[mistyinca]

Me again

OK, my 8wk old Yorkie, Chloe, has a bad habit at eating time. She often takes a kibble in her mouth, runs across the room with it and sits down and starts eating it on the carpet or over near her pee pee papers.

I'm giving her Science Diet Puppy Small Bites, but she does seem to have a little trouble even with such a small kibble. The breeder was giving her canned food, and knowing I did not want to give her canned food always, the first meal was mixed half and half, which she ate right away, really fast with no problems.

After that, she started licking out only the wet food and then playing with the kibbles as described before.

So here's how I've been handling the food traveling thing:

She takes her kibble over to the carpet, and I immediately pick her up, say no, and replace her at her food bowl. Sometimes, she'll stay a few seconds, and eat at the bowl, then after a little bit, she'll do it again. After 2 or so tries of replacing her at the food bowl, she'll get a little feisty and start nipping at me. I assume she thinks I'm taking away her food.

So when she gets feisty, I tell her "no" and put her in her crate for a few minutes, then try it again. Right now she is in the crate the second time.

Does this sound like something that will work? If no, are there any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Misty

[Onlinek9]

While what you're doing may work, it may also turn into a game. I would recommend hand feeding first. This is great for several reasons. It helps lesson the chance of food guarding, it teaches that all great things come from mommy, it's an opportunity to train simple things (sit, down, wait), teaches them to take food gently, and it's a chance to bond. After 2-3 weeks of hand feeding you can put small handfuls into a bowl and then let her eat, finally letting her eat just out of a bowl. HOpe this helps!

[workingdog]

A lot of the toy breeds, take thier food piece by piece in another room. It never bothered me when my pom did.I give my pom canned food in the morning and the rest of the day he gets dry dog food.He nipples at it threw out the day.He really perfers the canned but he knows, he just gets it in the morning.

[blackgavotte]

An 8 week old yorki puppy has very tiny, immature teeth. Even though you are using small bites, some foods are very hard for young small breed pups to actually chew. Their jaws are not strong yet either. Why not just moisten the food a bit with some warm water, then put it down when it is a bit softer? You'll probably see she has an easier time eating it. I can't agree with hand feeding, before you know it you'll be doing that all the time, those little characters get your number pretty fast on that sort of thing.

[Onlinek9]

Hand feeding may not work for toy breeds. I can't say for certain as I've never owned one (been owned by one? ). I do know it helped my other dogs with bite inhibition, patience, and food guarding. But every dog is different!

[klcturtle]

Hi! You didn't mention whether this was your first Yorkie? If so...you have a lot of training ahead and Chloe will get you trained in no time!!!! That said, you can look forward to some of the happiest days of your life as a Yorkie parent! My husband says that if there is a God, please send my husband back as a Yorkie so he'll know what true love is! I presently own 2 nine year olds....one I researched and purchased and the other I rescued at 2 years old. I have been blessed with a wonderful life but never more enriched than
with my "kids." Sounds to me like you are just beginning to experience that wonderful Yorkie "spirit" often referred to by non-Yorkie owners as "stubborness!" My advice....don't sweat the small stuff and just enjoy and love, love, love your new addition!!!!

[Sawyer]

I have had 3 dogs in the past - and 2 of 3 did this. In fact, the third not only brought her food in the other room but her entire dish - we had to get ceramic dishes that she couldn't carry! Some dogs don't want to eat alone. Who knows, I guess the real question is - how much does it really bug you??

[opokki]

My poodle does this sometimes too, takes a piece of kibble and walks over to another area to eat it, then goes back for another and does the same things. Natalie takes a mouth full, walks across the room dropping kibble from her mouth as she walks and chews and then turns around to head back to the bowl and eats up the kibble she dropped. I find it amuzing.

I think the hand feeding suggestion would be a good idea. Both of my dogs (adults) enjoy being hand fed. My toy poodle actually eats better if I have him work for his food.

[mistyinca]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm glad to hear that it's pretty common and not just a bad habit happening in my house.

Yes, this is my first yorkie...my first dog in fact, so all this is new to me.

And I am now adding water to her food. I even tried putting it into the food processor to grind the kibbles a little smaller, but that didn't work too well.

Misty