Why does my dog rub his nose on the floor around his food bowl?

I find that some dogs do this when they are attempting to bury food like they would do with a bone. Another thought might be that your dog prefers to have the kibble on the floor. One last thought is that she may have an itchy nose.

It could be that Uno is moving the bowl to a place that is more comfortable for him to eat, he could be moving it to find a food odor he likes, or he might be moving the bowl so his left side isn't by a wall. Research has found that dogs have a dominant side based on gender, and male dogs tend to favor their left paw. Uno could be moving the bowl to that his left side isn't next to the wall. This is a common behavior in dogs to move their food with their nose before eating, and I wouldn't worry about it :-)

Thank you for your question. Many dogs like to hide things, including treats and food. This is probably a remnant from their ancestors who may have had to hide some of their food items to protect it from other members of their pack or predators. We would not consider this a problem behavior unless he is becoming aggressive around his buried food/toys.

She is training you. Do not allow her to do that. Speaking to her at all or standing there while she is eating is giving her positive feedback for a negative behavior. The tendency to hide food and belongings relates to natural instincts of attempting to buy food to "save" for later. First, slightly reduce the amount of food you give your dog. Try to determine the exact amount that satisfies her hunger. Feeding more frequent, smaller meals would be best if possible. Ignore the behavior when your dog is doing it (again, you are giving positive feedback). Any attention to the food dish or her behavior is encouraging her to seek your attention. Put the food down for 10 minutes and then walk out of the room (not saying anything or looking at her). If after 10 minutes she doesn't eat, pick up the food and repeat this again at a later time. Eventually she should learn to eat when the bowl is placed down.

Many cats will exhibit this behavior. It's instinctual to cover up any left over food. This 'hides' it from other creatures who may eat it so that the cat can come back later to eat the remainder of the food. Even though Ricco is domesticated, he still has those instincts. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Bleu maybe rubbing his face on his treats due to excitement, to mark his scent on the food, in the wild dogs do this to tell others in their pack where the food is, it could be a form of resource guarding or simply because he just is so happy and loves treats! I wouldn’t try to read in to it too much! Hope this helps!

It's a weird behavior, huh? I am not sure why they do it, but many dogs will do this. Sometimes it is that they are looking for a piece that they prefer to eat, they don't like the food, maybe they don't like the bowl the food is in, or they think they will save it for later. Some dogs do this all the time and other only sometimes.