Why is my older dog suddenly covering her food? What does it mean?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! She is adorable by the way! What I recommend is actually limiting the amount of time the food is available to her. For example, you can leave her food out for 1 hour, if she does not eat it all, you take it away and offer it again the next day. Eventually, she will understand that her food is only going to be out for a certain amount of time and will have a more regular eating habit. Another thing you can do is split what you feed her in 2 feedings. Both ways could work well for her. Good luck and have a good evening!

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.

Cute pup! It may be that Monah just isn't very interested in her food, or is getting too large of an amount and may benefit from smaller portions or more frequent ones. If you're in an area where the weather is getting hotter, it may also affect appetite some. However, if she refuses to eat completely, or shows other signs of illness, then scheduling a vet visit is always good to rule out any health issues.

If Mia is eating enough and growing normally I would not worry too much about this behavior. If however you feel like she is becoming undernourished because of this then I would be concerned. Try strictly meal feeding her. Put her food down for 10-15 minutes and if she doesn’t eat it pick it up right away. Then do not allow her to ha e any food until her next meal. This will encourage her to eat her food when it is available rather than play with it.

You should be glad Soska doesn't always finish her food. If she hasn't done much exercise she may not be as hungry. Dogs are better at regulating their intake to equal their calorie burning than humans. Most dogs who are allowed to free feed are normal weight because they don't over eat. As long as Soska is normal weight and feeling fine this is nothing to be overly concerned about. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Soska.

While these changes in behavior pattern are curious, I don't see a need to be overly concerned if everything else is normal. However, it is true that these small changes may be an early sign that something is wrong. Pay attention to how much she eats and drink. If it seems more or less, then this can indicate a problem. Also run your hands over her entire body and feel for anything out of the ordinary. Also, I am seeing that Lalya is 72lbs. This is rather heavy for a husky. Make sure that she is not getting too chunky or this can cause problems like diabetes in her old age. They can easily get fat without you noticing, because of all that fur. I've added a link below that can help you assess her body condition. You want Lalya to be at a 3. http://petobesityprevention.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/DogBCS_APOP.pdf I hope this is helpful.

Some dogs always do this and some do it because they don't want it or they have some anxiety. Does she eventually eat it? If so then she likely just saving it for later. Does she only do it when it is storming or other times when she is anxious? If so this is likely anxiety. Does she never go back to eat it and she won't eat it out of her bowl either, then she may not like that food and is wanting something different. I hope this helps!