Dog Question

[DuWayne Steurer]

As with most questions I pose here on Brewerfan, I'm sure the answer I'm looking for is easy enough to google, but that's just not nearly as enlightening and entertaining as the answers and posts I read here.

 

So my dog question is this. I have a puppy, (well, 14 month old) of a different breed than I'm familiar with. I've had labs and collies and labs and labs, and now I have a Shiba-inu. We've had him since he was 6 weeks old, and he has a quirky behavior that I've never seen before.

 

Whenever the dog gets fed, he makes sure to bring the last 5-6 pieces of food into our bedroom and "present" them to us. We can put them back in his bowl, but he refuses to eat them. If we leave it lay, he won't eat it. If we feed him less, he still makes sure he brings food into our room.

 

Now this may be not that uncommon, but I personally have never seen a dog do this. Is this just a pack behavior, where he's trying to "show his worth" as a hunter/gatherer?

[1992casey]

I can't directly help you with this. All I can say is that my late dog preferred to eat on carpeting, which is what he was used to at my house.

 

When he visited my parents, he'd take food out of his dish, haul it out to another room, and drop it onto the rug before eating it. He was 12 years old before we ever saw him do this.

 

All we could do was 'fence off' the kitchen when he was fed. That's what I'd suggest.

[stoutdude04]

My dog does almost the same exact thing. He wont eat all of his food but he will either eat it straight out of the boal or do it over the carpet. He always seems to bring it into the room that we are eating in, to kind of say, hey...look im eating too. Its really odd but it really seems like he eats right after we do. Kind of funny actually.

[1992casey]

Its really odd but it really seems like he eats right after we do.

 

I believe that might be instinct. Dogs think people are also dogs. If they're trained right, you, as a person, should be the "head dog." The subordinate dog isn't supposed to eat until the "head dog" does.

[DuWayne Steurer]

1992casey wrote:

I believe that might be instinct. Dogs think people are also dogs. If they're trained right, you, as a person, should be the "head dog." The subordinate dog isn't supposed to eat until the "head dog" does.

That much I'm sure of, that dogs carry their pack mentality into domestication.

 

The thing about this is, this isn't a "eating off the carpet" preference, and it doesn't matter when we eat, before or after. He's eating out of his bowl. He just makes sure he doesn't eat everything, and he brings the last 5-6 bits into our bedroom and leaves them. If I'm sitting on the floor, he makes sure he lays it right in front of me. He does this with treats as well. If it's a little snack pack type deal, he'll eat most of them, but he'll give the last 1 or 2 to me.

[Ralph Wiggum]

What he's doing is actually a very good thing. He recognizes you as the pack leader, and is making an offering. It's a sign of love and respect.

 

We have two dogs at home, and while they don't present us with food, they often present us with their toys, especially if one of us is in a bad mood. Dogs may seem dumb, but they can actually sense a lot. There have been many times when when I've been upset or lackidaisical about something, and looked down to see a toy next to me foot or in my chair. It is always accompanied by a tail-wagging Springer Spaniel, looking very pleased with itself.

[Thurston Fluff]

Somehow your dog got it stuck in her head that is what you want. I generally don't buy into dogs doing things on their own to make the pack leader happy or do things as a sign they want to make you happy. Doing extra credit without the express written consent of the pack leader would not be viewed by the dog as something that would make you happy. As far as they are concerned doing anything without permission is potentially trouble no matter what it is.

They look to the leader to tell them what makes them happy. They will do things to make themselves happy and not stop if the leader doesn't tell them to but that is different than doing unasked things for the master. After a dog understands their leader they may bring them things or act a certain way they know is acceptable without being told but not decide on their own what makes the leader happy. Doing things without permission would indicate the dog believes it is the leader not trying to please the leader.

If it's a habit you want to break you have to let the dog know it's not what you want. If it was my dog I would hold the bowl while the dog is eating then when she tries to take the last bits out of the bowl I would say no. If she continues to do it take the bowl away. The other option would be to take the bowl away before she gets to the point where she takes the last few out. After a while she will forget that habit or get the point it's not what you want.

Shibas are cool though aren't they. Does yours look like a fox? I have an akita which is basically the same dog only bigger and tend to come in more colors than shibas.

[DuWayne Steurer]

My Shiba does look a lot like a fox, though a little taller and stockier maybe. He's built like a brick........crap-house. All muscle. I've come to find, pound for pound, it's a very strong dog for it's size.

 

He's also a real snowy white, with just a hint of buff coloring on his back, so he's an oddball as far as the AKC is concerned (not that I care).

[Thurston Fluff]

so he's an oddball as far as the AKC is concerned (not that I care).

 

Who cares what the AKC thinks? They have done more damage to dogs by emphasizing physical traits than any single puppy mill ever did. I have a friend who has a shiba and they really are strong little buggers aren't they? He uses his to pull him on a skateboard. Dog just loves it. The only setback is they are not endurance dogs. They will tire a little easier than normal and they tend to have sensitive skin. Might I suggest a little vitamin D & K in the diet?

[danzig6767]

Here i just thought my dog had this weird habit

 

His dog bowl is in the kitchen, but he fills his mouth with say 5-6-7 pieces of dog food, takes it to the frontroom and drops it on the carpet before then eating it.

[trwi7]

Here i just thought my dog had this weird habit

 

His dog bowl is in the kitchen, but he fills his mouth with say 5-6-7 pieces of dog food, takes it to the frontroom and drops it on the carpet before then eating it.

 

My dog does the same thing.

[Invader3K]

Our family's bichon frise (who is 15 and a half years old and still going) always takes the first bite or her food a bit away from the dog bowl, for some reason. I assumed maybe it was some kind of protection instinct, like making sure the scene is safe to eat or something.

[Thurston Fluff]

When I first got my border collie she would run three laps around the house, bark at the bowl each lap then stand over it with one foot in the bowl until the other dog was done eating then use the foot in the bowl to slide it across the floor then eat. Talk about annoying.