Your Why are dogs afraid of metal bowls? A Step-by-Step Guide

Why Is My Dog Suddenly Afraid Of The Food Bowl [X? Reasons]?

There are many reasons that a dog can be afraid of their food bowl, here are some of the ones that I have seen:

They have had a recent bad experience with them. – This is the number one thing that can cause sudden fear in dogs, for instance, if the food bowl fell off of something and hit your dog by accident, that would absolutely cause a sudden spike in fear around food bowls.

The food bowl is loud/noisy. – Dogs have much more sensitive hearing than we do so if you have a metal or other loud bowl, even if you don’t think it is that loud, the sound could be scaring your dog.

They can see their reflection in the bowl. – If you have a metal bowl (or a very shiny plastic one) It is a possibility that your dog is seeing their own reflection in the bowl and that is what is causing them to become frightened.

Pain. – It may not be fear at all, it could be neck or back pain that is making your dog resistant to eating out of their food bowl, trying putting their food bowl up on a stand so it’s easier to reach.

Their eyesight has gotten poor recently. – If their eyesight is on the decline, it’s possible that they don’t entirely recognise their food bowl anymore, and that is what has caused this sudden onset fear.

You have relocated their food bowl. – If your dog is very set in a routine and doesn’t like change, if you have relocated their food bowl it can cause a lot of anxiety for your dog.

The food bowl smells different. – In the same vein as the last reason, if you have recently washed the food bowl and now it smells different, they may not even recognise it as their food bowl and that could be the cause of their sudden fear.

They see the food bowl as a threat. – If they aren’t recognising the object as their food bowl, they could see it as a threat and that would be why they are afraid of it.

They have a phobia of food. – It is possible that it is not even the food bowl at all, but actually the food. While rare it is possible for dogs (and most animals really) to have an inherent fear of food.

Your dog is just a fearful dog in general. – If all other reasons on this list don’t seem to quite fit, maybe it’s time to consider that your dog is just very scared of most things, not just their food bowl.

How Do I Get My Dog To eat From A New Food Bowl?

Start by introducing them to it slowly, let them sniff and get a sense of what it is before even trying to feed them from it.

Next, give them a few treats near the food bowl, so they can start to associate the bowl with food.

After that, put a few of their treats in the food bowl to let them eat out of it.

Then finally give them their first meal in the new food bowl. Make sure that the first meal is something very yummy, like chicken or some cheese.

Why Does My Dog Push His Food Bowl with His Nose?

There could be many reasons why a dog nudges at their food bowl with their nose between a mouthful of their meal. These include:

They did it once, possibly as a puppy, and you rushed over to stop them and make a fuss. From that moment forth, it became a habit in the name of attention.

They are marking their territory by eating all over the house.

They are adjusting the angle at which they are munching from.

They are looking for a new, more private part of the house to eat within.

They see their reflection in the steel bowl and mistake it for another dog, so they’re trying to get their food away from this infiltrator.

They find it fun

This isn’t necessarily a problematic behavior for your dog, provided they are not making a mess all over the house while they move. After all, as long as they are eating it’s a win, right?

All the same, if you prefer your dog to remain static while they eat, that is easily achieved. All you’ll need is an anti-slip mat to place their bowl on, or you could even use a tea towel. You may find that your dog gets a little frustrated at first while they attempt to move their bowl as is their habit, but they’ll soon stop trying and get on with it.

Get Rid of the Food Bowl and Resolve your Dogs Behavior Problems

Puppies act scared of their bowls because the water or food bowl may have some features that may appear intimidating. In most cases, puppies are frightened by metal bowls because metal bowls are likely to have more of these frightening features. Fortunately, there are several ways to help a puppy overcome his fear of the food bowl.

Metal bowls are particular in the fact that the sounds they produce can prove to be frightening to puppies. It may seem like no big deal to us humans, but puppies are sensitive to noises and can get easily startled.

One example is the noise of the kibble being dropped in the food bowl or the noise produced by the bowl when an owner trips on it or the puppy happens to move it around upon eating. These sounds are often enough to frighten a young pup and cause a reluctance to want to eat from the metal bowl.

Some puppies grow fearful of bowls when their collars or tags make contact with the bowl, startling them. Not to mention the fear a puppy may develop should a metal food bowl be accidentally dropped to the floor.

Did you know? Some dog breeders purposely drop a metal food bowl on the floor to get young puppies habituate to sudden noises.

Metal bowls look appealing to us humans, and the shinier the better, since that proves to us they are clean and easy to wash. However, to a young puppy, the reflections seen on the metal bowl can be intimidating.

While humans have the cognitive ability to understand why reflections happen, dogs arent blessed with rational explanations for what they see. Dogs,indeed, do not understand reflections, and therefore, they react by getting startled upon detecting any movement in the bowls.

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The puppy may therefore lean over the bowl to eat and then startle upon seeing his reflection. This often leads to the behavior of puppies grasping a few pieces of kibble quickly and then eating the kibble in another area away from the “scary bowl.”

With water bowls, dogs may see their reflection in the water or in the metal and this may cause them to startle. These dogs will often take quick sip and then move away. Of course, not drinking enough is a concern in a young puppy, so this issue needs worked on quickly.

The above are just some general assumptions as to why puppies act scared of their bowls. Of course, there may be several other possible reasons.

For instance, perhaps something scary not specifically related to the features of the bowl (like the dog felt pain upon chewing or a car backfired) occurred while the pup had his nose deep down the bowl.

In any case, what can be done to help puppies afraid of the bowl? Following are some tips.