that Barbie would take the scrap that we give her and eat it instantly. But some other times, Barbie would take the scrap of food and go to the sofa where she would eat slowly. In that case, it is obvious that she doesn't relish the food and she only takes it because our other 2 dogs are eating that particular food. So my point is that Chante may be tired of eating the pellets but she has no choice.