Common behavior for dogs, especially certain breeds. Reasons are mostly unknown but believed to be left over ingrained behavior from the development of species survival habits. Some dogs display or default to a 'pack mentality' when eating, preferring to carry their food closer to other members of their pack (you). This is done for protection and out of habit of sharing with the other pack members. Dogs don't know that you probably do not want any of their food. Dog lineage comes directly from the wolf species, which also shares food with the pack's young, females, etc. Wolves are very social (despite their 'lone' reputation) and dog behaviors still reflect this. Other dogs take their food away from its source piece by piece for protection during eating. Common to mammal hunters is to 'take' pieces from the 'kill' to eat away from other social members who may try and steal the food portion. If your dog growls, stops eating, stares at you, bares teeth, stiffens and lowers its tail, and other aggressive/defensive behavior when you approach him/her while he/she is eating, this is probably what your dog is doing and thinking. And of course, there's the simply reason also shared by many people. Some dogs just don't want to be bothered while they eat, so they carry the food to a more (perceived) peaceful or comfortable place. In any case, this behavior can be modified if it needs to be. Regular feeding times and portions help. Teaching the dog to be restricted to a certain area while eating can be done. Reward programs work well. A vet or dog trainer can give an excellent plan for teaching a hungry dog new eating tricks.

Did your dog come from a home with a lot of other animals? The behavior you describe is actually very common in animals which have had to compete for room at the food bowl when they were young. "Grab a piece and go elsewhere" often worked better for them under the circumstances where they learned to eat solid food, and it may be a very difficult to break that habit.

because he wants to watch tv, you probably have no tv in the kitchen

My dog does the same thing sometimes. He never takes it to a tile or wood floor, he always takes it onto the carpet!

Same reason humans take one slice of pizza, out of the box, at a time. Makes it last longer.

you have a bear too? lol My yellow lab does that allot, i think it is so quarky of him and i love it.

My dog does this too. I think...maybe if you are standing there eating an animal (in the wild) you are not paying attention if someone else is coming up and you might get attacked..so take a bite at a time and come back. OR in a big pack, this lets everyone in to get a turn??

Was she ever in prison?

one of my dogs does this too. i think it's 'cause he's afraid of me standing close to it. otherwise (if im not around) i do sometimes see him eating out of his plate. maybe its the same with yours

My dog does that exact thing, he also wont eat from his food and water dish unless it under a specific table in the living room, very picky when it comes to where the food is, though not very picky to what food he eats, especially when he starts licking the floor and there's nothing there.

I don't know why some dogs do that. I think they are just meticulous. I had a little Cocker Spaniel cross named Skip who did that. He also would find some kind of cloth, like a sock, to put on top of his dry food to save it when he had enough! He never ate all of his food at once, and he never finished the bowl. He always left a little bit! You can see a picture of him here: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1261459/dealing_with_the_loss_of_your_pet.html?cat=53 His is the first picture in the article. He was about 18 in that picture. :) Suzanne

Because your dog saw my dog doing it. My dog never even HAD competition when it was young.