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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on February 16, 2011 at 11:27am

My experience is that at this age they start doing things like this. Could be teething so try softening the food a little. Meanwhile I recommend putting the food down where you want him to eat for 15 to 20 minutes and pick it up whether it is gone or not. As long as he is growing normally, this too shall pass. Fussy eaters are made not born!

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Dunkle on February 16, 2011 at 11:32am

I will try that thank you! We've always just left his food out all the time and he doesn't gorge himself but maybe that's why lol He seems to be full grown (26 lbs) not overweight at all. He has a nice, stout little corgi body. I sure hope he's not teething, if he trades out these big ol' chompers for even bigger, sharper, chompers we are all in trouble lol

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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on February 16, 2011 at 12:40pm

I have had dogs that I could fill up their dish and they would wait till I got home to eat:) They never went days...but they would not touch it without us or just like Sabre...wait till they can't...I guess it depends on the dog. If you can I would just continue having him eat like you are if that doesn't bother you...sometimes dogs are much smarter than humans when it comes to food. If he is the only one eating the food I would not bother picking it up but rather just leave it as I figure he can eat when he wants not because he has to.

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Permalink Reply by Ella and Lily on February 16, 2011 at 4:46pm

Ella used to do this. Then she started the "one kibble at a time in a different room" phase. Now you can't look at her while she eats. She'll just lay there and stare at you until you turn away and tell her you won't watch. I would stick the bowl where he can see you and leave it down if that is what he is used to. As long as he doesn;t gorge himself there is no reason to change it. Picking the bowl up after 15 minutes isn't going to change this habit.

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Permalink Reply by Jane on February 16, 2011 at 7:05pm

I would do like Bev said, soften the food with some water and put the bowl down for 15-20 minutes and then pick it up again. He will figure it out eventually, a healthy dog will not starve itself to death.

 

Henry used to be a really picky eater just like Sabre, but once we started picking up the dish he started eating all his food within a few minutes of the bowl being put down. It's really better to have them on a schedule versus free fed in my opinion, especially if you ever might consider a second dog, or if you ever need to board him, put him on a diet, etc.

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Permalink Reply by Emily & Scout on February 16, 2011 at 9:18pm

Scout usually needs me to be in the same room when she eats.  If I go to my parents' house I feed her in my old room (otherwise our dog Hershi will try to get at her food which results in some snarling) and have to sit with her until she is done. 

 She also does this funny thing of picking out a few pieces of food, spitting them on the floor, then eating them.  Don't know why she does this but I usually have to pick up her leftovers that remain on the floor when she is done (which is why her bowl sits on a small rug now-easy cleanup). 

 

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Permalink Reply by Nicole Jacobs on February 17, 2011 at 6:45am

Foxy does the same thing.  I'm pretty much convinced he just wants company when he eats.  His bowl is in the kitchen, and we usually eat in our living room.  When we eat, he will go get a mouth-full of food out of his bowl and bring it into the living room, drop it on the floor, and eat it piece by piece.  We pretty much stopped feeding him twice a day and give him all his food at night b/c he really only eats when we eat dinner.  Usually he will eat all of his food once we are eating but every so often he won't eat at all for a day.  I think it's because we will put some meat in his bowl with the kibble a few times a week, but not every day, and this seems to happen on days without meat.  Those nights we leave his bowl on the ground for him and he can eat it when he wants, sometimes he will eat at lunch the next day (without the meat).  I don't really see his behavior as problematic, since he is a healthy weight.  You could always bring his bowl into a different room with you if you really want him to eat.

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Permalink Reply by Prue on February 17, 2011 at 6:58am

Im so glad Rocky is not the only weird one. Haha. He wont eat out of his bowl, he picks everything up, spits it out and then eats it off the floor. He has gone through the 'not eating alone' phase already.

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Permalink Reply by Dominique Salazar on March 31, 2011 at 12:15pm

Haha our corgi does the same thing from time to time. Lately she'll grab a couple of kibble drop them on the carpet, do a dance around them, growling then eating one. She'll finish them all there and sometimes grab more and do the same or just finish at her bowl. I'm not sure why she does this, she's definitely not ignored. She'll eat regardless if we're home or not though...

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Permalink Reply by debra stanger on March 31, 2011 at 3:30pm

Yes my corgi will not eat unless I am right next to her. I have tried leaving the food down for 15min then picking it up, but she still will not eat. Then she gets sick to her stomach from not eating and start vomiting bile all over my house. So I just let her eat in the living room where I am at and she can see me. She watches me and if I get up and go to a different room she stops eating. So I have to stay there untill she finishes. I know I have not been much help but atleast you know your not the only one that has this problem. Good luck.

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