Tinkerbell daintily takes a piece of her food from the bowl and walks it out to the front hall carpet, only to drop it, inspect and then finally eat it. One piece of kibble at a time. Why, why, why?
Surprisingly, more dogs do this than you might think. It’s the pack mentality of dogs, that signals “the rest of the pack might want that food, so I better take it away to eat in peace.”
It’s behaviour that harkens back to the domestic dog’s wolfish ancestry. In fact, the closest living relative of the dog is the gray wolf. Although not all scientists agree just how closely dogs are related to wolves, everyone agrees, both are very much pack animals. Both form social packs, with clear leaders and followers.
Believe it or not, Morkies are very closely related to the wolf; in fact they are part of the same species. That’s where they get some of their “odd” habits, like removing food from the dish and taking it somewhere else to eat.
In the pack, fighting is dangerous, so who wolves who weren’t the alpha dogs, would drag off bits of the kill to eat on their own. And your little Morkie IS a wolf at heart, believe it or not.
A dog that does this is not only acting according instinctually, but he might be saying, “I need more privacy.” On the other hand, if your Morkie is eating in the kitchen and everyone’s in the family room, he might prefer to carry his meal in to eat with you because he’s lonely.
The small dog’s preferred path to eating well
Another reason to walk off with food?
Many of us feed our dogs in metal bowls. Sometimes the sound of hard food bouncing around in the bowl can be frightening – or your dog’s tags might be jangling against the bowl, causing disturbing noise.
Hunting?
One of our other dogs used to take a piece of food, walk a short distance from the bowl, then toss it up in the air. Then he’d land on that morsel like it was a live mouse.
Nothing to Worry About
Jill Layton, writing for The Dodo, advises, “as long as your dog’s behavior is not aggressive or causing any harm, simply embrace this as part of her personality.”
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Our Maltese will do that, take a piece of food, and carry to her bed. Sometimes she eats it, sometimes she just stashes it, apparently bracing for some upcoming famine or other catastrophe. Who knew dogs were preppers?
Haha! Best way I’ve read lately of expressing it… why dogs take their food away to either hide or eat it, is a mystery.
Experts at VetStreet say it might be:
1. to lessen chances of fighting over food. This is a built-in, biological response, because often the dog is the only pet in the household. But instinct often kicks in even when it doesn’t make sense.
2. if you use a metal bowl – maybe they don’t like the sound of food rattling around??
3. it’s a privacy thing? But why??
Saving the food for later might be a bit of a hoarding issue… against an instinct that goes back to ancient times when Morkies roamed the Serengeti (JK)… but seriously it could be an inbuilt instinct to save food for later.
Thanks for writing!
Deb@morkienation.com
I have a Morkie and a Maltipoo and they do the same, a bite at a time away from the bowl into the area rug in the family room. One is 12 years the other 5 months incredible how they have the same patterns.