Why does Joel do this?

[ilovejoel]

He acts scared torwards Rosco when it's time to eat, and there best friends so I don't know why he does this. Rosco doesn't even care if Joel eats his food.
When I put his food down he acts scared and goes back and forth from his food to sitting at my feet while looking at Rosco, he does it a couple times before he eats, he also likes for me to be sitting in the same room when he eats.
He always acted strange at mealtime but it got worse ever since this one time when Rosco made a loud coughing noise while eating.
But I want to make sure I don't encourage him bieng scared.
So I'm wondering if I should put him close or far from Rosco and if I should be in the same room or not.
Any advice is appreciated.

[kjc]

My Peek keeps looking at me then at his food, like he's asking if it's okay for him to eat. I have to say something like, oh good boy, or it's okay, go ahead you can eat now. Just weird.

Maybe Rosco scared him with the noise the one time. I think I'd give him more space if he feels more comfortable that way. If you leave what does he do? I watch mine eat bc they play musical bowls alot when I turn my head away, lol. Plus, I need to know who's eating what and how much!

[alaskayorkie]

That's a tough one. My guess is the hacking did scare him. I'm not sure what the best advice is. When a similar thing happened to me -- Eddie was afraid of his water bowl -- I just encouraged him to drink. I'd say 'good boy' and give him a treat. Sometimes I'd even splash water on his tongue with my hand.

We made slow progress, but the behavior has pretty much gone away.

You might experiment and see if giving them some distance between bowls helps.

[ilovejoel]

If I leave he will just follow me and not eat until i'm back where his food is, jeez, now i'm dealing with Joel and the wind right now, our shutter already flew off the house and Joel doesn't know whats going on, the dogs wont leave my side right now. Lol

[kjc]

Wow! We've had a bunch of thunderstorms here on and off, seems like as soon as I set the bowls down... crack! Then no one eats and they all want up in my lap, lol. I hear a rumbling now! What are you having a hurricane?

[ilovejoel]

No hurricanes here, just super windy, and the electricity just went out thank goodness for my phone

[kjc]

Originally Posted by ilovejoel

No hurricanes here, just super windy, and the electricity just went out thank goodness for my phone

Well, that sucks! Hang in there!

[yorkietalkjilly]

Why don't you feed them across the room from one another for a while and then slowly, meal by meal, move his bowl back closer to your other dog's and give him a little break from his anxiety for a day or so now. Perhaps he took the coughing for alpha signals to back off and allow the pack leader to eat first or something like that. Who knows? Or he perceived your other dog was sick and is anxious as some pack members are when another is injured or ill and can no longer support his place in the pack, causing shifts in hierarchy - another reason for some anxiety. This is especially true if the injured/ill member is an alpha leader. But I'd get them apart for a bit at mealtime and work him slowly back over to the former eating area together over time.

[SWHouston]

It may be a "seniority" issue...

My Male Sneakers is clearly the Alpha, is two years older and a few pounds heavier than My Female Becca.

When Becca first arrived (as a 11 wo puppy) Sneakers thought that there had suddenly been some type of immaculate conception, and the forces that be had endowed him with a puppy of his own.

New food, different surroundings for Becca, caused her to observe Sneakers actions constantly. He would pick a morsel of food from their bowl, and drop it where Becca could see it and pick it up to eat.
(Gees did that bring a tear to my eye, he dearly loved her from the first minute he saw her)

Today, she still waits until Sneakers "is finished" with a Bone or Bully Stick (when there's only one available) before she will "take" it. But, that's not the most endearing thing they do...

I leave their food out 24/7, and when it's meal time (2xday, 4a 4p) they will decide which of two types of food to eat. Usually it's Beneful in the mornings, and Wellness for dinner.

Sneakers will start, picking up a morsel and will back away from the bowl while chewing, letting Becca approach and get one for herself. Then, she will back away and Sneakers will approach and take another. It's back and forth until they decide they have had enough.

That may make one think that Becca is a docile little subordinate, BUT, nothing could be farther from the truth. She is a little WARRIOR !

She has a very strong territorial instinct, can hunt along the Bayou as well as Sneakers can, and has caught TWO birds more than Sneakers has, one of those being a small Hawk. And, when they detect an "intrusion" onto the property, she is right by Sneakers side, viscously barking and ready to stand together with him.

Could this "togetherness" be a presumed Parent/Puppy issue ?
Maybe it's a Male/Female thing ?
Maybe a Larger/Smaller Dog thing ?

Just can't answer that with any assuredness, but, since the onset of their relationship, I have encourage them to do things together. Praise both and encourage Becca to bark at the right "threat". That's their job by the way, security. They hunt together along the Bayou, and are inseparable most of the time. That is genuinely a "Pack" orientated relationship and has proved to bring my two together quite closely.

So, it was clear to Sneakers, and Becca subsequently, that I encourage their "togetherness". Put them in various situations, where they could share the experiences, and take pride in accomplishing the intended goal.

This approach is something you might try.