Dog Afraid of Food

Question
QUESTION: My six-year old terrier mix, Susi, is suddenly afraid of her food dish, and the food in it. Literally, one day she is eating normally; the next, she is running away from her food dish.

She will not eat her dog food if presented on a different dish, nor will she eat it from my hand or straight off the floor. She will eat her favorite treats from my hand, but not from her dish. I have tried a new food, I even tried pasta; she was run away from all of these foods if they are in her dish, or on a different dish. However, she will quite happily eat them from my hand or off the floor.

I know she is hungry because I can hear her stomach growling, and she will eagerly gobble up anything that falls on the floor. She WILL NOT go anywhere near her dog food or food dish. She has been to the vet, and they cannot find anything physically wrong with her.

My other dog is just fine, and is quite happy to eat whatever comes her way. It is only Susi that is having a problem. I am at a complete loss as to what to do. This is the strangest thing. Nothing has happened out of the ordinary. One day she is eating - the next she is not.

Any advice? Thanks!

ANSWER: Hey, Suzanne,

It sounds like a mystery.

What kind of bowl was it, and where was it located? Not just a general description like "the kitchen." Where in the kitchen (eg.)? What was sitting next to it, behind it, etc.?

Thanks,

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Dear LCK:

Thanks for your quick resposne! The dish is a small, round stainless steel bowl. It is in a hallway, just off the living room. The dogs are fed after the kids leave for school, so the setting is quiet. And, it mimimizes the opportunities for the kids to accidentially knock the dogs with a backpack or step on them while they are eating.

The bowls sit on the ground on both sides of a long, console table. Susi's bowl is on the left, and Jessi's (our other dog) bowl is on the right. Each bowl is left on the ground for 15 minutes. If there is anything left in the bowl, they get that for dinner. We do not give them wet food - they get dry food only. (Except on special occassions when they get a bit of chicken with their dinner.)

This is the placement of the bowls since we adopted them nine months ago.

Thanks - Suzzanne

ANSWER: Hi, again,

Sorry to give you a follow-up question but: is the hallway carpeted, or do the bowls sit on the bare floor?

LCK

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The hall is bare floor. The dog's water dish is also stainless steel, and she is still drinking from it.

Suzzanne

Answer
I'm stumped. I thought maybe she'd gotten a shock of static electricity from her bowl, and that's why she's exhibiting the fear. That's why I asked what the bowl was made of and if it was on carpet or a bare floor.

I don't know what to tell you. There's a certain limitation on my ability to understand some behaviors without actually seeing them firsthand. Sorry! If I think of anything I'll let you know.

LCK