The Mystery of the Moving Food Bowl

A couple of weeks ago, I came home from work and was greeted by this sight when I walked in the door:

Now, let me preface this by giving you an idea of how my condo is set up. You walk in the door and are immediately facing the stairs. You can then walk straight through the living room area to the kitchen, where the dogs have their food and water bowls. The downstairs is very long and narrow. So, you see that the kitchen and the stairs are opposite one another.

Now, you might be wondering, "Why was the food bowl on the steps?" I wondered the same thing that day, and again when it happened a week later.

I continued to wonder about this bowl-moving phenomenon until today, when I witnessed something that quickly solved the mystery.

Once a week, I give my dogs wet food as a special treat. Today happened to be that day, as I was out of all other kinds. I put two separate bowls on the ground in the kitchen and went to eat my lunch on the couch. Paddington joined me while Holly began to eat. When she finished, having clearly had enough, she came to lie down in the living room. Paddington, seeing that she was done, began to creep towards the kitchen, all the while glancing over his shoulder to keep one eye on Holly. Holly had barely sat down before she was up again, racing him to the kitchen so that she could not only have her wet food, but his as well. (Can you tell which pup is the Alpha in our house?)

However, Paddington wasn't giving up that easily. Before I could tame her greediness, Paddington rushed through the living room, bowl in mouth, heading straight for the stairs. At about the third step, he lost his grip and dropped the bowl.

Mystery solved.