# Maltese bobs his head at food bowl



## Buddy123 (Aug 19, 2007)

My 13 yr old maltese will bob his head up and at his food bowl not eating. I have tried putting the food on the floor same thing. He takes his treats just fine. Its like hes pushin the food away.
I know he likes the food(Royal Canin for picky eaters). Oh, he will also eat cheese. I cannot find this problem anywhere and people have told me to add yogurt to the food no luck. Anybody else have or know of this problem? Thanks


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Has your vet checked his teeth lately? If you are feeding him kibble, maybe his teeth are bothering him and it's too hard for him to chew.

My Lady will be twelve the end of the year so I know the special challenges these senior Malts can bring. I am a huge believer in twice yearly bloodwork and basic physicals (listen to heart, lungs, check teeth, etc) just to make sure everything is working as it should.

If your vet feels his health is fine, I'd suggest either trying another brand of food (I'd upgrade from Royal Canin if it were me anyway) or using an incentive. Lady is diabetic and one of the tricks I learned on the diabetic dog forum was to drizzle a little tuna water (from the canned tuna) over their food.


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## Buddy123 (Aug 19, 2007)

> Has your vet checked his teeth lately? If you are feeding him kibble, maybe his teeth are bothering him and it's too hard for him to chew.
> 
> My Lady will be twelve the end of the year so I know the special challenges these senior Malts can bring. I am a huge believer in twice yearly bloodwork and basic physicals (listen to heart, lungs, check teeth, etc) just to make sure everything is working as it should.
> 
> If your vet feels his health is fine, I'd suggest either trying another brand of food (I'd upgrade from Royal Canin if it were me anyway) or using an incentive. Lady is diabetic and one of the tricks I learned on the diabetic dog forum was to drizzle a little tuna water (from the canned tuna) over their food.[/B]


He eats the hard treats just fine. I think he wants to eat his food because he goes to his food. Its like he cant see in the bowl. He drinks his water just fine.
I will make an appt. to see the vet. Im also going to try the tuna juice idea. Oh, and we did upgrade the food. Dosent even want to go near it. 
My 3yr old Pomeranian loves all these changes in the food and gobbles everything up. LOL


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

Yes, do have hie eyes checked. My vet does an eye exam on Lady every year. Dogs need to be checked for cataracts and glaucoma, too, just like people. My Lady sees an opthamologist now because of eye problems related to her diabetes, but your regular vet can do a basic eye exam.

Have you tried putting his food on a plate rather than in a bowl? If it's his vision, that might help.


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## MalteseJane (Nov 21, 2004)

It can also be that he is not hungry and wants to bury his food to eat later. That's what dogs do in the wild. Alex does that once in a while. I have not seen what your dog is exactly doing so I can't be sure it's this.


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