Dog scared of food and water bowl

[Dom]

HELP NEEDED

 

i have two Maltese ShihTzu siblings.  They are both 6 years old. My fir boy Charlie suddenly has become scared of his water and food bowl.  He will sit in front of them but will not eat or drink from them.  If I offer him a treat or hand feed him he will eat but other than this he will approach the water and food and appear scared of both.  I have tried new bowl, shifting rooms, everything I can think of.  It is driving me crazy.  Can’t find a lot of information re this online.  If he were sick he would not eat when I hand feed him so I am discounting this for the moment.  He acts normal in every other sense (walking etc) 

[_PL_]

How odd. We've had a few who wouldn't eat from certain bowls.

Best advice I've got is:

1. A vet visit for a checkup (teeth can be a problem)

2. A couple of frisbees 


 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Powerlegs
edited

[persephone]

How are you getting him to drink,which is much more important than feeding? 
I also suggest a vet check ...

[sheena]

Are you feeding him near the other dog?  I ask this because if you are then maybe he has been in a conflict with the other dog over food at sometime & now is scared to eat or drink around the other dog

[Dogsfevr]

What kind off bowls.Metal,porcelain,plastic.

 

Is the water bowls the same .

tags on collars ?.

 

try feeding on a paper .plate,licki mat or on paper towels .

 

We actually boarded a Malt that around age 7 wouldn’t eat from a bowl anymore but on a plastic floor mat 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Dogsfevr

[Papillon Kisses]

You could try removing his collar if there’s a tag banging against the bowl when he drinks. In lieu of a hanging tag, you can get slide on tags or an embroidered collar.

 

If your vet rules out other problems my next step would be to see a veterinary behaviourist.

[Boronia]

8 hours ago, Papillon Kisses said:

You could try removing his collar if there’s a tag banging against the bowl when he drinks. In lieu of a hanging tag, you can get slide on tags or an embroidered collar.

 

If your vet rules out other problems my next step would be to see a veterinary behaviourist.

if this is the case, as PK says, these tags are quite good and can be engraved, I think I bought mine from Etsy or Fishpond.au---> dog tags

[JRG]

Some of my dogs will only each when the food is tipped on to the concrete - I think it is because the stainless steel bowls move about and make a noise.  Their water buckets are stainless also, but hooked to the fence. The 

[Papillon Kisses]

It doesn’t solve the water issue, but for food I think it should be mentioned that by feeding from bowls you’re missing out on an easy way to enrich your dogs’ lives and give them a bit of mental exercise. One of the first things our vet behaviourist did (my dog has GAD and OCD, not this specific issue) was have us swap out bowls for food toys.

 

Some ideas for you:

Scattering food on lawn

Using a lickimat if it is different enough to a bowl

Snuffle mat

Kongs and other stuffable food toys

Wobbler

You can get puzzle bowls but they might be too close to a regular bowl for him

 

If you’re on Facebook, check out the Canine Enrichment group. And keep your dogs separated for these activities if there are any resource guarding issues.

 

I know someone whose dog had this exact problem. They weren’t sure what triggered it, but after ruling out other medical problems the dog was diagnosed with anxiety and responded well to anxiety medication. Some people fear medication, but the right medication and dose won’t change your dog’s personality or turn them into a zombie. I would say it enables the dog’s personality to shine as we’re not ourselves when riddled with anxiety.