Nosing Behaviour

[XTRAWLD]

Ryder has gone through a stint of inappetance. We're getting back in gear though after visiting the vet, and he's on a road to recovery. My question:

 

It now takes him 2 attempts to eat. I have been feeding him on his bed. The first attempt he will sniff his food, refuse to eat it and then drag his nose along his bed to push it away. He has even bit the bed what seems out of frustration and then stick his nose in the bowl again, attempt to take some food and then "nose" or "snoot" into his bed again. He appears to be frustrated because he wants to eat, and he might not feel like eating and he's trying to show me this by his nosing. I give him a break and then try again in about 5 minutes and he voraciously eats his food without nosing or hesitating the second time.

 

Has anyone experienced this before from a hound that used to LOVE his food, had a bit of a hunger strike, starts to rally and then does this? He does eventually eat, but it takes 2 attempts to get there. He has one loose tooth (the one behind his canine), but we cannot do anything about it right now until he gets back on track health wise. Thoughts? Are his senses getting overloaded?

[LaFlaca]

This was something my Wendy would do. She was a dog that ate (barely) enough to live even when she was young and healthy. Wendy would do the "nosing" ritual around her food bowl in the elevated feeder. At first, I just couldn't fathom what the heck she was trying to do. Then, I observed her burying food in the yard using her snout to cover up the food in the hole she had dug. She would then dig it up and eat it later. This made me realize that she was trying to "bury" her food in the bowl. As she aged and sickened, she would do this behavior with food served to her while lying on her bed.

 

It may be that his loose tooth hurts. He wants to eat but knows it's going to hurt. Try making him a batch of bone broth. There are recipes online. It's nutritious, tasty and easy to eat.

 

Get better soon, Ryder.

[Guest nicky604]

Have you tried soft foods? I feed a combo of cooked and raw food to my greyhound (no commercial foods). In the morning, I make him oatmeal but with beef broth instead of water.

Then I add an egg to the hot oatmeal so the egg cooks in it. Or meat. I make it the consistency of a thick soup or porridge consistency because he doesn't drink enough

water otherwise. Then add little pieces of cooked vegetables or fruit.

 

I would soft cook the foods so he doesn't have to chew just slerp!

[Bogangles]

There have been two situations where this has/is happening. With my boy when he was sick and too full of drugs for the first time in his life he started pushing the bowl away -- I am sure he was hungry but too sick or nauseous to eat. It was really difficult to watch.

 

I have had my girl for two years now and when she arrived was completely stressed out. Pushing the bowl away is something she does. It has been a real tough time getting her to eat. It seems what she will eat one day will not eat the next. At the beginning kibble was out of the question and still is so we ended up on raw. This seemed to work for quite a while but we had to eliminate chicken and turkey. Then she would start the pushing the bowl and walk away. So ended up on ground beef and rice (cooked) for a few days. Tonight she is back on the raw again.

 

It seems that I have to keep changing her food to keep her eating.

 

One vet believes she had stress induced colitis so I believe that sometimes she does not feel well sometimes.

 

Perhaps your boy is just not feeling well when pushing the bowl away?

[XTRAWLD]

I agree he's not feeling well for sure, but I cant understand why only a couple minutes later when not exposed to it and it is reintroduced he eats without issue.

[LaFlaca]

I agree he's not feeling well for sure, but I cant understand why only a couple minutes later when not exposed to it and it is reintroduced he eats without issue.

Wendy used to do weird stuff like this. Never knew why she would turn up her nose at her food or a treat, walk away, then come back 30 seconds later and eat. She was a dear, quirky girl.

Edited November 23, 2017 by LaFlaca

[Bogangles]

I agree he's not feeling well for sure, but I cant understand why only a couple minutes later when not exposed to it and it is reintroduced he eats without issue.

At least he is eating even with the delay. If he is on medication could that be affecting him? My concern is that my girl maintains her weight which she is without going on drugs and just trying to heal her gut. I wish she could talk and let me know what is bothering her! Probably most of us wish it was not such a guessing game.

 

I would be interested to know if he gets back to his normal schedule. Something else my girl does when she does not feel well is lick her bed or wherever she is lying on which is an indication to me is she is not feeling well. Liking herself is fine.