Eating from a dish.

It never used to be like that,
I can't even remember when it started,..my chihuahua will not eat from a dish,..she won't drink from a certain dish either,..

I stay away quite a bit and left her dish at there house,..I put a dish down on Saturday,thinking if she was thirsty enough,she would drink from it,...I was wrong!..anyone had this problem?
I am going to have a word with the vet about this,it sounds like some sort of phobia,...any ideas ladies and gents?

Re: Eating from a dish.

My cats go through phases with their water bowls. At first they would not drink from ceramic ones - the Vet told me cats prefer glass - so I bought some and for a while that was fine. Now they won't go near them but want the ceramic ones back.

Re: Eating from a dish.

My dog prefers to drink from rivers or puddles or rainwater outside .
He has dish of water but rarely touches it .

Re: Eating from a dish.

Who knows what's in their heads half the time, Pauline.
I would just change the dish - simple.
Nothing a vet can do.

Some prefer the stainless steel bowls, some plastic, some the heavy earthenware type, it matters not as long as they happily feed/drink from it.

Maybe it is even the water itself, or the food, that doesn't taste right, not the bowl.

Re: Eating from a dish.

Mups,don't you think the vet can give me some advice?

I have to put her dry food on their bed and use a teaspoon to spoon feed her,the tinned food,it goes all over the ruddy floor,which she likes to step on!...I managed to get her to drink from this,in the morning,long may it continue!

Re: Eating from a dish.

The dog and cats will only drink from stainless steel bowls. There was a ceramic one in the kitchen and they were going to drink from a stainless steel one in the cloakroom. So I threw the ceramic one out which seems to have worked.

Perhaps it's like drinking wine out of a mug rather than a wine glass. Just doesn't taste as good.

Re: Eating from a dish.

Yes, they all have their preferences don't they Annie.
Some people say they don't like stainless steel because they see their reflection in the bowl, or their name tag can clink against the bowl rim, others say plastic makes water taste funny etc.
If she is only on dry food, she really does need to drink.

I'd just keep trying with different dishes Pauline.
One more thought, I suppose it is the dish that she's not keen on?
What about the food itself? Perhaps she'd appreciate a change?
Has she got a tooth hurting even, or a sore gum? Have you looked in her mouth?

Lots of reasons to explore really.
Good luck.

Re: Eating from a dish.

Several of ours over the years have had preferences and refused certain dishes. One dog saw her reflection and that put her off. Another got a shock from a static bit of carpet and never went near her water bowl again. One we think felt threatened so we had to put the bowl so he could see no one was going to creep up behind him.
We also had one rescue clearly had been hit with a bowl and was very skittish around anything containing food, that started a life time of hand feeding so he was calm enough to get enough food into him to stay healthy.

Stainless steel bowls can be quite reflective as can glass in certain circumstances. Some bowls can pick up a smell or taste after a few uses too.

We also had one only liked flat plates she hated putting her head into anything.

Re: Eating from a dish.

Hi Julie,so,good to see you back posting,I have missed you,....aren't these animals funny,..mind you not half as daft as us humans!...she had a check up with the vet last week,teeth are fine,as is everything else,...oh well at least she is drinking from this tiny bowl,..she reminds me of a baby,when I spoon feed her,..her wet food!.

Re: Eating from a dish.

Mups,this dog is treated like a princess,she's just missing her tiara!....thanks for the advice!.