Food....first and foremost

[Mary]

I know I've posted many times on Lotties greediness but I really would like to tame her obsession with food.

She has 2 meals a day, morning and teatime.  She has her teatime one around 5pm but is hanging around the kitchen from 3.30pm :roll:

When out walking she is on the scavenge.  She will approach other dog owners and they think she's come to say hello but she's really after treats :roll:  If she finds any food, no matter what it is she will eat it and won't be distracted by a treat from me.  She will try and come for that after. :roll:

At home, wherever there is food, Lottie is there too hoping for a titbit (which we have never given her).  She knows she won't get any but she is there still.  She will jump up to see if she can reach anything on the worksurface.  She will try it on with the kids when they are eating at the table even though she gets told off consistently and always has done.  She is always lurking and if an opportunity arises she would take food out of your hand.  She has been put in her crate for doing this but it all goes straight over her head.

Does anyone have any advice whatsoever as to how I can stop this?  Is it going to have to be confining her to her crate whenever there is food around, but how would that solve things when we're out and about?

We returned from holiday recently and she was ecstatic to see us but I know for a fact that if there had been a treat on the floor she would have eaten that first before greeting us :roll:                    

[Gilly]

We returned from holiday recently and she was ecstatic to see us but I know for a fact that if there had been a treat on the floor she would have eaten that first before greeting us

     

Sorry I don't have any answers..living with a picky dog  :roll:  Roana is very greedy and looking after her for 2 weeks was a joy to me after living with a butchers pencil  :wink:   She even stole a piece of pizza of Adrian's plate  :shock:  and took a chicken nugget off Hayley's fork  :shock: It has only really been since her season that she has become like this  :? She really begs...drooling on your knee  :twisted:  whereas Butty doesn't beg at all...she watches from a distance and waits for you to offer something  :roll:  even then she's very gentle when taking anything  :wink:
I think some dogs are just naturally greedy  :?  not sure if there is an answer for it. Mags springer used to steal stuff off the worktops and even took sausages from under my grill once  :shock:
I suppose you could confine her..but if your house is anything like mine we all eat at different times...and with snacks etc this might not work  :?
Sorry I haven't got any answers  :wink:                    

[Mary]

I suppose I'm finding it so frustrating at the moment as we have had quite a bit of company with family and friends.

Take yesterday for instance when we had company and we were all in the garden eating and drinking.  Lottie was a real pain, on the look out for any scrap of food.  Nobody gave her anything as I always discourage that but she was constantly sniffing around or jumping up.  She loves the company too though and she would hate to be locked out of the way for hours at times like this.                    

[PennyB]

How about using stairgates rather than crates for now.                    

[Pammy]

Jasper does this too - never gets fed from the table or anything like that - but he just does it. Bud doesn't

I think the only you can do Mary is to remove her from where the food is :?                    

[Cathy]

Hi Mary,

As I have said times before, I EXACTLY the same problems with Jazz..
I wonder if there is any connection

Can I ask at what age you reduced her food to two meals, and was she finsihing all meals when she as younger...

I found with JAZZ  when she was on 3 a day she left a feww little bits, and would wonder off, as soon as she went down to 2, she started made.  

The other question would be is what is Lottie fed? Jazz is on Dried food ( Burns).

I don't think there is a fix to this, I just hoping she will grow out as she gets older.

Another thing, if we remove jazz or put her in her cage with a chew or her own biccy, she leaves that and screams the house down. We just leave her loose now, and totally ignore her, when she jumps at the table and we see her nose sticking over the top, we just push her down without a word.. its a nightmare.. Shes even taken to trying to jump up at me when i am sat at the table to get a step up.

I will monitor this thread with interest, and await a  miracle.                    

[Mary]

Penny...our downstairs is mostly open plan so it's not really an option :?

Pammy...nice to know I'm not alone then but it is so frustrating isn't it?  If she ever finds 'forbidden' food she would never give it back.  I would have to prize her jaws open, she holds on to it for dear life :roll:  Having said that, she is never protective of her own food.  She will happily let me remove her food whilst she's eating and just give me a forlorn look :wink:   As for treats, you have to watch your fingers whlst offering them to her :roll:

Ah well....sounds like something I'm going to have to live with :!:                    

[Allison]

Hi Mary, I know I should not laugh but your tales of Lotties greeeediness are quite funny to me, as Sally is very much the same. :roll:  She can eat and eat all day& never refuses anything apart from a few kibbles. A lot of it is our fault because we do treat her with meat from our plates once we have dined. :oops:  :oops:  We put it into her bowl but she just sits and stares(begs) drooling onto the floor.  We have just had a coffee and a blueberry muffin and she sat and waited  till she could last no longer, she then jumps up and tries to take it from you.  :oops:  The only thing thats good is the fact that she is gentle with it. Never snatches but there are not many cockers who are not hungry dogs I'm sure the majority LOVE their grub and everyone elses                    

[Mary]

Hi Cathy :wink: I can't remember when I reduced Lotties meals to 2 a day, all I can remember was that it was a struggle dropping her lunchtime feed as she was ready and waiting for it when I returned home from work :roll:

Lottie has mostly been on dried food (JWB) but I then moved her onto Naturediet as for sometime she suddenly seemed to have an upset tummy.  She still has Naturediet (which she loves) and Wafcol dried (which after Naturediet isn't quite as tasty :wink:).  She eats it all even though she almost turns her nose up at the dried food she still eats it all :roll: She has a few treats in between if I'm going out.

I don't think her diet has anything to do with her greed as she'll eat anything.  I sat with a biscuit in my hand yesterday and she was absolutely mesmerised by it

Allison, you are lucky not to have a 'snatcher'