THIS IS WHAT THEY DON’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

Let me educate you so you can spot these con artists!

Trust me when I tell you, they are hard to spot and they are also very local. They make on average over $200,000.00 a year on profit breeding and other than the basic needs being met like food and shelter $0.00 is going towards those animals! This I can promise you, I have seen them with my own two eyes! They spend a lot of money on smoke and mirrors to deceive the general public and are very successful at it if you don’t know what questions to ask or things to look for! I am not attacking any of the breeders who are following the guidelines and truly have the dog’s best interest and welfare in mind and who stand behind their dogs! I am actually in your corner and in a roundabout way we are on the same side! I am simply trying to stop the need to buy puppies from the “bad guys” if the need to purchase from them goes away, then the need to breed them goes away too! If we stop the puppy for profit demand then the health and welfare of these animals improves! It has too! It’s that simple! It’s the supply and demand logic! Every time you adopt from a rescue, shelter, foster home you shut down the demand ONE DOG AT A TIME! That’s all we are trying to do with the rrruffstart program!

We want to educate the public on all aspects of rescuing these dogs and help in every way possible so that the dog you rescue NEVER returns to the system! We cannot do this on our own; this is where you come in! We need donations!! We need money, product, services, people, time; we need help in any and all ways! I am currently working with a few companies locally who are willing to donate services such as: local vets who will sign the rrruffstart pledge to offer veterinary care at a discounted rate for the dogs in the program to help offset the costs of keeping these dogs. I have a company that will offer dog walking services and babysitting

(Fur balls Choice) at a discount to again help offset your costs. I recently became a dog food distributor so I can help you feed these dogs a very healthy diet without having to remortgage your houses! I can sell it to you at COST! I personally will be offering support by email and phone for free! to help answer any questions or concerns you may have that are non-emergencies and to keep you off public animal sites like the ones on Facebook Belleville area and pets, I also will be offering my training and boarding services at a discounted price to again offset the costs of these guys and giving the new owners ZERO reason to give up!

Rrruffstart is still in the very beginning stages of the program, we have done lots in the past year and we still have a lot to do before it is fully up and running where I can call it 100% successful. The more help and donations we receive the faster it will be up and running! The animals are in crisis and we humans put them there so now it’s up to us humans to do all we can! I am doing all I can to play my part in rehabilitating and re-homing some great animals are you willing to do your part? I personally will be letting people know who helped make this happen so they realize it does take a village to raise a dog! I will continue to fight and ask for donations, I will publicly share who has helped make this happen, I won’t stop until I know we have made a positive change.

Seriously this needs to STOP!!

PEOPLE PLEASE STOP!!!!

I sit here this evening I am beyond pissed off and furious, I read all the local area web pages that offer the buy and sell of animals. As I read them I am continuously amazed at the ignorance of the common person, since when are living breathing creatures disposable? Why is it at Christmas parents are so afraid to let their children down or disappoint them? Life is full of disappointment and it is more than okay to say NO! I was just on one of these websites and read that a lady just purchased a bird for her child for Christmas and admits that she has never owned a bird nor does she know the first thing about them. How do you buy any animal that you know nothing about? Why not do your due diligence before you buy and possibly get in over your head and then have to surrender the animal, also why ask a public forum for advice? Hundreds of people on these public forums have opinions, well opinions are like ass holes, everyone has one! The problem is you’re getting advice most of the time from people who have no idea themselves! I see people posting pictures of animal wounds asking what is wrong?

People asking for training hints, again from non professionals, people giving up their animals due to age, illness, money and hundreds of other excuses. If your  animals are ill, injured, or any reason that causes you concern….. GO SEE A VET! If you cannot afford the vet then you may not be able to afford your pet, pets cost money and basic health care should not be where you guys are cheeping out! If your child broke their  arm or required stitches you would not be asking a public forum, you would be sitting at the doctors or an emergency room! This would be just as ridiculous as you asking about your animal from non experts.

People like myself, vets, vet techs and many others have spent many years of schooling to perfect our craft, if you want expert advice, than you need to pay expert prices. The health and safety of these animals should not be a choice, you brought these animals into your lives and now you must take care of ALL their needs and requirements especially health and welfare! If you cannot afford to see a vet, than don’t own an animal, if you cannot afford to feed your family, then you should not own an animal. I see on a daily basis people giving away their pets for ridiculous reason, reasons that make me sick! You guys are getting in way over your heads and asking a public forum for medical or behaviour advice  is just bad news, it’s just a matter of time before someone gets hurt. If you are not a rescue, stop calling yourself one, just because you took in an animal does not make you a hero especially when you end up getting rid of it because you didn’t know enough of what you were doing to really help that animal, in fact most times you just make it harder on the animal. If you are not a vet, stop giving advice, not a trainer, stop giving advice. If you really want to help these animals and make a difference than know who the professionals are in your area and direct people to the right professionals. One day your going to give some bad medical or training advice to someone on these public forums and its going to bite you in the ass. If you give what you think is good advice and God forbid an animal dies you better be prepared to pay the price when that person comes back looking for justice!

I am someone who makes a living helping the animals, when you ask for help in surrendering an animal I don’t judge or criticize, that helps no one! I do how ever get annoyed when people get animals and the first sign of frustration or lack of knowledge simply give them up, if you make a commitment then you need to fulfill that commitment and if for some reason you cannot, then do what is right for the animals! Dont just sell them to the first person who comes along with money, if your dog is aggressive, be honest! Lets not put that dog or someones children at risk! Do not buy animals as Christmas gifts on a whim because you want your kids to have a perfect Christmas, better you say NO now rather than bring this animal in to simply dispose of later when you realize you can’t afford it or you don’t have time in your busy schedule to give it what it needs! Animals are a big financial expense and that needs to be considered before buying. Our shelters are over flowing with unwanted animals from people who got in over their heads, or who made a poor choice before buying. We have no more room in our shelters, animals are being put down simply for lack of room. Every time you get an animal and don’t take care of it, it gets left to those of us who do it for a living to fulfil a commitment you made, we pay for food, vets, housing, transportation etc. We don’t get funding, we pay for it out of our own pockets, most times to never recoup the costs of the animals you discard. Please think before you get your next pet!

Paws 4 seniors!

Hello everyone, it is that time of year again where everyone is in the giving spirit, whether you give to animal or human causes. Well here is your chance to give to both at the same time. In the new year I am starting up a new program for senior citizens and senior animals called Paws 4 seniors. On an average year all across Canada over 7 million dogs are up for adoption, about half of those are senior dogs who have given their families love and devotion for many years to find themselves given away or surrendered into the humane societies, is this really how we want to pay them back for years of unconditional love and devotion? Is this really where you want them to spend their golden years? Is this really where you want them to DIE? Here are some cold hard facts for you to think about, when an older dog is given away and given up on you have just given them a death sentence, most of the senior dogs NEVER get adopted, if its blind, deaf, or god for bid have health problems due to age, or even as simple as just being black, it’s called the black dog syndrome! It is FACT that these dogs stand a less than 2% chance of being adopted. Your senior dog would never have given up on you because of age or health issues, so why are we quitting on them? 

I volunteer many hours a month in senior citizens homes and hospice to sadly  find the same tragedy over and over, people are left there to spend their last days lonely and waiting to die, no one is visiting them, their spouses have passed away, and they are forgotten, and these are human beings! Shame on us!  When I go to these places to cut their hair, visit, or simply to sit by their beds and read to them while unconscious I always bring my dog Mylo. Mylo is a five-year old boxer who loves everyone, he loves visiting all the forgotten souls whose faces light up when we walk down the halls and they get a glimpse of Mylo as we pass by doorways. We make our rounds and stop off in each room for a quick visit, Mylo goes and says his hello’s and they pet him and usually tell me stories of their dogs whom they seem to miss as much as their spouses, which got me to thinking! What if I could put the two seniors together? What if I could cure the loneliness for both parties so no one has to die alone and forgotten?

Well that’s what I am doing! As of January 2015 I will be finding and rescuing senior dogs from shelters, foster homes and anywhere else I can find them and I will be pairing them up with a senior who is looking for companionship and someone to love and break up the loneliness of getting old. The Paws 4 seniors program will be a FREE adoption! We will also help out with a taxi service to ensure that they get to the vets when needed and also will help out with finances and food when possible! This is a win, win program, the elderly will no longer have to be alone and the senior dogs will no longer have to die simply due to age!

So this is where you can come in! We are looking for donations for this program and here is what your donations will be put towards, adoption fees from shelters, food for the senior dogs, vet check ups, and taxi services and any other expenses that may arise for the new owners. Most senior citizens are on a pension and can barely take care of them selves but that doesn’t mean that they can’t provide a safe, warm, loving and happy home for our senior dogs looking to spend their golden years with someone to love, instead of dying alone in shelters. We owe them that at the very least for their years of companionship they showed to their families. If you  look at the top right had corner of this website you will see a donation button that is a direct link to pay pal and this website, simply push the button and follow the directions it’s as easy as 1,2,3! if you cannot donate financially you can donate in many other ways, provide a taxi service, donate food,donate your time by picking up a dog waiting for adoption and take it for a visit to senior homes and hospice, help us find senior dogs looking for a second chance. The possibilities are endless!!

Please help me end the senseless euthanization of senior dogs! Help me bring hope to the hopeless, help me, help others! Over 7 million dogs are in shelters and half of them due to age have been given a death sentence! Please help stop the tragedy of simply getting old! What would you think if this was how we treated humans? Our mothers, fathers, grandparents and siblings! We should be ashamed! Age is not a reason to be given up on! Age should be celebrated and respected, so please help where you can so NO-ONE has to die alone!

We are settled in!

Well it has been a very long five weeks here at rrruffhouse, we bought a new home and rehab facility for the dogs completely renovated the entire building to make a great home and work space for all the dogs. As of November 1 2014 we have added new training opportunities, we are now offering day care five days a week, both long and short-term boarding, dog walking and also dog sitting in your own home if needed. I have taken on new staff who will allow us more ways to help all our dog friends with their needs. We have not taking anything away, we have just expanded or services. We will also be offering in the spring dog baths and nail trims, basic grooming. We are growing faster by the day as your needs require. If you are in need of a service we are not currently offer please feel free to ask anyways, who knows we may still be able to help or give you the guidance you need in finding someone else, I have many businesses working along side of me able and ready to help with all your needs. Please contact us for all your dog needs! We will be having an open house in December for everyone to come see the new digs and check out the new place, I will post the date when I confirm one there will be hot drinks and nibbles available during the open house so please come out and see us.

We are now offering new services………

Hello everyone,

With our expansion in full force, rrruffhouse.com is proud to announce that we will be expanding our services as well to make life with your dog a happy and safe one. Our new place has a 1500 sq ft play area for all our furry friends as well as a huge area outside to play completely fenced in and escape proof, the outdoor play area has lots of grass for lounging, a wooded area for shade and getting up to “no good” lol. This new and improved rrruffhouse will blow your socks off, so come on by and check us out, for all your dog needs. We still do training as usual both obedience and behavioural, we have not taken services away we have just expanded so we can offer you more!
Starting November 1st we will be offering long and short-term boarding, doggy day care 5 days a week  from 7am-7pm, as well as puppy behavioral and socialization classes. All boarding and day care services are subject to an assessment before acceptance to ensure the safety of myself and my pack.

Long/Short term boarding – Going away? We can help! Rrruffhouse.com has always offered boarding services, but now with a bigger and better space we are happy to say that we can accept more of your furry friends for a little vacation of their own.

Doggy Day Care – Don’t like leaving your dog alone/locked in a kennel all day? We can help with that too! Again, we currently offer doggy day care 2 days a week, but we are now able to offer doggy day care 5 days a week for your convenience and peace of mind.

Puppy Socialization and Behavioral classes – Most of us reading know that getting a new puppy can be taxing to say the least, rrruffhouse.com would like to help you with that too! ….

You name it we probably offer it! If you need something that we may have forgotten please ask, we are always here looking to help. For more information please contact us by phone, email, Facebook. LinkedIn. or by text.

We are now offering new services………

Hello everyone,

With our expansion in full force, rrruffhouse.com is proud to announce that we will be expanding our services as well to make life with your dog a happy and safe one. Our new place has a 1500 sq ft play area for all our furry friends as well as a huge area outside to play completely fenced in and escape proof, the outdoor play area has lots of grass for lounging, a wooded area for shade and getting up to “no good” lol. This new and improved rrruffhouse will blow your socks off, so come on by and check us out, for all your dog needs. We still do training as usual both obedience and behavioural, we have not taken services away we have just expanded so we can offer you more!
Starting November 1st we will be offering long and short-term boarding, doggy day care 5 days a week  from 7am-7pm, as well as puppy behavioral and socialization classes. All boarding and day care services are subject to an assessment before acceptance to ensure the safety of myself and my pack.

Long/Short term boarding – Going away? We can help! Rrruffhouse.com has always offered boarding services, but now with a bigger and better space we are happy to say that we can accept more of your furry friends for a little vacation of their own.

Doggy Day Care – Don’t like leaving your dog alone/locked in a kennel all day? We can help with that too! Again, we currently offer doggy day care 2 days a week, but we are now able to offer doggy day care 5 days a week for your convenience and peace of mind.

Puppy Socialization and Behavioral classes – Most of us reading know that getting a new puppy can be taxing to say the least, rrruffhouse.com would like to help you with that too! ….

You name it we probably offer it! If you need something that we may have forgotten please ask, we are always here looking to help. For more information please contact us by phone, email, Facebook. LinkedIn. or by text.

The Dangers of Goose Poop

This is the time of year when geese are literally all over – on the ground, on the water and in the air.

Cat owners are spared much of this angst because outdoor cats tend to avoid stepping in any fecal material if at all possible. If they do, and then lick their paws clean, they would have the same risks as dogs who eat it.

Dogs in general love goose poop. They like to roll in it and eat it. When a large flock lands in fields by you, it can be very hard to avoid that goose poop while walking your dog!

An adult goose may eat as much as four lbs of grass and other forage daily. That leads to about two lbs of goose poop daily! Depending on the area, that poop may be dispersed in ponds or lakes or it may end up on land. Unfortunately ideal goose habitat is often ideal human and pet habitat too. Golf courses have even resorted to using dogs to keep “flushing” the geese away and keeping greens clean.

But while it may not be great to have your dog eating or rolling in goose poop, can it actually be harmful? The answer is: possibly. As with most fecal material, goose poop has Salmonella and E coli present. So, a small amount of these bacteria could be ingested. Luckily, most of them would get destroyed in your dog’s stomach and intestinal tract.

Perhaps of more concern is that Canada Geese may help to spread bacteria that have antimicrobial resistance. A CDC study  (Center for Disease Control) on a resident flock of Canada Geese in Georgia and North Carolina showed that antibiotic resistant E coli could be carried by the geese. There was great variation depending on the water areas the geese were inhabiting. Water sources located near intensive farming operations such as pig farms, tended to support geese with more antibiotic resistant bacteria. Migrating geese could spread those bacteria, though on a very small scale.

Looking at goose poop from geese in the park no antibiotic bacteria were isolated. So the habitat of the geese is a big factor – not the Canada Geese themselves.

Of more concern for our area is Giardia and Cryptosporidium in the ponds and lakes. These pathogens can cause diarrhea and intestinal problems. They are spread by many wild animals and birds – not just geese.

To avoid most problems, carry water for your dog when you hike so he isn’t drinking out of the ponds and lakes. Keeping him on leash can help to prevent him from eating goose poop (and deer and rabbit poop too!). Try to avoid areas where you know large groups of geese hang out.

If your dog rolls in goose poop, bathe him thoroughly and make sure you wash your hands carefully afterwards as well. With a few precautions, we can enjoy our beautiful flocks of Canada Geese and stay healthy too!

Hot Spots on Dogs: Causes and Treatment

Hot spots are an irritating skin condition that affects countless dogs every year

What are hot spots on dogs and how can we detect them?
A hotspot (also known as pyotramatic or moist dermatitis) is a condition which involves an area of skin which has become inflamed and infected. The affected skin often appears as a moist, oozing, reddened area that is painful and very itchy to the dog. Hair loss may also be seen. Continued licking and chewing at the area by the dog worsens the condition dramatically.

What causes hot spots and can they be prevented?
Anything that causes itchiness of the skin can lead to the development of hot spots on dogs. Some common triggers are  allergies to things in the environment such as grasses, trees, weeds, dust mites, etc, food allergies, fleas, mites, insect bites and skin wounds. A bacterial infection of the skin (typically caused by staph) develops by taking advantage of the damaged inflamed skin. The infection is often deep in the dog’s skin and, in addition to the moist oozing appearance, an odor is often present.

How are hot spots treated?
The goal to treatment is to clear the bacterial infection, relieve the itching and pain, and identify and remove the underlying triggers if possible. The hair in and around the dog’s hot spot is usually clipped to allow initial cleaning of the area and the application of topical medications. Topical treatment with sprays, creams or ointments to kill bacteria and help with pain and inflammation are often used. Oral antibiotics are usually prescribed for a course of three to four weeks and sometimes longer. Often a short course of corticosteroids (i.e. prednisone) is given to relieve the itching and pain due to the inflammation. Antihistamines may also be used to help with itchiness.

Would vetericyn be helpful in the treatment of hot spots on dogs?
Yes. Vetericyn liquid or hydrogel can be applied topically to kill bacteria and help cleanse the wound and speed healing without depleting vital moisture from the skin. It has the additional benefits of being non-irritating, non-toxic and non-staining to your dog’s skin or dog’s haircoat.

 

What can I do to treat a hot spot?

Here are some steps to take at home. Caution is advised: hot spots are often very painful. Use a muzzle if need be, for your protection.

1. Shave the area. The first treatment for hot spots is to dry them out and get air to the area. Hair loss is a feature of hot spots, but hair can also mat over the inflamed area, covering up a potentially much more severe and large problem.
2. Cleanse the area with cool water and a gentle skin cleanser.
3. Cool compress the area 2-4 times a day with a cool wet washcloth.
4. Medications – Depending on the severity and size of the hot spot, your veterinarian may prescribe oral antibiotics, topical drying sprays or medications, and/or special shampoos.
5. Prevention of licking, biting, scratching -i.e. a cone around the neck
6. Additional home remedies that can be used until you can see your vet:
   • Topical Sprays I like Vetericyn because it promotes quick healing, does not sting, and is completely safe if ingested (if the animal can lick the area).
   • tea bag compresses (black or green tea) to help dry the area out. Tea can be used as a wash or as a compress.
   • Domeboro’s (Burow’s) solution (aluminum acetate) – available over-the-counter at pharmacies to help dry the skin out. Can be used as a compress or as a spray.
   • Hydrocortisone creams – Some people advocate using a thin film of an over-the-counter hydrocortisone cream. I would recommend talking to your vet first. In general, creams and ointments only serve to “gunk up” the area and prevent proper drying if used incorrectly. Also, if the pet licks it, you want to make sure that it isn’t toxic.

Why Do Dogs Push Their Food Bowls Around?

Dog owners have a way – sometimes within DAYS of first becoming dog owners – of becoming EXPERTS on animal behavior. It blows my mind. These are people who observe their animals displaying interesting or curious behaviors and make up things like “dogs like being put in tiny cages, actually, because of when their ancestors were pack animals and lived in caves.”

That said, a reader sent me an email inquiring about a particular behavior that she has observed in her lab. This reader is not one of the above-described self-proclaimed experts. This reader is generally awesome.
She writes:

My dog is pushing around her food, her food dish, or anything in the area. She noses it around every time before she eats, sometimes for a significant period of time. This video is of her pushing the towel under the dish around (which I put there to stop her from pushing the dish entirely across the tile floor and spilling food everyone). Sometimes she noses the food around and doesn’t even bother to eat any. What is this all about?

One day she decided to set up a spycam so she could catch her dog in the act. She sent me the video and permitted me to upload it for the world to see:

It turns out that this behavior appears fairly common, and inquiries abound online in various forums and whatnot. Enter the self-proclaimed experts. One offers;

Many dogs push their food bowls around; it might be vestigial to the dog’s foraging instinct. Many dogs also pick food out of the bowl and carry it to another location to eat it.

Another suggests;

Depending on the breed of your dog, and dominance level, it’s food looks rather bleak. Meaning that it’s looking for something more alive; this would be the hunter in them call out. Ever wonder why dogs love a good squeaker? It’s because it resembles a dying animal.

Here’s a selection of other gems,

Maybe try switching food brands

Maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t like the shape of the bowl it may be not the most convenient shape for her to eat out of. Having just a dog brain she doesn’t know it is a permanent shape. But more than likely it is just an inherited behavior left over from before dogs trained humans to be pet owners. Back then the dog (or dawg, or even dogg, spelling having not been domesticated yet) ate things it killed or found already dead. Sometimes the prey might not be dead yet and might try to bite back so Dog would need to check and one way to check was just give it a push and see if it moved.

I think they want you to pay some attention to them….They can’t speak so we have to listen to them without hearing words…If I were a dog pushing my bowls around I would be saying..I am bored..I am lonely eating alone every night, no one validating me…I am tired of this same ole’ crap all the time…

He’s trying to get on your nerves, or he wants attention. Both ways are the same. Your dog and my dog know that once he does something bad, he’ll get your attention and you might scream at him or maybe slap his nose for him to stop, but he/she thinks it’s fun.

I think perhaps they feel they are “hunting” the food and then eat it.

If I was going to make up a hypothesis, I might conjecture that pushing food around with the nose will indicate if the food is beginning to rot, as bugs and other critters that munch on dead flesh tend to be found underneath the food item.
Time for some actual research.
How about first we knock down all those lay explanations:

In wild animals, food selection begins with foraging (or hunting, for carnivores) behavior, and ends with food consumption. Through domestication, however, hunting behavior in dogs seems to have been genetically modified if not entirely eradicated. Some evidence that this is so comes from studies of “village” or feral dogs. These are dogs that generally survive by scavenging, raising the possibility that domesticated dogs have not maintained a fully functional repertoire of hunting behaviors. It should be noted, however, that not much is known about how wolves decide what is palatable (e.g. appearance, odor, texture, flavor), so it is hard to determine if dogs’ preferences in that respect have changed in domestication. So it is unlikely that any food-related behavior you observe in a domesticated dog is “leftover” from their wolf ancestors. Possible, but unlikely.
Then, I asked this reader a few questions: are there other dogs in the house? Yes, a male dog. Does she generally feed the dog the same food every day? Yes.

I could not find anything in the literature directly addressing this issue. Here are some things we do know about food selection in domesticated dogs, and my best guess as to the explanation of this particular dog’s behavior:
(1) It is certain that odor plays a strong role in food selection, because anosmic dogs (who can’t smell) show reduced discrimination between types of meat that are otherwise highly discriminable.
(2) Dogs combine olfactory information (smell) with social information to select what type of food they want. In one study, dogs preferred eating something that smelled like the breath of another dog who had recently been fed.
I wonder if perhaps Shug (white poodle) smelled something on the other dog’s breath, and was looking for it. This reader insisted that the two dogs are fed the same foods. It is possible that there is some odor produced by the interaction of the other dog’s saliva and the food that Shug was trying to find in her food bowl.
One other bit of info that I stumbled across concerns liberality in dogs. Laterality is an observable measure of functional asymmetry in the brain. The human brain, for example, is strongly left-lateralized for language. This means that much of language processing occurs on the left side of the brain. Human handedness (whether you favor your right or left hand) has to do with laterality as well. Human handedness may be a topic for another day – this day, we shall focus on dog paw-edness. Do dogs favor one paw over the other?

So the answer is yes, and is actually related to their sex. Females tend to prefer the right paw, and males tend to prefer the left paw. What is most interesting to me is that task #3 was a food retrieval task.
I am well aware that I might be reaching here and over-interpreting – but I wonder if perhaps Shug, if she is right-pawed like most other female dogs, is simply trying to move the food away from the wall. Kind of like, if you’re at a restaurant, and you’re right handed, it totally sucks to be the guy at the end of the booth with your right hand against the wall.
So, there you have it. Both may be stretching it a little, but you’ve got two workable hypotheses that are totally testable.

Why Do Dogs Push Their Food Bowls Around?

Dog owners have a way – sometimes within DAYS of first becoming dog owners – of becoming EXPERTS on animal behavior. It blows my mind. These are people who observe their animals displaying interesting or curious behaviors and make up things like “dogs like being put in tiny cages, actually, because of when their ancestors were pack animals and lived in caves.”

That said, a reader sent me an email inquiring about a particular behavior that she has observed in her lab. This reader is not one of the above-described self-proclaimed experts. This reader is generally awesome.
She writes:

My dog is pushing around her food, her food dish, or anything in the area. She noses it around every time before she eats, sometimes for a significant period of time. This video is of her pushing the towel under the dish around (which I put there to stop her from pushing the dish entirely across the tile floor and spilling food everyone). Sometimes she noses the food around and doesn’t even bother to eat any. What is this all about?

One day she decided to set up a spycam so she could catch her dog in the act. She sent me the video and permitted me to upload it for the world to see:

It turns out that this behavior appears fairly common, and inquiries abound online in various forums and whatnot. Enter the self-proclaimed experts. One offers;

Many dogs push their food bowls around; it might be vestigial to the dog’s foraging instinct. Many dogs also pick food out of the bowl and carry it to another location to eat it.

Another suggests;

Depending on the breed of your dog, and dominance level, it’s food looks rather bleak. Meaning that it’s looking for something more alive; this would be the hunter in them call out. Ever wonder why dogs love a good squeaker? It’s because it resembles a dying animal.

Here’s a selection of other gems,

Maybe try switching food brands

Maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t like the shape of the bowl it may be not the most convenient shape for her to eat out of. Having just a dog brain she doesn’t know it is a permanent shape. But more than likely it is just an inherited behavior left over from before dogs trained humans to be pet owners. Back then the dog (or dawg, or even dogg, spelling having not been domesticated yet) ate things it killed or found already dead. Sometimes the prey might not be dead yet and might try to bite back so Dog would need to check and one way to check was just give it a push and see if it moved.

I think they want you to pay some attention to them….They can’t speak so we have to listen to them without hearing words…If I were a dog pushing my bowls around I would be saying..I am bored..I am lonely eating alone every night, no one validating me…I am tired of this same ole’ crap all the time…

He’s trying to get on your nerves, or he wants attention. Both ways are the same. Your dog and my dog know that once he does something bad, he’ll get your attention and you might scream at him or maybe slap his nose for him to stop, but he/she thinks it’s fun.

I think perhaps they feel they are “hunting” the food and then eat it.

If I was going to make up a hypothesis, I might conjecture that pushing food around with the nose will indicate if the food is beginning to rot, as bugs and other critters that munch on dead flesh tend to be found underneath the food item.
Time for some actual research.
How about first we knock down all those lay explanations:

In wild animals, food selection begins with foraging (or hunting, for carnivores) behavior, and ends with food consumption. Through domestication, however, hunting behavior in dogs seems to have been genetically modified if not entirely eradicated. Some evidence that this is so comes from studies of “village” or feral dogs. These are dogs that generally survive by scavenging, raising the possibility that domesticated dogs have not maintained a fully functional repertoire of hunting behaviors. It should be noted, however, that not much is known about how wolves decide what is palatable (e.g. appearance, odor, texture, flavor), so it is hard to determine if dogs’ preferences in that respect have changed in domestication. So it is unlikely that any food-related behavior you observe in a domesticated dog is “leftover” from their wolf ancestors. Possible, but unlikely.
Then, I asked this reader a few questions: are there other dogs in the house? Yes, a male dog. Does she generally feed the dog the same food every day? Yes.

I could not find anything in the literature directly addressing this issue. Here are some things we do know about food selection in domesticated dogs, and my best guess as to the explanation of this particular dog’s behavior:
(1) It is certain that odor plays a strong role in food selection, because anosmic dogs (who can’t smell) show reduced discrimination between types of meat that are otherwise highly discriminable.
(2) Dogs combine olfactory information (smell) with social information to select what type of food they want. In one study, dogs preferred eating something that smelled like the breath of another dog who had recently been fed.
I wonder if perhaps Shug (white poodle) smelled something on the other dog’s breath, and was looking for it. This reader insisted that the two dogs are fed the same foods. It is possible that there is some odor produced by the interaction of the other dog’s saliva and the food that Shug was trying to find in her food bowl.
One other bit of info that I stumbled across concerns liberality in dogs. Laterality is an observable measure of functional asymmetry in the brain. The human brain, for example, is strongly left-lateralized for language. This means that much of language processing occurs on the left side of the brain. Human handedness (whether you favor your right or left hand) has to do with laterality as well. Human handedness may be a topic for another day – this day, we shall focus on dog paw-edness. Do dogs favor one paw over the other?

So the answer is yes, and is actually related to their sex. Females tend to prefer the right paw, and males tend to prefer the left paw. What is most interesting to me is that task #3 was a food retrieval task.
I am well aware that I might be reaching here and over-interpreting – but I wonder if perhaps Shug, if she is right-pawed like most other female dogs, is simply trying to move the food away from the wall. Kind of like, if you’re at a restaurant, and you’re right handed, it totally sucks to be the guy at the end of the booth with your right hand against the wall.
So, there you have it. Both may be stretching it a little, but you’ve got two workable hypotheses that are totally testable.