Astorian has it correct. A wild wolf will take a big hunk of meat and then move it away from the kill to eat on its own. Domestic dogs are mimicing that behavior.
Add me to the “Me Too” list as my dog does this as well.
She’s a Shiloh Shepherd (think German Shepherd and you have 90% of the idea). Why she does this I have no clue. She does it whether I’m near or not. She also chooses different areas to go to but always carpeted (most of my place is hardwood floors).
I grew-up with German Shepherds and all of them wolfed their food as soon as it was in front of them. They also stood on linoleum or tile where they ate so it is more than slippery floors (I guess). Our current dog eats more like a cat by just eating now and then as the mood strikes her. I don’t know if that has anything to do with it but I found it unusual compared to all my other experiences with dogs eating.
Maybe she’s just a nut…
My dog Lou used to take one single piece of dog food out of her bowl and put it in the middle of the great room. Then she would make a big show of letting everyone know that SHE HAS A PIECE OF FOOD HERE AND IT IS HERS AND IT IS LAYING ON THE FLOOR AND SHE DOESN’T CARE WHO KNOWS IT BECAUSE SHE HAS A PIECE OF FOOD THERE.
Or something like that. The other dogs couldn’t care less cause there were 3 bowls of food sitting on the floor eight feet away. It didn’t matter to them but it mattered to her.
She’s been dead four weeks today. Thanks for bringing back a fond memory.
{{{The Mermaid}}}
My Welsh Springer X Chocolate Lab (mix) is a pig and just scarfs down his food in the kitchen in 2 seconds flat.
My methodical Chow takes the first mouthful to the livingroom, eats it piece by piece, then goes back to the kitchen to eat more kibble piece by piece until he is full.
But, he also likes to know where everyone is while he is eating. If I leave the kitchen or livingroom while he is eating, my Chow will stop and come find me.
We usually put the food up when we are not home, but when we forget, it is not my dainty eater who has a snack, rather it is the pig who chokes every bit down. I know this because the Chow always leaves some food, and the mix practically licks out the bowl(s).
We had a beagle, Paddy, that always carried her food to the carpeted living room. Shutting her off in the kitchen resulted in such loud sorrowful moans we gave in and let her eat wherever she darn well wanted. Oddly, she’d also pick out the little bone shaped pieces and eat all of them before she ate the round and triangle pieces. Very methodical, she was.
I have had several other dogs but none of them ever exhibited this behavior. They were all male, so I just assumed it was a bitch thang.
It’s just not possible to make as satisfying a mess in the kitchen as it is on a nice clean carpet. This works especially well with meaty, juicy bones.
KXL’s Cavalier experience is close to what we had with our female Cav. Her brother, though, stays with his muzzle no more than 2 inches above the food for the entire 30 seconds it takes to chow down.
Our dogs won’t eat their treats on the bare floor. The border collie mutt commandeers the throw rug in front of the sink and the dalmatian will eat on the throw rug by the stove, unless she sneaks into the living room or the dining room. We had a terrier mutt who always ate his treats on the carpet - we couldn’t get him to eat them on tile.
Their food dishes are in the laundry room and they mostly eat there, but the dalmatian will sometimes do the mouthful-to-the-carpet routine.
It’s nice to know they’re not singularly insane in their habits.
does this as well… we are soon getting rid of all the carpet in the house, so we will see…He’s 1/2 staff terrier, 1/4 chow, and 1/4 husky. He looks more like a pit though, brindle, wide head, etc. Really strong willed, kind of a pain to teach.
not only does he take his food onto the carpet, if its something he hasnt had before, he rolls on it first. He does this with cashews, cockroaches, potato chips, anything he finds he thinks is food. He likes ice cubes, but only if you accidentally drop them. If you give them to him, he doesnt want them, but if you drop an ice cube, he’s on it. He tries to eat tree branches and bark(we are trying to break him of this.
I’d forgotten about this, but it was the cutest thing. We had two dogs, about ten years apart in age. The older one had a big cushion under the kitchen table, and that was his territory, and he was almost always curled up there. The food dishes were about five feet away. The younger dog would pick up a mouthful of food, and then stand right in front of the older dog’s cushion (whether he was there or not) and eat, then walk back, take another mouthful, and eat that in front of the cushion, and so on. It was as though he was showing off for the older dog.
I think it might be a submission thing. In the wild, the dominant dog guards the food, and the submissive dogs grab it and run. If you have an agressive dog, you’ll see that food guarding trait. That dog will hunch over his dish and growl or even bite anyone who comes close. Away from the food dish, he can be a gentle dog.
But the really submissive dogs display that food-stealing type of behaviour, because in their world YOU are the dominant dog.