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Anyone else have a problem with their dog not eating out of a bowl? My chi is so afraid of his bowl that he REFUSES to eat out of it. And when he wants to drink water, he stretches his little neck so far in order to keep away from the dish as much as possible. I've tried not putting the food on the ground for him so he would have to eat out of the bowl, but he just barks at the dish until someone does dump it on the ground. He's very skinny as well, so I don't want him to starve himself even more. He's such a picky boy and just about the only way I can get him to eat enough is when I sit there and hand him each individual kibble. HELP!!!

>>Anyone else have a problem with their dog not eating out of a bowl? My chi is so afraid of his bowl that he REFUSES to eat out of it. And when he wants to drink water, he stretches his little neck so far in order to keep away from the dish as much as possible. I've tried not putting the food on the ground for him so he would have to eat out of the bowl, but he just barks at the dish until someone does dump it on the ground. He's very skinny as well, so I don't want him to starve himself even more. He's such a picky boy and just about the only way I can get him to eat enough is when I sit there and hand him each individual kibble. HELP!!!

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Maybe put it on a plate. This breed eats so little, I don't see why his not eating out of a bowl would be any big hassle.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47

He won't eat off a plate, he is afraid of those too. He doesn't even like eating off of a paper towel. Anyway, the reasons I want him to eat out of a bowl are because I leave his food out all of the time. He doesn't weigh much, and I want him to have access to food at all times, but when I leave it on the floor, I get TONS of ants and other bugs that swarm the dog food. And his food is in the kitchen (there really isn't anywhere else for it) and eveyone is always stepping in the little food pile (we live in a small apartment, the main reason I got a chi!)

Chihuahuas are smart little dogs. This guy might be training you a bit. He may not actually be afraid of the food dishes, he just prefers you catering to him.

What brand of food do you feed him? Have you been switching brands often? Do you add people food to his meals to entice him to eat more?

If you aren't feeding a quality brand of food and/or have been switching brands to try to get him to eat more, you may have upset his stomach at some point and that can turn him off of eating. Also, the ants are not a pleasant experience in food. That may have been the start of the problem- he ate a bitter ant with the meal and decided not to do that again. Put the food dish inside another dish filled with water (make a moat around the dish of food basically) and that will keep the ants away. For now, use a plastic dish with low sides that the tags won't bang against and cause noise to scare your pup. Dogs that eat scheduled meals tent to eat more than dogs that are "free feeders". No dog will starve itself to death if it is healthy. I put my food dishes down for my dogs twice a day for 20 minutes. It's their choice to eat within that 20 minutes or not. They don't always eat it actually. I don't worry about one or two skipped meals.

Hope some of that helps, good luck.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

Hi, I know it scares you when they seem not to be eating. Right now my Ruby is doing the same thing as she was just spayed and just wants to sleep and not eat.
I do no that when I bought Ruby home 8 months ago, the first day she would not touch a thing.Then the steel bowls I bought her, made her scared,so I started using the plastic one's and she went there on her own to eat a day later.When hungry, she will eat.We also gave her some cooked chicken the boneless,skinless kind and put a few pieces in with her dog food.She loves chicken,as the breeder was giving her some,so that helped her to eat. Now she eats her dog food fine,but never eats alot at one time.
Hope this helps some.
Sheryl

I hope your pup is eating more. I second the advice to put a bit of chicken (or cheese) in the bowl with the kibble. That might help your dog have good associations with the bowl. Let us know how it goes.