# Dog is scared of new food bowl



## mayayoung

Hi everyone!
I recently read some information on dog food bowls, and heard stainless steel is the best for dogs. So I went out and bought a stainless steel dish for Shadow. However, I might add that this is shadow's first stainless steel bowl, and this one is supposed to be for humans. I found a bowl in the pet shop that looked exactly the same as this one, but this one was 5x cheaper, and it was good quality and was a good size for Shadow. However, as I dished out Shadow's supper in the bowl, she seemed really scared of it. She didn't want to eat out of it at all, even though she LOVES this food i feed her. I then poured the food into a plastic plate, and she then proceeded to gobble the food up. Halfway through, I tried putting the food into the metal dish again, and she immediately stopped eating a ran away. I carried her back to the bowl, and she was shaking as we neared the bowl. I gave up and allowed her to finish the meal in the plastic plate. I chopped up a few pieces of chicken in the bowl and offered them to shadow. She ate is very reluctantly, and immediately walked away as soon as she was done. Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that shadow does not like this bowl at all.

My plan so far is to keep putting good stuff in the bowl, and lots of positive reinforcement. Any idea why Shadow is so scared of this bowl, and how to show her that there is nothing scary about the bowl??


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## Uzies Pal

well, have heard of dogs not liking the shiny-ness of the stainless. your plan to keep the good stuff in there is a good idea, Shadow may get used to it, just be patient. Make a game of feeding the kibble by hand to her, 'touch' and 'focus' etc, and spread some around the bowl and don't make a big fuss or stare at her. She just needs to be sensitized to the new bowl and know that it is not a Chubakabra! Reflective light etc is just new, and she needs to get self confident to try new things. But there is the chance that she may never like it...just make sure that the new bowl you do get does not have melamine in it or made in china.....porcelain bowls are good too so that her nose won't get that discolored mottled look after year of plastic eating. I didn't know about this with my first dog, but he never got cancer or anything, just a funky nose! good luck, let us know!


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## Georgiapeach

Did your dog's tags clank against the side of the bowl when she started to eat out of it? If so, the sound may be scaring her. Try taking off her collar when she's fed, and put something irresistible in the bowl to start with - real meat, cheese, etc., so she learns the bowl holds yummy things. Once she'll eat treats from the bowl, then put the kibble in there.


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## MollyWoppy

Yeah, throw really, really special tasty treats near the bowl. If she won't eat them, throw them further away until she does, then she's at a distance that she feels comfortable at. Gradually decrease the distance, over days/weeks until she can eat them out of the bowl. I'd only give her those awesome yummy treats especially for this desensitization, nothing else.


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## Celt

You might want to make sure she hasn't/isn't being "zapped" by the bowl (or maybe a similar "shiny" object). This happen with our old golden. I swear, he couldn't walk near metal objects and not get "zapped".
My pups, now, are a bit "picky" on what they eat/drink from. They dislike metal bowls and would rather go without than use one (not even my "treat nut" will eat out of one), and plastic is reluctantly used. So they have glass/ceramic bowls/dishes.


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## Georgiapeach

We feed our westie/maltese mix out of a ceramic bowl. The metal caused increased staining on her beard/mustache. Maybe the OP's dog wouldn't be afraid of this type of bowl. They're also easily cleaned and don't harbor germs like plastic ones do.


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## mayayoung

thanks everyone!

i agree, maybe she doesn't like the shininess of the bowl. Maybe she is scared of her reflection in the bowl? every time she sees herself in a mirror, she barks at it and avoids it. I've been putting some yummy stuff in that bowl, and she's become a little less sensitive, but she still tries to avoid it. also, my dog's tags don't cause problems with the bowl, but thank you for suggesting that.


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## Dogstar

Have you guys tried the "slow feed" pet bowls? I have seen them all over the internet. I'll give them a try.


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## BarbaraKnapp

May be Shadow is not used to this bowl that why he is behaving that way. As @Uzies Pal said have patients, thats the only option.


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