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Why does my Retriever push his nose around his food dish-does a little dance with his head



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 29th 06, 05:07 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
monkey
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Default Why does my Retriever push his nose around his food dish-does a little dance with his head

Before and after eating my golden retriever pushes his food dishes with
his nose-around it- as if he is doing a little dance. Does anyone know
why this happens?? its really weird, it goes on for like 10-15 mins..
Any suggestions???

  #2  
Old December 29th 06, 06:44 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Janet B
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Posts: 1,260
Default Why does my Retriever push his nose around his food dish-does a little dance with his head

On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 12:36:29 -0500, montana wildhack
, clicked their heels and said:


The simple answer is, "don't let the dog do that." The dog has trained
itself (and you) that this is an acceptable ritual. If it is not
acceptable, train the dog to behave differently.


yep. Our bowls are all in holders of sorts. Lucy and Franklin have
bowls in drawers that slide away when done. I got a new feeder/water
thing for a convenient place for Rudy's bowl. He had been eating in
his crate all of this time (not closed) but I decided that if I'm ever
going to be able to get the crate out of my family room, the first
step was to wean the eating spot. He still races in there, but has
been popping back out to come to the bowl location, a little faster
each day.

I finally went cold turkey on the bedtime crate (a mesh crate without
a door), because it was just taking up too much room in my not-so-big
bedroom. He likes sleeping in crates (he had NOT been crate trained
before arriving here a year ago), but likes sleeping elsewhere too. It
seems the only way to get him to give up the crate is to take it away
completely. I never did that with another dog, but I don't
particularly like a crate as part of the decor. Mostly because it
collects hair and dust and grunge around it, and there's no really
great place to put it.
--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com
  #3  
Old December 29th 06, 06:47 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
FurPaw
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Posts: 1,469
Default Why does my Retriever push his nose around his food dish-doesa little dance with his head

monkey wrote:
Before and after eating my golden retriever pushes his food dishes with
his nose-around it- as if he is doing a little dance. Does anyone know
why this happens?? its really weird, it goes on for like 10-15 mins..
Any suggestions???


Get it on video tape and post it on you-tube?

After you do that, if the behavior bothers you, follow Montana's
suggestions. G

FurPaw

--
Better dead than Red.

To reply, unleash the dog.
  #4  
Old December 30th 06, 01:54 AM posted to rec.pets.dogs.behavior
Susan Fraser
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Posts: 65
Default Why does my Retriever push his nose around his food dish-does a little dance with his head

monkey wrote:
Before and after eating my golden retriever pushes his food dishes with
his nose-around it- as if he is doing a little dance. Does anyone know
why this happens?? its really weird, it goes on for like 10-15 mins..
Any suggestions???


I've seen the ritual movements you're describing in my Goldens - not
for 10-15 minutes though! I have to 2nd the suggestion of getting it on
video!

I got a clue what it might be when I fostered an injured baby squirrel
- he would take a nut onto the rug and scoop-pat-pat scoop-pat-pat the
air around it for 10 minutes or more. The movements were like he was
burying it, even though it was still sitting there in plain sight, not
even carpet fuzz covering it.
Also, this couldn't have been a learned behavior since he fell straight
out of the nest to the injury that landed him in my living room for the
winter.

I've since watched a dog "burying" a slimey, half-eaten rawhide (in my
pillow!) and saw the same shoveling-type motion with the nose - this is
what I suspect the "little dance" is: a vestige of the wild behavior of
burying excess food as a cache for later consumption.

Just be sure that you aren't actually giving the dog "excess" food and
thus triggering that "save it for later" instinct. You should be able
to easily feel a Golden's ribs if you run you hands lightly down his
side. If you can't, he's too fat, and likely conflicted between the
retriever greediness of eating anything and everything he can get his
mouth on, and the instincts he inherited from the wild to stay in shape
and save excess food for later.

Now my poor deprived Goldens push their food bowls around after eating
too, but no "little dance" - they're just licklicklicking them. In
their case it's clear the reason is that there might still be a
molecule or two of food left in the bottom. ;-)

Susan Fraser,
owned and trained by the (starving, starving I tell you!) AuH2Ok9s:
SheBop, Shammie and Gris-Gris

 




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