# Barking at her food??



## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

Has anyone had any experience with their dogs barking AT their food? Not _for_ their food, mind you. AT it. 

Juno has taken to barking at her food...specifically chicken legs. If I give her chicken necks, liver, backs, mince, etc...she gobbles them up and is delighted with herself. But when I give her a chicken LEG. She stares at it for a moment before growling at it, running around it, and then barking. 

She wasn't always like this. It's a relatively new thing. And she will eat it eventually. But not before making a scene before hand. And she always chooses them last to eat. Quite often she won't eat it at all, and I end up giving it to her later in the day. She doesn't do this with with any other sort of food I give her EXCEPT raw chicken legs.

These legs are gorgeous, and fresh. My husband was jealous I was giving them to the dog, so I know it's' not an issue with the meat being "off". 

What's the story with her?


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## Snickelfritz (Feb 21, 2007)

I don't know but I find it kind of funny!


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## Bismarck (Oct 10, 2009)

you HAVE to get a video of this.
this sound hilarious


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## Snickelfritz (Feb 21, 2007)

My dog when she was a puppy she'd growl and bark at the water dish. She'd bite the water and run. I found it hysterical and would laugh at her, she eventually grew out of it, but it was so funny.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

LOL - It is quite funny to watch. I wonder what it is she has against chicken legs? What did they ever do to her?


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## Wolfgeist (Dec 4, 2010)

Hunter does that with lemon slices. He will bite it, bark and run around it like it's a vicious prey item. Very funny.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

When Juno finally DOES settle down to eat those evil chicken legs, she does this little head shake with it in her mouth like she's just "killed" it.


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## robinhuerta (Apr 21, 2007)

It may be coming from her "prey drive"....*I know it sounds silly*...
But the chicken leg is large, has meat odor...and is kinda imposing in a way.....so she... "threatens it, attacks it...and eventually eats it."
I've watched puppies bark, pounce and attack their raw meat.....actually fight over parts (one on each side) and pull the meat apart.......so I am simply referring to what I've seen.
It IS funny to watch!


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## Hillary_Plog (Apr 3, 2011)

My puppy does the same thing...I supplement with raw, and when I feed him ground meat, he doesn't do it...but ANYTIME he gets the raw meaty bones (like the chicken) or even any of the organ meats he throws them around, paws at them, barks at it...then devours it! 

This is why it HAS to take place in his crate...LOL.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

Hillary_Plog said:


> My puppy does the same thing...I supplement with raw, and when I feed him ground meat, he doesn't do it...but ANYTIME he gets the raw meaty bones (like the chicken) or even any of the organ meats he throws them around, paws at them, barks at it...then devours it!
> 
> This is why it HAS to take place in his crate...LOL.


YES! My girl is the same. She won't do it to ground meat. But always to the chicken legs. It's hilarious. The prey drive thing makes sense. 

I must say though, I'm glad I'm not the only one with a dog that does this. I was starting to wonder if I was gonna have to have Juno admitted into the Puppy Looney Bin.


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## Bismarck (Oct 10, 2009)

you gonna youtube this for us????


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## qbchottu (Jul 10, 2011)

I 100% think it is prey drive. My dogs go nuts for raw chicken or turkey legs. They love to jump on it, shake it around, tear at the meat and carry it around. I think it activates something deep down and carnal


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## _Crystal_ (Jun 28, 2011)

Crystal does this with her dog biscuits. She will put it down, play bow at it, bark at it, growl at it, lunge at it, pick it up and throw it, etc etc. She eventually eat it, but I find it really funny. Sometimes we encourage it, and say "Go get it, come on get it," which makes her play with it even more. I don't think it is an issue, and just as long nothing bad is happening, then whatever.


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## Rua (Jan 2, 2012)

Bismarck said:


> you gonna youtube this for us????


I will defo try! I have the crappiest internet connection in the world, so it takes 10 years to upload anything. lol


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## OriginalWacky (Dec 21, 2011)

Rua said:


> I will defo try! I have the crappiest internet connection in the world, so it takes 10 years to upload anything. lol


I hope you can do it, I love silly puppy behavior!


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

LOL I think your pup is simply playing with it.. prey drive sounds about right on this one. My parents used to have the LAZIEST chihuahua who did nothing but sleep all day would wake up to eat and that was it.. despite anyone's best effort he never even learned how to sit on command.. definitely not a bright dog lol.

The one time he was ever active was when he ate (kibble) he would grab one kibble run to the living room set it down and stare at it. My mom would say "you better watch that kibble its gonna sprout legs and run away" and he would play bow and start pouncing all around it nipping at it and barking it was HILARIOUS to watch and if he ever stopped you just had to say it was gonna sprout legs and run away and he would start doing it again.. even at 13 he still did it lol.


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## BeautifulChaos (Aug 15, 2011)

Definitely second the prey drive.

I used to have an English Shepherd who got kicks out of dumping his kibble out of the bowl and then literally herding it into a suitable pile.

For him, this behavior stemmed from boredom and subsided when training increased.

It was always a good show during meal time though =)


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## SiegersMom (Apr 19, 2011)

We had a basset hound who was a hoarder. She would tip the kibble and roll it across the patio with her nose to the flowers and bury it. Sometimes she would stand back and bark at it during this process. Our GSD does not leave anything behind to bark at


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