Kaiser has developed a messy habit of pushing his food bowl around with his nose before he digs in to eat. It’s certainly not uncommon for a dog to push their food around before eating. There are a lot of opinions on why dogs like to do this before eating, most people think it’s because they like to get a better smell, that it has something to do with their hunting instincts, or that they just don’t like their food. We certainly don’t think it’s the taste of his food since he’s been eating the same Natural Balance for over nine months now. Some dogs like to eat their food off the ground instead of in a bowl. We wish this was the case with Kaiser because when he knocks the food out of his bowl he leaves a mess for us to pick up. It’s not so bad of a cleanup except for when he knocks his water dish as well.
Check out the YouTube video below to get an idea of how Kaiser likes to play with his food, and let us know if you have any similar experiences with your dogs in the comments section.
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Tags: Dog, Food, Kaiser, Miniature Schnauzer, water
June 1st, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Sophie does the same thing! Pushes food around, food winds up on floor, food can sit there for hours before she decides to finally eat it. Until now I’ve never seen another dog do this. Maybe it’s a Schnauzer thing? If I add a few goodies (people food) to her dish she eats right away, so I have assumed the pushing of the food was her looking for the missing goodies.
June 2nd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
He just too cute! I thought it was funny when he backed up into the wall and had to lift up his legs to make room. Very cute…and messy!
July 18th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
My great dane did the same thing until I bought him a weighted elevated food bowl. Now I am finding that he often kicks the ground in a digging motion while eating (and I cannot figure out why) but at least I no longer have to clean up his spilled food and water every where.
July 21st, 2009 at 7:10 pm
My schnauzer does this too. Did you ever figure out how to make it stop? We have a labrador as well who eats all of the food that falls OUT of the food bowl while Loki is throwing his hissy fit and gets it all over the floor. Then, the lab gets sick.
Did you ever figure it out?
July 23rd, 2009 at 4:26 am
Oh my god! My dog, Dexter, does EXACTLY the same thing and he’s a Schnauzer too! It must be something that they do. Similarly, he leaves food for ages (hours) before he’ll eat it; so I assume he’s not hungry, but as soon as we go out his nose is to the ground all the time. I’m glad it isn’t just my dog! Still, I do find it very cute even though it is annoying! I hadn’t considered the idea that they prefer to eat off the floor, but that makes sense because sometimes, Dexter will eat the food from his bowl if I out it on the floor or feed it too him, so I wonder if it is to do with their high hunting drive??
Best wishes!
Cat
x (and Dexter too!)
August 8th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
My dog does this too! I have no idea why. I’ve been trying to research it, because I thought it was interesting. Most results I’ve found says that he’s bored, and it’s a game. Much like when some dogs circle themselves before they lay down.
February 11th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
My coonhound drives us crazy acting like a weirdo pushing her food and water bowl around and sometimes flips them completely over…I wonder why they do this?!
February 24th, 2010 at 9:56 am
Thank you! Been searching for a reason my miniature Schnauzer does that with his bowl too, even changed dog bowls and food. He still did it. But he does finally eat his food after he has performed this little ritual…well, at least the food that has not been runned over by the spilled water. Solution: Moved his water bowl to the other side of the kitchen and now he can nudge his bowl all he wants and food does not go to waste. Mommy is happy too
At least now we know this is common with his fellow Schnauzers.
March 6th, 2010 at 8:41 am
I have a slightly different problem. My Cockapoo Sophie doesn’t move her bowl at all. She just grabs a few kibbles at a time and takes them to a random location. She walks back and forth but never finishes the food she transports. At first I was looking to see if she was singling out certain pieces she preferred more than others and it’s not the case. The end result is a nightmare when walking barefoot to the kitchen in the dark to get a drink.
March 22nd, 2010 at 8:47 am
My Aussie mix does the same thing, Roy. She will put little piles of food all over the house in strategic locations. Then she will push the individual kibbles around with her nose. Sometimes I think she is trying to share. When I put food in her bowl she immediately pushes a bunch out onto the floor and leaves it until I put it back. Then she will push it out again onto the floor. It is fascinating and curious.
May 21st, 2010 at 6:30 pm
My mini schnauzer does the same thing. (That’s what led me to this site. I’m looking for answers.) She pushes the food out with her nose. But if she’s really hungry she just eats and doesn’t leave a mess. She is 17 months old and just started doing this about 3 months ago.
The Lhasa I used to have would carry a few morsels to the living room, flip over on her back and scoot to the food and eat it laying on her back. I think she was entertaining herself.
Dogs! Go figure! Gotta love ‘em.
July 25th, 2010 at 6:32 am
My schnauzer likes to take food out of her dish and carry the food to a destination and drop it, then eat most of it. I think she wants to eat where ever we are at. If I tell her to pick it up she does eats it. I do have a mat I place her dishes on so she can not knock them around. The mat has a lip on it so if any water or food spills out it is caught on the mat. Since then I give her something to work at.
I have put her treats in a bone and make her work at it to get it out.
Once I did this she does’nt pull food out of her dish too often anymore.
She is a great dog!!
August 14th, 2010 at 10:02 am
My Benny (Jack Russell)does this as well. But he singles out bigger pieces and puts them on the floor. If I play with the pieces he took out, then he barks and wants them back. He goes crazee wanting them and starts barking and play growling. Every meal..same thing. One reviewer on another site said it could be the reflection of the food dish. Another said, it might be the smell of plastic and another said it could be the food size. He just started doing this since I got the new dog food. So I’m gonna try another brand and see what happens.
September 13th, 2010 at 6:21 pm
My schnauzer used to do the same thing. I think they do this because they are trying to “bury” their food because they are not hungry at that particular moment, and they want to “bury” it to retrieve later.
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:44 pm
My Dauschund does the same thing. She dids at ther floor as if she wants to bury it. Then she scoots it all over the dining room. She never eats while I am watching her. She just sneaks back sometime later in the day and devour the food. Why does she do this. It’s something she just now statred to do. She’s 7 months and only 8-1/2 lbs.
October 24th, 2010 at 9:43 am
My dog does that too!. Honey, a daushund beagle mix, will dig in her food bowl and get food everywhere in the living room! She usually also digs in our other two dogs’ food bowls and creates on big mess for me to clean up! I have no idea why she does this, but I would love to know.
November 27th, 2010 at 12:34 am
My schnauzer does this too. We put her kibble on a mat on the floor and she pushes it so hard against the floor. I find that when she starts to do that, I pick up the food and then she seems to want it. As soon as I put it back down she eats it up.
February 8th, 2011 at 6:23 pm
My dog does this too. She is a lab-boxer mix, she is a year and a half and she really only does this when I switch the flavor of her food. Same brand, but I sometimes buy two different sizes and the flavors are chicken or lamb. I usually just grab whatever size I need, despite the flavor, since she always eats either flavor anyway without complaint. When she was anywhere from 5-11 months she would do this on occasion, spill her water and completely tip her food over. Now, however, she just nudges her nose in it like Kaiser was doing and around the edges of the bowl, but doesn’t actually knock any of it out..she leaves her water alone. Typically she will go eat the food pretty soon after doing this, but tonight (i went to the pet store and bought food today) she just pushed it around, pushed the cloth placemat over her food bowl like she was trying to bury it, left, came back, did the same thing, then just snubbed her nose at it. She is sleeping now, so I guess she isn’t hungry… I don’t have a clue what this behavior is..If anyone finds out please post it!!
May 3rd, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Our dog does exactly the same! we thought it was just his personality, then we switch his metal food/water bowls for plastic, put some of his food on the side of his dish, everything!
we had the theory that perhaps the metal bowl made his food taste or smell in a way he didn’t like it, so we kept washing the bowl frequently…who knows maybe it is just a schnauzer thing.
And it is funny because we’ve boarded him the past and the people there tells us all concerned why is he acting up that he is refusing to eat his food while he is there, and keeps knocking it over…they thought it was his was to “communicate” his negative feelings about the place (aka temper tantrum)and that he wanted to go home. I see it as a different way to pick up his food, since he can’t use his paws to do it he used his nose.
Solution to this problem: We separate his food bowl from the water bowl(on opposite sides of the kitchen) to avoid coming home to find his dry food thrown all over the place, mixed with water.yuck.
June 28th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
My mini schnau,Kelsey, is 15 and does the same thing. I also moved water dish away from food dish, changed dishes from plastic, ceramic, metal, etc, all the was to paper plates. She will always eat and NOT push food around if it’s something extra yummy. Otherwise, she appears to be hiding her food for later, keeping it safe from others. My daughter’s a vet tech and tells me Kelsey does same when caged awaiting procedures at vets office. I believe it’s a trait of the breed
July 12th, 2011 at 8:34 pm
We have an Old English Sheep Dog that carries her food bowl to wherever I am, tips it over with her paw, makes a huge mess. Sometimes she eats it, sometimes she doesn’t. It’s getting worse now. She leaves piles in every room, even upstairs. She doesn’t bother her water bowl. We’ve changed foods, that’s not it. She didn’t always do this. It’s a ritual now.
July 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Did anyone find a solution to this behavior? I have a 9 year old beagle who does this. Frustrating!!!
September 15th, 2011 at 8:10 am
My schnauzer is called Zack and he does exactly the same! My mum googled this behaviour to find out why and came across your site. He has just turned one year old and has only just started this, so we were a bit concerned. So thank you, you have given us piece of mind.
October 23rd, 2011 at 11:11 am
My min-schnauzer does this too! Not sure why. If anybody figures this out let us knoe! Maybe it’s a Schnauzer thing? From marian: “Life, if well lived, is long enough”. Quoted Senasa, De Ira.
October 23rd, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Oops… I accidentally attached a quote with my reply, my apologies.
November 23rd, 2011 at 10:21 am
my miniature schnauzer, Pippa, does a similar thing. she is 2 years old and very well behaved. the only problem i have is that she takes a kibble from her bowl and then crunches it all over the floor, about a foot away from her bowl. i got her a mat to eat over but she eats just outside of the mat area. i have tried taking the kibble from her and putting it back in the bowl, following her around with the bowl catching what she drops, and rewarding her when she does eat over her bowl (hardly ever). nothing seems to work and i am forever vaccuming! it’s starting to sound like it may be a schnauzer thing, but if anybody has any advice i would be greatfull
December 29th, 2011 at 6:16 am
My 11 yr old Schnauzer is doing it right now. Had stopped it for a while and just started up again. My problem is that she is diabetic and MUST eat before I give her the insulin shots…twice a day. Getting her to eat now is a major problem. I have to regulate the time for her shots and it throws the schedule off. I did switch her recently from homemade food to holistic can food and that’s the only change made so I’m wondering if that brought on this behavior.
January 6th, 2012 at 8:00 pm
I don’t think its just a shaunzer thing. My dog is a maltese/rat terrier mix and she does this too. She used to knock over her plastic bowl then carry the bowl into another room then eat her kibble off the floor. I switched to a ceramic bowl and now a metal bowl with the same results (minus her carrying the heavier bowls away) I thought it was her kibble she didn’t like, but when I gave her the ceaser dog food, she still did it. I think she just likes her food on the floor. Lol, I’ve given up on trying to figure out why she would rather eat off the floor and has accepted that I have to sweep more.
January 22nd, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Same! I have a 12 y/o schnauzer, and she pushes it all around with her nose and consequently onto the floor. She wont eat it then, shell leave it for hours or days before actually eating it! But now that we got another schnauzer that eats all her mess she gets very frustrated at that!