We have had our 7 year old dog for around six years now she's a rescue street dog from Cyprus and she has always shown scavenger like behaviour with food. Shes a mixed breed - mostly hunting dogs like Viszla, Beagle and Spaniel. She was generally well behaved, with the odd exception, until recently when she started to show extreme behaviour around food.
In the last year she has been obsessive about food including constantly jumping at the sides, stealing food, opening cupboards to get food, eating/ripping up anything with any kind of human traces on it (underwear, snotty tissues, tampons, pads, its disgusting) she has figured out how to open all of our bins, including a Tommee Tippee nappy bin (how did she open this?!?!) and pulls out dirty nappies and tears them up. Some days I come downstairs and shes managed to get up onto our seating area and pull things off the kitchen table. She is really good with our children and other kids, in that she is very gentle, tolerant and has never shown any aggression BUT she does snatch food out of their hands if they arent looking.
Behaviour wise - we have done lots of training with her since she was a puppy, we take ownership of a dog very seriously and she has never displayed any aggression towards people - she can be a little territorial of other dogs if they come near our kids or if she is eating/has food. As a result we dont take her to places we know will trigger her, like pub, cafes etc, as she would get territorial and bark at other dogs if they came in. Out on walks she is fine and plays with other dogs, her recall has always been solid. She is generally quite nervous of new people and wouldnt approach anyone she doesnt know.
However - today I was out with my son, who is only two months old, and her and suddenly I saw her walk straight up to a childs picnic and takes food from them - literally out of their hands. I was quite far from her and thankfully someone watched the buggy so I could run around like a lunatic, apologising and trying to get her back. I couldnt believe how bold she was, I was sobbing by the end. It was also scary as I had to leave my son to deal with her, I managed to get her back but I was mortified. When I say she has NEVER done this before - I mean it! She is normally far too shy to approach anyone she doesnt know.
We have had her checked by the vets (worming, all the usual stuff done) and they suggested she may have Cushings disease - which is an overactive adrenal gland that produces a high cortisol level causing excessive hunger and thirst. Long story short they weren't able to officially diagnose her because of many blood tests gone wrong, but they started her on medication a month ago. I havent seen any improvement in behaviour at all.
I cant believe I am thinking of rehoming her and I dont even think my husband would let us do it - but I dont enjoy any aspect of having her at the moment. As I am on mat leave and my husband travelling a lot for work, she generally falls to me to look after, and I am at my wits end with her. I am also tired from having a newborn and I know I should probably give it more time and training, but her behaviour isnt just embarrassing its also dangerous. For instance if she scents food on the street (e.g. someones thrown some food next to a bin) she yanks so hard on the lead she almost made our buggy tip the other day pulling under it. She also knocked the babies bassinet trying to get at a tiny crumb of food underneath it, he was fine but it shook him. I also feel like she may need a home that can give her that time and attention, as although she gets a daily long walk and some attention here, she probably needs more.
I dont know what to do - I feel like I either need a break from her (short term foster?!) or she needs to be rehomed somewhere that can deal with her issues.
TLDR; we have a 5 yr old and two month old. Our dogs behaviour has become unmanageable in that she is constantly stealing or seeking out food. This may be down to an illness but its hard to tell and the behaviour is overwhelming. I want to rehome her but unsure if its a knee jerk reaction.