Have your boxer ever pushed his bowl full of food around with his nose?

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Arthur

Boxer Buddy
One of my boxers has started to push his bowl around with his nose before he eats out of it. Sometimes, he will just push it around and leave.

It's not an every time occurrence but he has never done that in the past... Any of you know why he's doing that?

1. Trying to hide it for later?
2. Doesn't like the food?
3. Frustrated?
4. Bored?
etc....??
 

sargboxerluv

Completely Boxer Crazy
Maybe not hungry enough to eat a food that doesn't smell really tasty. My girl used to go to her bowl, sniff the food and move the food kibble with her nose and then walk away. I changed food and it stopped.
 

gmacleod

Elusive Moderator
Staff member
Typically the bowl-pushing thing is done by dogs who don't want to eat - which in many cases is because of a slightly upset stomach. Most often it is breakfast that gets pushed around, which may (surprising as it may seem) be because the dog hasn't eaten for quite a few hours and has become a bit nauseous. Very often that problem is solved by giving a late night snack...

In some other cases, its not empty-tummy syndrome at all, but just overfeeding ;) You're in a better position than me to judge which it might be though.
 

johann

Boxer Insane
Typically the bowl-pushing thing is done by dogs who don't want to eat - which in many cases is because of a slightly upset stomach. Most often it is breakfast that gets pushed around, which may (surprising as it may seem) be because the dog hasn't eaten for quite a few hours and has become a bit nauseous. Very often that problem is solved by giving a late night snack...

In some other cases, its not empty-tummy syndrome at all, but just overfeeding ;) You're in a better position than me to judge which it might be though.

Interesting....Johann has been not eating his breakfast the last few weeks. Then he's always starving by dinner time. We'll have to try the late night snack idea. He usually eats dinner at 6:30, but is up until 10:30 or 11.
 

trc4941

Super Boxer
Dino pushes his dish around all the time. He will actually "throw" it around. He makes motions with his nose like he is trying to cover it up and hide it. He makes such a horrible mess that we put his dish in a plastic dishpan otherwise there would be food EVERYWHERE. So now the dishpan gets pushed all over the room, but at least the food stays inside. He usually does this after he's eaten and there is still some food left.
 

Swampo

Super Boxer
We give ours a can of wet mixed with their kibble as a special treat once a week. This past week we used the Salmon formula/flavor. Our boy, who is not at all a picky eater, sniffed it and immediately started pushing the bowl around with his nose and whining. He then started rubbing his nose on the floor, as if to get the smell out of his nose. My other two were gulping it down and he tried really hard to like it but just couldn't. Needless to say, we made him a fresh bowl with a different flavor and he gobbled it down right away.
 

lillypiesmom

Boxer Pal
Our misty would push hers around if she wasn't really interested or just being picky!
Or she would put her nose straight in her food and move it around until dhe found the pieces that she wanted!! She would also pick up her bowl and throw it if it was empty!! LOL!
 

ELubas

Boxer Insane
My Fraze used to do this :) Silly dog. I did find that most times he did have an upset stomach. I also did what gmacleod recommends , a late night biscuit, and that really helped Fraze. Good luck
 

LuvnBxrLife

Boxer Pal
Mine do the opposite. They push their empty bowl around and clang it and make all kinds of noise until I fill it up and then they will walk away.
It must have to have food in it to make them happy. LOL
 
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