Poor little Katie - it's taken her so long to train me

A while ago, Judy (Travels with Emma) posted about Emma not liking her metal food bowl.  She wondered why - maybe her tags clicking against the metal, etc.?   Well, Katie has never been a big eater.  She gets a big "Good Girl!" whenever she eats any of her food.  (She loves treats, just didn't seem interested in her dinner until she was starving.)  I know that sounds dumb, but there are days she doesn't eat much at all from her food bowl, and I only give her 1/2 cup of Royal Canin Adult Chihuahua dry food every day.

So, after reading Judy's blog post and then reading all the comments, I changed out Katie's metal bowl with a plastic one.  She still wasn't interested.  I reduced the size of the treats she gets so she would be hungrier, but she still didn't eat much from her bowl.  Usually by the end of the day she finished the 1/2 cup of food, nibbling all day long, but not always, and when we travel, she often didn't eat anything.  When we were in San Diego, she went three days without eating any of her food.  She got some treats, but didn't eat her food.

Well...   when Katie gets a treat or a cookie or a rawhide chew toy, she always jumps up on the couch and puts it on her blanket and eats it from there.  So a couple of weeks ago, I decided to put her new plastic bowl on her blanket.  She ate a little....

Then looked at me...  "Mom, you STILL don't get it!"  Jeez, look at that face!

So I dumped out the food onto the blanket.  

I couldn't believe it!  She ate all the food!  I don't remember her ever eating a full bowl of food since I've had her.  Seven and a half years.

Since then I put the half of her food on her blanket in the morning, and she finishes it all, and the other half in her bowl on the kitchen floor.  She won't touch anything in the bowl all day.  When I have my dinner, I pour her food out of her bowl onto her blanket, she jumps up and eats it all. 

My work is done.

We've been doing this for weeks now, and she eats every bit, every time.  I have to say, Katie is very patient with me.  LOL

I thought I'd post this just in case any of you are having the same issue with your pet.  I know most dogs scarf up everything in their bowls as soon as it is served and then want more, but there are those dainty eaters out here that are different.  I'm so glad I finally figured this out - and now I compliment myself every time she finishes her breakfast and dinner.   LOL  Really.

From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everybody!  :)

PS - Katie has a sensitive tummy and this is the only food I can give her that doesn't upset her stomach.  I never know what's going to happen with other brands/kinds of food.  Sometimes she vomits, sometimes she has diarrhea - other times not.  I just never know, so this food was recommended by a co-worker who had the same issues with his Chihuahuas, and it's never caused her a problem, so that's all I give her.  It's expensive, but worth it.  And she DOES like it.  Just not from a bowl on the floor, I guess.

NOTE:  5/24/15 - You guys are cracking me up with your comments - some of you have pups who are even more picky than Katie.  What a hoot!  It's nice that I'm not alone.  LOL