Why does dog like to eat off the floor?

Dear Cathy: My Maltese, Tim, is 10 months old. I feed him wet and dry food on a paper plate. He eats a little and then I have to put the food on the floor where he eats some, goes away and then comes back and eats most of it. I tried using a regular dinner plate with the same results. This is my fifth dog and they all ate off paper plates without a problem. — Roberta Furman, Old Bethpage, New York

Dear Roberta: Small dogs can take longer to housetrain than big dogs.

Many dogs take food from their bowl and drop it onto the floor or take it to another location to eat, so there is something instinctive about the behavior and nothing to worry about. But you shouldn’t have to dump the food on the floor to get him to eat.

Find a small dish or bowl you can use every day, and train Tim to eat from it. Put the food down at the same time, twice a day, and pick it up when he is finished or after three minutes. Do not dump the food on the floor. He will get hungry and be more likely to eat.

Dear Cathy: Our 11-year-old diabetic female cat has started peeing where she shouldn’t. Sometimes it’s near the box, but she’s started using two hallways, one tiled and one linoleum, at our front and back doors.

We’ve started locking her in the cellar room with kitty litter at night because that seems to be when she is more likely not to go downstairs to pee. — Gretchen, Storrs, Connecticut

Dear Gretchen: Diabetic pets pee more, but assume you talked to your veterinarian to rule out any additional health problems. Kudos on the calming collar. Next, I would add a litter box attractant (available online and at pet stores) to lure her back to the box. If that doesn’t work, add a second litter box on the main floor. If she got frightened while using the box or is having trouble managing stairs, this second box might do the trick.