chihuahua eating area.

Question
QUESTION: My chihuahua always get's her dog food out of her doggy bowl in the kitchen, and put's it on the floor in the next room. Then continues to eat it there never does she eat it in the kitchen she'll go back to get more and so on. funny thing though, all our other chihuahua's did that as well and neither any of them are related or knew each other. thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Guy!!

You're so right about this little habit being a common Chihuahua trait!  I currently have three Chihuahuas that don't do this and I often wonder why they don't when others do...  Since the percentage of Chis that do this is about 50%, it begs the question, "Why do they do it?".  I wonder about feeding in the kitchen where it's colder?  Do they remove one kibble at a time to another warmer place?  Also, have you ever heard of a Chi that does this with canned food??

I'm wondering, Guy, if you free-feed your Chi and if you free-fed your other Chis?  My current Chis are fed on a fixed schedule and are fed in rooms where they're comfortable.

Let me know what you think...

Jo Ann

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

QUESTION: Hello, Joann about my chihuahua she is free fed but our other's that we had were scheduled. i'm thinking probably the floor in the kitchen is is tile and the living room line next to the kitchen is carpeted, so maybe it's cause they prefer a softer area to be able to grasp the food without hurting there front teeth. I don't know but i alway's wondered, thank you for letting me know i'm not the only one.

Answer
Hello again, Guy!!

That's interesting!  I have to say that I think that a cold tile floor verses a nice carpet does make a difference.  After you asked this question and I answered it, I asked members of a Yahoo Chihuahua group I run if their dogs also remove food from their designated dishes and took it to another area to eat.  The response was almost 100% that their dogs do this.  The reasons seemed to vary:  One said that their dog took the kibble to their comfy bed and ate it there and another said that their dog did this so that the other Chi wouldn't get the food and one member said that ALL of her small breed dogs do this at meal time and another member said that her dog (like your dog) removes the food and takes it to a carpeted area to enjoy.

I think that you bring up a good point about a dog fearing that they will hurt their front teeth when grasping kibble on a tile floor.  I know that often times dog will refuse to go up stairs because they fear hitting their teeth on a step (usually they have done this once and then fear it).

I've enjoyed discussing this particular little Chihuahua trait with you!

Jo Ann