Would this concern you?

The past 2 or so weeks Summer has been leaving kibble in her bowl quite often. She'll eat maybe half of what she usually does. I was watching her today and hand feeding her kibble (training) and noticed a lot of times she would take the kibble and then spit it back out. It would look like she would move it to the back of her mouth then spit it out. I'm wondering if I should take her in to get her teeth looked at? It almost seems like a tooth sensitivity on a molar to me. But then I think I'm probably worrying about something that is fine.

Before this, did she usually finish her food? If so, I would get her looked at. It could be a tooth issue, it could be something else entirely. Logan doesn't usually finish all his kibble in one sitting, but Gavroche does. If Gavroche were to start leaving kibble, I'd be very worried.

Yeah kind of depends on her usual eating habits. If this were Juno she would have been brought in the first time it happened lol because it would be way super unusual for her to not inhale everything. If it were Lucy... meh probably wouldn't give it much more than a second thought.

Definitely wouldn't hurt to have her peaked at though.

I would definitely take her in to have her teeth looked at, particularly given her breed/size. But, what are they eating now and when did you last buy it? What does it smell like and what does it normally smell like? Any chance it's "gone bad"?

Her teeth look pretty good for an 8 1/2 year old toy breed imo. She usually finished her food lately really fast. But she was very picky when I first got her, she'd not eat for a long period of time. So it's not like she hasn't been picky before.

This time around they've got Blue Buffalo Wilderness (the duck kind). They've had that before with no trouble. Bought it a few weeks ago.

I thought it was a tooth problem because she'd put it in her mouth then it would look like she was putting it into the back of her mouth to chew then she'd spit it back out. This happens if I hand feed her kibble or let her eat on her own. Soft foods and treats she eats like usual.

I did peek into her mouth this morning and her 2nd to back molar has been chipped but not terribly. The end of it though has definitely broken off.

Maybe she finds it gross and boring? I'd pander to her with a couple other treats to see if it's a picky dog thing or a pain issue.

If she's spitting out the kibble, I'd have her mouth looked at. Sometimes the tiny molar in back can be nasty without you knowing it.

I wouldn't have worried EXCEPT for what you said about her spitting it out. If she was just not eating all her food, I wouldn't be concerned at all, but it sounds like she wants to eat and something's stopping her.

I would do a double check and make sure there are no recalls on Blue just to be safe. I just had Tulip at the vets recently and she had tonsillitis. Maybe her throat is sore.

What about soaking some kibble to soften it just to see if it's a texture issue rather than being food picky? Will she let you look far back into her mouth? How do her gums look, any redness or swelling?

Is she regurgitating by chance? Have you tried to feel/watch her throat to see if she swallows or not?

An appointment with an animal dentist may be a good idea especially since this is not your dog's usual eating habit.