Ronnie,

 No offense meant, and no offense taken.  I know that you have a love and compassion for all animals, and that always shines through.

Sunny

i didn't mean to come across towards you by saying that you was mad at her,i was just trying to explain that our dogs know in their hearts that their part of the family,and they just want to be where we are at all times,their like baby's at heart lonely when we leave home to go to work,store,other places.and when we are at home they want to be with us every where we go,if its in the tv room watchen tv and eaten at the same time.then thats where they want to be.their lost with out us.i hope i cleared this up better,i didn't want to sound mean in any form,across to you,once agian i'm sorry if it seemed like i came across wrongfully.

I have two dachshunds, Gunther and LadyGirl.  Both of them are slow as the dickens about everything, including eating.  However, Gunny has taken to earing in shifts.  He will eat a bit from his bowl, then leave.  He'll come back a little later, eat some more and leave again.  This usually takes a good deal of the morning.  Like I said, he is slow. 

Hi Ronnie,

   I am not mad at her for eating where she does, I was just curious as to why she might do it.

 Sunny

Lilly also will get a mouth of food then take it in the other room on to the carpet to eat it.

 dogs feel when they are part of the family,she just wants to be where you all are,and fit in any way she can.she see's you all eat in the tv room thats where she wants to eat at also.she loves you all very much,don't get mad at her for just wanting to be part of the family,their like humans only with fur all over their bodys.dogs are very smart,understanding,careing,and have a never ending love for their owners.

Thanks everyone,

         I have had dogs all my life, some scarfers, some grazers, some polite eaters, and some down right slobs, but this style of eating was new to me.  I am glad to know from everyone that is not unusual.  She is very much a velcro dog, so I guess the thought of eating alone just does not appeal to her.  We have tile in the kitchen, and wood floors in the rest of the house, and where she  finally chomps her food is on an area rug, but she seems to be good about vacuuming up afterward.

          Thanks again for everyone's input.

Sunny

All of the Chihuahuas I have had over the years have often taken mouthfuls of food away from the feeding area.  I believe that "There's all hard surface, no carpet, in my house so I'm not worried about it.  I felt it must be some primitive instinct to keep his food away from predators. . ."  is close to right.  They aren't avoiding predators but fellow pack mates that might snatch their food.  Think about the scenes we've all seen of a pack of coyotes or wolves feeding at a carcass.  And they seem to "sort" their food, laying pieces outside the bowl to eat last or not at all.  Who knows???  Willa, my Chinese Crested Hairless"  wolfs her food down pronto.  Then she sits near the other two waiting for them to finish.  When they have, Miss Hoover goes in for the cleanup of anything left on the floor.  I didn't realize how well I had trained her not to bully into the Chihuahua's bowls until the other day.  Willa is fed from white glass bowls.  The two Chis are fed from clear glass pudding or custard bowls.  There were no clean white bowls for Willa the other day so I put her food in a clear glass bowl about the same size.  She would not eat it but sat staring at it looking completely pathetic until I figured out what was wrong.  As soon as I transferred it to a white bowl she chowed down.  Apparently clear glass equates to "no-no that is not yours!" in her head.  Bless her.  She is the BEST and sweetest, softest dog I've ever had.

Sandy