hidding food

[kristinamich]

we just adopted another dog, which is a 5 yr old beagle. he has this strange habit of trying to hide his food. he shoves his bowl around making most of the food go on the floor and then he noses the rug under the bowls up over the bowls. it is as if he is trying to hide his food from other dogs.
has anyone else had this behavior with their dog and is there anything we can do to thwart this behavior, or should we just ignore it?

[Doggyteacher]

I dont think hes trying to hide the food. I would recommend getting a bowl that wont move when he nudges at it. One that has the sticky rubber on the bottom or the ones that are up off the floor and at dog level. Some dogs like to play with their food and others get so excited they tend to just make a mess.

[kristinamich]

thanks, i will try that. he doesn't seem excited and takes forever to eat his food, in fact it is over the course of the day. Your sugesstion is a good one.

[Doggyteacher]

Over the course of a day you say? In my classes I always suggest to my students to have designated feeding times with no free feeding allowed. If the change in the food bowl doesnt work I would suggest putting him on a feeding schedule so he will be more inclined to eat his food instead of play with it. :)

[mixerrer]

I suggest getting a bigger bowl for the dog. Maybe the bowl is just too small.