There can be a number of reasons your dog is hesitant to eat or drink out of their bowls.
Here are a few reasons why your dog is scared and ways to try and help them:
Size
The bowel may be too big, small, or deep for your dog. If you think this is the problem you can test out different size bowls and see which one they feel most comfortable with.
Material
One of the main reasons your dog is hesitant to eat from their bowl may be due to the material. They may not like the way it sounds when their food or collar tags clang against the material. All dogs are different, so you can test out different types of bowls such as metal, stainless steel, plastic, ceramic, or silicone.
Height
Your dog may not like bending down so low to the ground to eat or drink. If this is the case, you can get a food stand that will help with this. They may be hesitant of the food stand once you start putting their bowls in there. To help with this, you can sit next to them when it’s time to eat or when they want a drink. Let them know it’s okay and try to encourage them.
Other
As mentioned above in the ‘Material’ section, some dogs may not like the way their collar tags sound when it clangs against the bowl. If you think this is the main issue, you can remove their collar when they eat. Or you can customize their tags to where they are more attached to the collar as shown here:
Another reason is if the bowl constantly moves while they’re eating or drinking. You can either get creative and put a rubber sole onto their bowl, put a sturdy mat underneath the bowl, purchase a new one that has a rubber sole, or get a food stand. If you decide to use a mat, make sure the material will hold the bowl in place, as well as stay in place on the floor.
If nothing seems to be working, you can use a flat mat and put their food on there. Some dogs just really don’t like bowls and prefer to eat off the floor.