GRs odd Eating habbit.

Question
First i took some time and read through the previous questions and didn't see this asked already, if I'm repeating i apologies.
My question is, although not serious I'm just wondering what's going on in his head, my 13 month GR Diesel, when he gets his food, normally after our morning run, he wont eat it out of the bowl ..  he will sniff the food inside the bowl and then fire the bowl across the room, sniff again and repeat .. he will sometimes take some food into his mouth away from the bowl have a couple bits and then toss the bowl again, what really confuses me is he will toss the bowl to the point where about half will spill out and onto the floor, he will then eat the food off the floor and then continue to eat the food from the bowl.
He is eating out of a Stainless steel bowl at the moment. And i have tried a plastic bowl, that i would rather not use, one of our soup bowls, that my wife would rather not use, a plate of different sizes. And also a bowl that isn't as deep at his normal bowl.

Well then .. lol
just wondering if you could give me an eye opener on this so i know what going on. I'm not worried about it at all he does eventually eat his food.

thank you for taking the time to volunteer answer questions.
Dim.

PS I give my GR about a teaspoon of Veg. Oil mixed in his food 1 or 2 times every couple weeks to keep his coat soft and shinny.


Answer
Hi Dim.

I was puzzeled also by your dogs behaviour,  so I asked a great trainer friend of mine.  Her name is Tracy,  heres what she thinks is going on.

"I have found that for some strange reason some dogs don't like their noses to touch the sides of a bowl, so they will only eat what's in the middle. I feed these dogs off of plates that I buy at Goodwill. (Do you have Goodwill?)

Also, some dogs like to play with their food and tip the bowl over. I use the bowls that are tip proof for that, you know, they are sort of inverted and have a rubber ring on the bottom.

I know people who purposely scatter their dogs food to give them a sense of the hunt and chase.

If this person thinks it's a problem, I would #1. Not feed the dog the minute after the run. The dog could be just way too excited to eat. #2. The minute he starts goofing around with his bowl pick it up and take it away. Try again 20 minutes later until the dog eats out of the bowl or wait until dinner. (I don't feed buffet style here. the dogs get 20 to 30 minutes to eat and then the bowls are taken up.)

I had a cat once that wouldn't drink out of a bowl if her whiskers hit the side. Soup bowls are good for that. We all have our odd habits (I have a favorite fork). It's nice that this person doesn't see it as a huge problem!"

Sorry I couldn't do more.

Good luck