Dogs who picks up small bits of food at a time most likely learned this very early on, long before he came to you. Typically this behaviour is caused by the puppy’s stature in life, at only a few weeks or months old. It is most common and almost exclusive to dogs who came from larger or more dominant litters. When there is a large litters of puppies, someone has to be the low man on the totem pole. These puppies learn quickly that in order to eat, and not be bullied or bitten, they must grab a few pieces of kibble or bits of food from the bowl and safeguard it away from the main group. In this way, they are able to get their food while avoiding a fight. Particularly in larger litters, or for those that come from a little more of a tougher background, they may push smaller pups (or those lower in birth order) out of the way. They may even bite or challenge them. These pups learn that in order to eat, they must take the food away to a safer place. This is a tough one to remedy without understanding why.
The best way to handle this is to feed them smaller meals at close intervals. For instance, if your pup grabs four pieces of kibble and runs, then take the food bowl and put only four kibbles in it. Some little dogs, particularly those with hair over their eyes are unable to see properly when they put their heads down into the bowl to eat. This can cause the dog to grow nervous while eating since it cannot see.
