Dog becoming food obsessed

[SilverHairedCat]

Spayed bitch, nearly 3 years old. Came to us aged 9 months very underweight and with food issues. Still funny about going to her bowl when her meals are put out for her and will hide in the house until she thinks no one is looking then eat it.

The issues are two fold - begging when humans are eating and jealousy of our cat if she thinks the cat might get something off us.

The begging we're dealing with by sending here away when food is out, but this is difficult as she goes with DH to work by day and people there sneak things to here despite repeated asks and threats signs up asking them not to. She's also taken to stealing sandwiches left in plain sight and occasional bin raiding - she had a bloody chicken carcass 2 weeks ago FFS.

The cat issue is more of a concern, as she starts to bare her teeth if the cat is mooching nearby when we're eating and she seems to think the cat might get a titbit etc.

Any suggestions?

[SilverHairedCat]

Scuse typos. Very very hungover.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

She is not becoming food obsessed she is a dog!

Best and only effective way to deal with this is control and management.

When you are eating put her in another room with a food filled kong.
This will stop her reacting to the cat, keep her busy and not wanting to be with you as you are eating.

Re bins you need to get a dog proof bin - many dogs will raid bins if they can sometimes get into in, do not leave food out on the sides. As you now the injuries caused by a cooked chicken carcass will cost you a lot of money in vet bills and can cause a lot of injury to your dog.

YOur DH needs to be more forceful with the people feeding your dog or make sure that the dog is with him and he can prevent this from happening. You can get coats that say do not feed on them that the dog can wear but really it is the owners responsibility to stop this from happening.

[Vallahalagonebutnotforgotten]

now = know

[WitcheryNights]

Food is a hard one because whenever she gets food, the behaviour is being reinforced. So for the begging, it's very important people at your DH's work do not give tit bits. Teach alternative behaviour during dinner time, so when the family are eating, your dog goes to her bed and she gets a Kong with her own food on her bed, so that is a better place to be then sitting and staring at you for food whilst you eat. If you are consistent, she should start to anticipate it's dinner time and lie in her bed waiting for her kong. Make sure food is kept out of reach so she can't self reward (same for dog proofing bin) and if in doubt, shut her in the hall whilst you're preparing sandwiches. My pet dog is notorious for raiding bins so when left, we shut him in our front room and move any bins out of the room.

As for the cat, does she only bare her teeth when you guys are eating? If you are giving a stuffed Kong, I would shut the cat out of the room briefly until you have eaten. This just prevents any further altercations although I find cats are pretty smart at leaving dogs alone.