Won't eat out of a bowl. Any ideas?


  • Mowgli's adjusting quite nicely. Right now the biggest issue I'm having with him however, is that he will NOT eat out of his food bowl. I have to feed him the kibble by putting it in my hand or on the floor. Anywhere near the bowl and he won't touch it.

    Any ideas?


  • Do you have a clicker? If so make it a game to touch the bowl. You can even use treats to get him closer to the bowl and the click/click treat. Be sure to deliver the treat in the position you clicked for so if you click for being 2 inches from the bowl give the treat in that spot.


  • What kind of bowl to you use?…. Do you know what the previous owner used?


  • Pat that was my question kind of bowl. Did they make him eat in his kennel maybe?

    Rita Jean

  • Houston

    Some dogs don't like metal bowls, the echo when the clank at it with their collars bothers them..my dogs won't drink out of metal bowl, but their food is served in metal.The drinking might be because of the taste, who knows..
    Have you tried just leaving him with the bowl and the food in it for a while, to see if he tries it when alone? Maybe he will eat it if given time and starving tummy gets to help things along.


  • @tanza:

    What kind of bowl to you use?…. Do you know what the previous owner used?

    He was at a very cheaply run dog kennel. He's scared of EVERYTHING so I think the food moving in the bowl when he goes to eat it probably scared him further.

    It's just a plain green dog bowl.


  • If you think it is bothersome to him… then try putting his food on a dinner plate.. a heavy one that will not slide around the floor....... and since you are feeding him dry food (I am only guess it is dry...) maybe just use like a place mat and put the food on that... and if that works then go to maybe a dinner plate?


  • We had that same problem with Hailey, our Ibizan when she came to us..
    She only ate of the floor ?f from our hands..
    We just tryed different sort of bows (metal, plastic) and even from our bowl collection, wood, pottery etc..
    Also tryed different sort of shapes, high and low.
    She started to eat when we gave the food on a normal dinner plate…
    After a while we changed that to a simular bowl and to a normal feeding bowl like the boys have.

    After a few months she ate nice and calm out of a normal bowl.

    Good luck, it's sometimes hard to find out what they want


  • @Buana:

    We had that same problem with Hailey, our Ibizan when she came to us..
    She only ate of the floor ?f from our hands..
    We just tryed different sort of bows (metal, plastic) and even from our bowl collection, wood, pottery etc..
    Also tryed different sort of shapes, high and low.
    She started to eat when we gave the food on a normal dinner plate…
    After a while we changed that to a simular bowl and to a normal feeding bowl like the boys have.

    After a few months she ate nice and calm out of a normal bowl.

    Good luck, it's sometimes hard to find out what they want

    Thanks for the success story! It's encouraging!

  • Houston

    Did the plate thing work for Mowgli, last night?


  • @Basenjimamma:

    Did the plate thing work for Mowgli, last night?

    Actually, he eats out of Shango's bowl so I just went and bought him the exact same one! Problem solved! :-)


  • That is funny! Glad the problem is solved. Congratulations on your new addition!!


  • Glad to read it's solved! :D

  • Houston

    How quirk, but simple. Good for you.


  • Happy that all is well and going so great since the food bowl solved. Have fun.

    Rita Jean

Suggested Topics

  • Jasper Doesn't Like Dry Dog Food!

    Basenji Feeding
    5
    0 Votes
    5 Posts
    4k Views
    tanzaT
    And many of the premium canned foods are fine to mix it… I happen to make my own "wet" mix and I always recommend that dry is mixed with something regardless if you make it yourself or use a good canned food.... Cause it gets pretty boring to just eat the same old dry day after day after day (In my opinion)
  • Baron wont eat????

    Basenji Feeding
    50
    0 Votes
    50 Posts
    19k Views
    DebraDownSouthD
    WOW great pictures! He already looks like he is gaining weight, not "ribby" looking!
  • Eating Strange

    Basenji Feeding
    6
    0 Votes
    6 Posts
    2k Views
    tanzaT
    @agilebasenji: "I don't think that pickles would be a problem…. I find that most dogs/Basenjis like root veggies.. and pickles come from a root veggie " Uhm, Pat, I'm pretty sure pickles are made from cucumbers and cuc's are from the flower of the plant (making it a fruit to biologists, but it's a veggie to nutritionists). Of course I don't care for pickles (and cuc's don't like me too much), so I could be wrong. Opps…. you are totally correct... LOL....
  • Maya is not eating enough

    Basenji Feeding
    9
    0 Votes
    9 Posts
    3k Views
    MayaM
    There are too many Mayas on this site, i saw the title and thought it was one i'd done lol!! I have the opposite problem with my Maya, she is a little piggie, eats everything in site, and has learned how to get IN (yes, literally!) the "dog-proof" bin to get leftovers lol I've even been sending pics to her breeders asking if she is too fat as im paranoid lol I have her on a bit of a diet now… I feed Maya a mostly raw diet, but she has a meal a day of dry complete puppy food. She eats anything, but LOVES the raw. If you're trying to get your Maya more interested in eating then i'd buy some cheap mince or chicken and cook that for her, i bet she'd eat that no problems :D
  • Food mixup, now Sophie won't eat!

    Basenji Feeding
    4
    0 Votes
    4 Posts
    2k Views
    MaxBooBooBearM
    If I ever switch food for any reason–it's gradual. When a food is switched quickly, it can cause stomach upset, loose stools, etc.....I would get her regular food back.
  • What's your b's favorite food?

    Basenji Feeding
    63
    0 Votes
    63 Posts
    45k Views
    DukeD
    @jys1011: We feed the same exact amount! And anything more than 1/4 of a can & the odor can kill us :D :D Oh my C3PO also snarks when he eats!!!! :eek: He sounds like a pig eating slop LOL :D My Topaz is MUCH more refined…licking & chewing very dainty :) :D LOL - HaHaa! I get the message. I'll go from 1/3 to 1/4 can. Last night, Duke was standing on the sofa playing with me when all of the sudden he . . . POOTED! His own poot scared him. He turned around to see what was there - couldn't find anything, but he did alot of sniffing . . . and looked embarrassed! :D