Learning to eat from a bowl
 

So Petstages came out with a feeding tray like 6 years ago. Well I bought that and used it to keep dry food in all day. Well today I got out glass bowls that fit in the plastic bowls from Petco and switched the food to a bowl. Well Joey had some upstairs he was used to eating from but Penny and Ollie haven’t and I know Penny eventually will eat from them but Ollie absolutely isn’t. So I have to train him to eat from a bowl and this feels weird lol. I put a treat right in it in the food but that didn’t work so I had to pull the glass bowl out and put a few treats in the plastic part and he ate those and then I put a few in the glass bowl on top of the food and that worked so I put them back together and put a treat on the food and he ate them. I think I’m going to have to do that a few more times tomorrow and hopefully he will eat from it. I guess they get used to stuff and change is weird for a few of them.

My little Jilly and certainly Tibbe were scared of their bowls when I first got each but both eventually gave in to eating from it, at first dashing up to it, snatching a bite and retreating away until time to dash up for another bite! Few weeks later, each finally realized it wouldn't get them or hurt them and they relaxed and ate from it like any dog.
My first Yorkie, Scotty, wouldn't eat anything for his first 3 days here but he ate from the bowl from the start, once he got hungry enough. He was so tiny I thought he'd die but the vet and the breeder kept telling me he'd eventually eat. That was back B4 I or I guess even the vet or hobby breeder knew much about tinies tending to hypoglycemia!

Dogs don't have these kind of fear responses in the wild or when living feral I've read, it's just when you add in humans that some dogs show any number of weird behaviors - behaviors that show weakness/instability according to pack-think and that could get them attacked, even potentially killed, supposedly to weed out the weakest among their gene pool. So I guess they just don't show that kind of fear or pain living with just other dogs, even when scared of things for fear of looking weak. Sounds credible according to many other things I've read about pack rules and behaviors.

After 3 day I gave in. I will try working with the bowl with him and maybe try again later on when he is more comfortable with it. He is the baby and I can’t stand the thought of him being hungry.

He'll eventually overcome his fear of the bowl so just go along w/him if that gets him eating for your peace of mind. Unless he's a tiny, he won't starve or get ill but why make life harder on both of you if you don't want to wait him out? Unless he's very nervous as a learned behavior or has a genetic predisposition to fearful reactions to most new things or situations, one day he'll eat from a bowl like any dog, if for no other reason than to wanting to fit in with his little family pack's behavior.

When training military/police service dogs, usually large working breeds showing the strong love of working but also some will occasionally tend to fearful reactions to noise or sudden distractions, some trainers will place their kibble in a large metal bowl filled w/cans and other noisy items, the kibble at the bottom and the dog eventually learns to eat no matter the distractions, scary noises or hardships he suffers to get to his nourishment! I've seen video of those dogs driving their muzzles down through the cans, bits of pipe, etc., and scarfing down their food as cans and things bang, clang and fall out of the bowl onto the floor, other dogs or cats nearby skittering around, etc., from the ruckus, as the dog focuses in on getting his dinner. Yikes!

He threw up bile so his tummy was empty and I don’t want him to suffer just because I want to change. I thought about putting the dish out and putting his favorite toys in it to get him used to it. He is very timid. With all the pet events canceled he isn’t getting the exposure he needs. Normally he would do it if his brother did it but Joey is still off because of the loss of Callie.

Yeah, changes of their regular things seem to throw some dogs a curve, especially if they've had other changes in their lives or they are ill or injured. Sounds like he's still dealing with wondering what happened to his Callie, poor little guy. Don't you wish you could explain so they could understand?

I know he can’t but I did tell him. I also told him his sister would want him to be happy. I know that they knew she was sick.

Same here! I always talk, explain things to my dogs, too. Thing is, they usually behave afterward as if they understood and react like you would hope a person would but I realize that is unrealistic. haha - still,seems like it's happened over and over. I know it's just that most problems tend to work themselves out favorably for the dog handler who works at helping their dog resolve problem issues but talking and explaining can't hurt!