Anyone familiar with this unusual puppy problem?

he looks at you in a mother position it happens a lot but just leave it in the bowl and when he gets hungry he will go to it just hang in there

He's acting that way because you let him. Owners of rescue dogs often make the very bad mistake of thinking the dog "knows" where it came from. Put the food in the bowl and leave it there. A dog will not starve to death in the presence of food. He may ignore it for days at a time, but he'll get the message and eat.

My mother made this mistake with her first dog, who I adopted from her at age 5. She had gotten to the point that he got a different type of canned food every night of the week because he would "get bored" with the flavors, and she sat on the floor and fed him from a spoon, after dicing up any chunks into pieces a hamster could swallow comfortably. When I got him, I changed all that. I put his food down for 15 minutes, then I put it away again. He either ate it or he didn't. It took him a little bit of time to catch on, but now he eats almost as fast as my other dog, which is borderline inhaling.

Dogs are intelligent enough to be manipulative. He'll cry, he'll whine- he may even do what my dog did, which was lay on the floor with his nose next to the bowl and whine for the full 15 minutes until I took it away again. But he will learn- when he's truly hungry, he'll eat the food the way it's given to him and be grateful for it. Stop babying him, it will only get worse the longer you continue to treat him that way.

He sounds like a smart puppy. He not only has you handfeeding him but he also gets the fast-food version of nutrition. The cheaper brands use a lot of flavor additives to taste really good, like fast food fries and burgers use flavor enhancers and a lot of fat and salt to excite our taste buds.

Find a high quality food by reading labels. You won't find a high quality food in the grocery; go to a pet supply/feed store. Remember "high five" as you read the labels. The first ingredient listed should be a meat. Never in the first five ingredients should you see corn, wheat, soy, or a by-product. (Chicken by-product is the beak, feet, and feathers - poor nutrition.)

When you have your high quality food, use the feeding guideline to measure the amount your pup should consume per day. Use the lower end of the range. If it says 2 to 3 cups per day then measure out 2 cups of food. Split that amount between two meals, morning and evening. Put the measured amount of food in your pup's bowl and add a spoonful or two of warm water (to enhance the aroma), call your pup over and set down the bowl. Stay there as he eats, or ignores, his meal. Don't beg him to eat and do not hand feed even a piece of kibble. In ten minutes pick up the bowl. He gets no other food or snacks until his next meal.

In a couple days you should have an eager eater who looks forward to you putting down his bowl.

It sounds like he has you well trained.

Put the bowl down and feed him one kibble by hand. If he hasn't eaten in ten minutes, take the bowl up until it's time for his next meal. Repeat. After two or three missed meals, he'll eat from the bowl. Cats will sometimes starve themselves in a food boycott, but I've never known a dog to, for more than a day or two.

Cheap kibble has salt, sugar and artificial flavors, expensive ones are more bland. Once he's eating from the bowl by himself, start little by little mixing the good brand into the cheap brand, gradually increasing the ratio of good kibble to cheap kibble, until he's eating the healthier stuff.

It can be the actual bowl.

A lot of dogs do not like the stainless steel type because they can make a noise on the tiles and the dogs can also see a reflection of themselves as they get to the bottom.

Try changing it to a sturdy china type and see if that makes a difference.

Don't go making a rod for your own back by handfeeding though as that will not be good in the long run.

He is acting this way because you have trained him to.

Choose a healthy food for him, put it in his dog bowl and walk away. Stop letting him run the show. YOU choose his food, YOU choose how he eats it (from a BOWL).

Simply stop letting the dog manipulate you. You are the master-he is the dog. You AND the dog seem to have this backwards. It has nothing to do with where he was born. It has to do with you letting the dog be in control.

My dog does the same thing, your dog will eat food once he is hungry, your dog is still a puppy so your dog wont be just laying right beside you the whole time he will be playing and doing silly things. What i did to get my dog to eat from her bowl was put peanut butter in there with some food and she started eating it. Over time put less and less peanut butter in her food. While doing the peanut butter thing make sure he gets lots of exercise.

Hope that helps!

i suggest that you slowly move your hand towards the bowl as he is eating. in a few days of doing this, actually lower the hand to the bowl, if he doesn't eat when your hand is in the bowl, keep trying each day. eventually put food in bowl.

Has their been any other dogs in your home that may have eaten out of his bowl?

I know that my dog doesn't like drinking out of a communal water dish, it could possibly be the same for food dishes.

idk. i hope it helps some.

The dogs food had been scattered on the floor, when fed.

They didn't use bowls. Put his food directly on the floor. He will eat it up.