Why Did Our Puppy Raise Her Hind Leg While Eating?
Luna is our quarantine puppy and is the only small dog we've ever owned. Before Luna, the Silvia household was home to large yellow labrador retrievers who now seem like they could have been almost 10 times the size of this Merle Cockapoo. It's been a different experience learning how to take care of this dog that can literally fit in my tote bag.
One thing that recently happened with Luna that we never witnessed with the other dogs is this thing she does when she eats. Just this morning, Luna raised her hind right leg while enjoying her breakfast. We've never seen anything like this, so I wanted to find out why she did it.
Reddit would suggest that it is because our Luna Tuna is a little top-heavy.
"Some (smaller) dogs are front heavy. When my papillon was a puppy his back legs would lift off the ground because his head and chest were heavier than the rest of him, so he'd over-balance."
I don't think that this would apply to Luna. She may be less than 15 pounds, but I think she has a decent center of gravity. And it's only one leg that she has lifted so far. Although I have seen some puppies do handstands while eating. Like this little one:
We asked a local dog trainer for answers, and she said it could be anything from wet paws to feeling sore. My cousin works at a local veterinary clinic, so I asked her if she could solve the mystery. According to the vet, Luna is perfectly healthy but weird. I guess we'll never know what possessed Luna to try a new acrobatic trick today.
Does your dog do this too?