Dog Question

[David]

I thought about asking this in Herm's topic but since it does not deal with my dog chewing on things, I thought about creating a general topic about dogs.

My family dog (not mine, my kids and wife's dog) has seemed to stop eating for the most part. He will not eat out of the dog bowl. He will eat if the food is fed him by hand or on the ground (not in the bowl).

Stupid dog..... Anyways, my wife is concerned because he has gone days without eating and then the kids get worried so they grab the food from the bowl and place it on the ground and the dog will then eat.

I also noticed that the dog likes to cover his food bowl with or without food with the rug the the food and water dish are on.

Anyways, any ideas?

The dog is a Lhasa Apso breed.

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[Hermskii]

hahaha! Sorry. Maybe it is not funny but I love the term "Stupid dog" from the cartoon "Courage the Cowardly Dog" and the way the old husband always calls him that!

First thought that comes to mind is GET A NEW BOWL!

My new dog nudges the food and the bowl itself with her nose. Often she pushes it up under a nearby table with a low lying shelf so she can no longer reach it. My dogs share a wtare and food bowl that are attached so then neither of them can get any food or water when she does this.

Stupid Dog! LOL

Yours is real cute by the way and exactly what my wife wanted. My new dog rules and my other dog has never been so happy!

[a nameless entity]

All I have to offer are some thoughts:
How old is the dog?
Did he ever get sick after eating something out of the bowl? Perhaps he associates the bowl with discomfort after eating. You might try feeding him off of an old dinner plate you don't use any more. See if he'll eat off of that.
If this problem persists a visit to the vet is in order. You want to rule out any physical causes. If it's just psychological, maybe you can feed him off of a rubber mat. One of those boot butlers with raised edges might help to keep the kibble from flying all over the place.

[Hermskii]

Yeah! Sorry. I forgot to mention to be very concerned about a dog that stops eating. If it starts loosing weight and even hair, get it to a vet quick and expect the worst. lucky for you the dog is eating but just under certain conditions. Odd.

[David]

Well, I changed out the bowl and I guess we will see what happens. He still likes to flip the rug over his food

It has lost some weight but not enough for me to worry about.....stupid dog

Anyway, I guess we will try the different bowl for a couple days and if he does not eat then,........dont know. There are multiple variables. Type of food, maybe the food is too hard for him (maybe need to add water to soften the food), maybe he is sick, or ......

Anyways, we will see what happens. A vet bill is not really desired for.

P.S. Did I mention that this is not my dog, it is my wife and kids dog. This dog annoys me.

[Hermskii]

DAVID! IT IS YOUR DOG THEN!

I think you really love it to death. It is a boy or a girl and how old again?

[David]

DAVID! IT IS YOUR DOG THEN!

I think you really love it to death.

I wish my wife would LET me "LOVE IT TO DEATH" but my wife likes the dog and so do my two daughters. I told my wife that I would volunteer to give "that" talk to them when the dog could not be located anymore.

To the best of our knowledge, the dog is around 5-7 yrs old. I think we got the dog in 2009 at a shelter. I am not too sure though.

[Hermskii]

Had some more pressing things going on that year huh? LOL How about if you give me that talk about whether it is a boy or girl... This is like pulling teeth sometimes.

OK OK, I went back and read closly to see if you mentioned gender by way of a pronoun and sure enough, I see that your dog is a "male" dog since you said:

He still likes to flip the rug over his food.

[David]

But Dad I do not want to go to the dentist.....
Yes it is a male "dog". His name is Tony (girls names him).

[David]

Well, I think adding water to the dry dog food helped. He will eat if the food has water or the water had soften the food. I think he needed the food softer, maybe because of dental issues?

Oh well, the kids and wife are happy that he is now eating.

[Hermskii]

My new dog prefers hers watered down as well. Thanks for the suggestion! CYA!

[a nameless entity]

:shock:You're supposed to add water to dry dog food! They should have a denta stick or something similar twice a day to help keep tartar off of their teeth too. Otherwise you'll end up with a dog with no molars. Or severe gum disease or fatal tooth decay.
And they must be given heartworm preventative, and have stuff to control fleas, etc etc etc.

And you thought kids were expensive??