Click here to visit the most complete Maltese site on the WWW

Archived Message

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
by Lester

We feed our maltese dry kibble. He started to take one kibble from his bowl which is in the kitchen and run into the living room and eat it. Then repeat this process again and again, one kibble at a time. I found this strange. Do you?

DISCUSSION:

I don't find this strange at all. Molly does the same thing. She just doesn't want to miss out on any of the action!
-Meredith

Not at all, Phoebe our six month old does the exact same thing.
-Suzi

Mine always does something like that. He is more efficient and taks 10 or 12 chunks at a time.
-michael

My 8 1/2 month old maltese has been taking her dry food from her bowl that's in the kitchen, running in the livingroom, then she tosses it around for about 1-5 minutes then she'll eat it. We find it very entertaining.
-Lorraine

I think it hilarious. The maltese we babysit does the same thing and my husband and I think that it's the cutest thing....
-Mary S

Hi Lester - No, not so strange - this subject has come up before and quite a few of these little ones seem to do it. My girl Bailey does the exact same thing so I actually bring the food on the rug for her so she doesn't have to keep going back and forth. And I also have a little piece of rug in the kitchen for her to lay on and she brings it from the bowl (only a few feet away) to her special rug. Its pretty funny and I can't imagine why they do this. My last Maltese did the same thing - it must be in the genes!!
-Robin D.

I thought it was strange too but now that I hear someone elses baby does it I guess it's ok
-M Rose

Mine do the similiar thing. He would take it from it his bowl and leave it on the floor and eat it.
-Monet

This is a very common cute habit that these adorable dogs have. We had this discussion awhile back and you can read about it on the archives. Mine also likes to take her kibble one piece at a time and go where the area rug is in the living room. My friend who also has a maltese takes her kibble one at a time and plays with it, jumping on it, rolling it around and then eating it. It takes her forever to eat with that routine. It's really very funny to watch!
-Marilyn

Lester, my Shelby does exactly the same thing with her kibble! It may be because they had been around puppies that were all vying for the same bowl of food and that was their only way of having their food to themselves. I've heard of other small dogs that do the same, so I don't think it's a problem of any kind. It's just their way!
-Sandy

Lester, I don't think this is uncommon for dogs. Our 12 week old baby, Doc, does the same thing. We keep both moistened and dry food out for him now and he only does this with the dry. I don't know why he does but I know many dogs that do this. My mom's sheltie is 10 and she takes her food to her bed to munch.
-Sherri

Lester, what is even stranger is my Toby who has "talked" us into feeding him one kibble at a time by hand, Maybe it is us that is strange!
-Beverly

Our baby, Jewel, does this all the time. I have heard of many Maltese that do this. It's totally hysterical to watch! I have no idea why they do this, perhaps an instictual thing?
-Sally W.

Taffy too! She brings a few more with her and throws them on the floor, then eats them. My previous dog, a poodle, did the same thing! Cute...isn't it?
-Robin K.

This is so funny. I didn't realize so many of you had dogs that do this. My 7 year old maltese (she had her birthday yesterday) has always done this. She leaves pieces of kibble all over the house and comes back and eats them later. She pushes some of them into the corners of rooms and does this little back and forth motion with her nose. It is very hilarious to observe.
-Lisa A. and

Both of ours do the same thing. But they also toss it back and forth and sometimes even lose it. They won't go get another piece out of the bowl, they HAVE to find the one they lost first....It's so cute!!!
-Tami Helmstetler

Our dog does this too. He takes his piece and brings it upstairs to eat it on the carpet. We have placed a lambwool rug next to his dish, but that doesn't work. He has to eat it on the carpet in the livingroom. I think he wears off more calories climbing up and down the stairs, than what he consumes! -Patti
-Patti

My therory is that the maltese has such a nosey nature that they cannoot stand to eat and miss something that 'might' happen if they eat more. Clearly this is not abnormal behavior (other posts) but I have the stay in the room for my maltese to eat much of anything. Hang around and see if they consume more.
-Deb

ha ha! Your dog sounds very cute. After reading all the replies I have to wonder if my dog is "Normal!" It must be very entertaining to watch it. Consider your self lucky.
-Derek

I'm really happy to know that there are people out there as nuts as I am. I have had Maltese for 23 years and have had the pleasure of watching the food disappear one piece at a time and the nose pushing game as well. I have always wondered why they don't get callouses on their noses. The other adorable habit I have noticed over time is their "happy circle turns".
-Gail

I'm relatively new to maltese, having been a big dog person all of my life. Since my girlfriend came with a maltie i got to know them, and since then we have gotten two more, i still ,(seven years later) get a kick out of the food game, i can't see how they can live on what they eat! with all that work just to get a few bits of kibble down.... pull it out of the bowl, chase it around the kitchen for a bit and then run off with it to the living room. i'd burn more than i managed to eat doing that! but as I now am totally sold on malties, i gotta say they are one of the best people i've been around. Lastly, i still have my big dogs too, and as i got the biggest together with the younger maltie, well , it seems that he has learned from her, he does the same thing now,runs off with one kibble at a time, and also spins in circles like they do. only one difference... he's a seventy pound pit bull, (as opposed to their 6 or 7 pounds) those circles are murder! p.s. the oldest maltese runs the house,she's eight, diabetic and blind,but one snarl and he's off into the other room!(oh yeah, he's 7 now!)
-Ben B.

Hi! We have a 7 month old named Brittney who doesn't like to eat out of her bowl. She may go up to 24 hours without eating because the food is in her bowl. So, what we do is put a little food on the floor and she gobbles it right up! She also doesn't drink from the bowl unless it is real cold! She loves crushed ice and carrotts! IS there a problem with feeding her 3 - 6 baby carrotts every few days? PS: She also loves to eat out of our hands! (Although I think it is the other way around!)
-David and Cindy

Geez, another giggle message ... why is it that they bring it to area rugs ... Andy does the same thing! My favorite is when he takes his treats and stalks them, playing like they were lizards or something that he has to pounce on. I guess I'm not alone. :-)
-Harry Martin

Ha,ha, ha,ha!!!These messages were so funny to read! My 6 year old dog Zachary does the same thing too. I always found it hilarious! I'm glad to know that other people get to whitness this funny, quirky behavior along with me!
-Kathleen

Our maltese Bailey (female) did the same thing with her food But lately at 7 1/2 months old as soon as i put the food down its gone . We used to hand feed her one at a time. Some mornings she would act strange, not with it.The vet said they can have low blood sugar in the morning . We used Enervite dietary supplement for dogs , and it helps within 10 to 15 min. and shes back to her old self again. As she is older now the problem seems to have stopped . hope this might help someone out there . thanks John
-john