Your Dog Doesn’t Want to Eat Alone
Dogs feel loneliness just like people do.
If you’re in another room and your dog is alone in the kitchen, they may carry their food to where you are to eat it.
“Dogs naturally long for companionship, so he may just want to see you or be near you while he eats,” says Cornwell.
Dogs are family members but often don’t eat with the family. Carrying the food to where you are could be a sign that your pet simply wants to be part of the family dynamic.
As a pet sitter, I’ve seen this behavior firsthand.
One of my clients simply will not eat if she’s all alone in the room. When I sit for her, I usually set up my laptop nearby or even bring her food bowl outside so we can enjoy the sunshine together.
I’ll sit or stand nearby while she eats. This makes her happy, and she eats right from the bowl every time.
How to Put the Kibosh on This Kibble Ritual
If you want to curb this unusual eating behavior, Dr. Albright suggests swapping metal bowls for plastic versions or paper plates to rule out issues with noise.
“If the dog still takes the food away, find a more secluded or confined area for him to eat,” she says. “And if there are other dogs in the house, separate them at feeding time to allow for privacy, so there’s no threat of competition — either real or imagined.”
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2. If your dog is comfortable with it, feed him in his crate. The Humane Society offers helpful crate training tips.
More than likely, if shes taking food from one room to the other, its because it makes her happy – and thats really all we could ever want for our best friends.
As it turns out, it might be more than just an adorable quirk. Like so many canine behaviors, it could be instinctive.
Shes an only dog, so its not like shes trying to shield it from the competition. Im certainly not super interested in eating her food.
But the behavior could also be attributed to nesting, Jonathan Klein, owner of I Said Sit dog training school in Los Angeles, told The Dodo.
How to Stop your Dog From Begging for Food?
Picture this: You put your dog’s dinner bowl on the ground for him to enjoy a nice meal. He prances over, takes a mouthful, walks across the room, and then drops the food on the floor. Once away from his bowl (whether it’s just a few steps away or in a corner on the opposite side of the room), he begins munching away. He repeats this pattern until his meal is all gone.