Please help me figure out whats wrong with my dog

insomnia

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#1
I have recently found a dog. I have been looking for the owners but didntfind no one. Its a yellow lab - the cutest and the smartest thing ever. However, he wouldn't eat unless its something i hold in my hand and its a little piece. He is afraid of bowls, just stands a couple of feet away from his bowl and drools. I dont know what to do, so PLEASE HELP!
 
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#2
Poor guy! It sounds like someone has really abused him.

Have you tried putting his food on a flat plastic tray? Part of his fear of bowls may be because it obscures his ability to see what's coming and someone in his past has tortured him by abusing him in some way when he's tried to eat or drink out of his bowl.

Just give him time, lots and lots of affection and positive reinforcement - and stop looking for the owners; they can't have been good ones!
 

bogolove

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#3
It is good for him to eat out of your hand though if he has been abused because it helps him build trust with you. I think eventually he will learn to eat out of the bowl, but most importanatly is for him to build trust with you. I am assuming you are going to keep him?
 

Saje

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#4
that's kind of odd that he trusts you enough to eat out of your hand but not out of a bowl. Hmmm. Try the tray thing that Renee said. You don't want to become a crutch for him.

Good for you for working with him! Gold star. :)

I can't think of anything else you can try right now. I'll think about it.
 
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#5
The thing that makes me think abuse is the description of him being afraid and just standing there drooling. But it sounds like the little fellow's in the hands of a good human being now!

Serena's 100% right that he needs to learn that hands near his food bowl are positive.

Let us know how he progresses.
 

Barb04

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#6
I'm not sure what kind of bowls you've been using, but my first lab was afraid of metal bowls. She would only eat out of plastic.
 

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