No, she is not a puppy, she is about 4 yrs old. I agree that its not good to have too much rawhide, so we generally only let her have it when we are eating, or need her out of our hair for awhile. I just noticed that usually she loves it, but lately she sometimes hasn't seemed that interested. I am glad you think its not too big of a deal about the eating thing, I suppose as long as the food is being eaten, I shouldn't worry too much, right?
Dash does something similar. He will take bites out of his bowl and put them on the floor before eating them. He occasionally will walk off with them as well. It is not all the time but he also does it with treats he likes you to put it on the floor so he can inspect it before he eats it.
I would not worry, sounds like she is just being a Basenji!
Sahara, my B does this also at times, she makes the biggest mess at her bowl, kibble everywhere, and of course she just has to take some of it to the carpet so Mommy can clean it up after she finishes eating. Most of the time she will finish her food, but there are days that she is just messy. I wouldn't worry, just being a B.
I hope its fine, its just so weird its almost like she is trying to eat it but can't for a couple of seconds, does anyone know why they do this?
Mine does the same thing but she doesn't always empty the bowl…Jojo is 11 yr so this is not a puppy thing...I had a cocker that did this also...I feel they are just playing with their food. I wouldn't worry about it.
Topaz does this with her food sometimes but she's learned that if she doesn't eat quick C3PO will lurk around her crate & finish it off for her is she's not interested LOL 
She also does this with treats A LOT and sometimes she misses out b/c if she decides she wants to taste & then drop it on the floor C3PO will come in & lick it up in one big SWOOP 
and then she has to go & ask mom or dad for another treat & try her experiment again LOL
perfectly normal though!
THANK G*D SOMEONE WROTE THIS THREAD!!! I thought it was me! I've read this forum and never saw anyone write about this…another dog we had did the same thing. Nala picks at her food exactly as you described, she also paws at it and dumps a lot out onto the floor too. She then eats from the floor and then the bowl, sometimes bringing it to a rug. She also will NEVER eat what you give her from your hand without dropping it on the floor and sniffing it a bit as if to say, "What's this? Are you trying to poison me?" Then she finally eats it.
The great thing is that she is NEVER possesive about her food. For that, I am truly thankful!
OMG!!! Corky does something very similar. He takes so much longer than his brother and sister to eat. He takes his food out of his bowl with his front teath very slowly at first. Then, eventually he eat a little faster. It's almost like he is savoring his food. He also has to inspect any treat that he has not had before.
Yes, some males are really funny about that…. inspecting the food first.. My OJ did that for the first 4/5 yrs of his life... I could never hide pills in anything... my girls however... it is "count your fingers" after you offer the treat!!!!
I once had a basenji that would eat her dog food 1 kernal at a time. She would dump her bowl and ponder - finally selecting the few nuggets that met her fancy and leaving the rest. This appeared to be a phase - she did get over it.
Right now I have a girl (9 years old) who is deciding that some food is not what she wants - I think she's using it to guilt me a bit as she has not gotten as much attention as she thinks she deserves since I'm spending most of my time taking care of my mom. I'm sure she'll get over it but it's frustrating when it happens.
Shadow also used to 'pick' at his food. He started expanding so I cut back the food at each feeding and now he is eating normally and finishes his bowl when the others do.
