dog just ate the supper

[honeyapple]

all of it

big pan of bolognese sauce...

so I shouted at her and now she is looking very sheepish in her bed.

what should i do?

she is a rescue staffie, had her for 2 weeks and has settled in really well...

is this common dog behaviour?

was it my fault for leaving it unguarded?

was she hungry?

what will I have for supper now?

thanks

Takeout for tea.

At least you'll be telling the truth when you tell the family that the dinner is in the dog.

Where on earth was it?

Also, the rescue dog that I had would eat everything that wasn't nailed down. He was a big dog so all foodstuffs had to be stored in either a cupboard (only if we could be sure he couldn't open the door), the fridge, or on a very high shelf hmm We never did manage to train him out of stealing food on account of him having been a stray as a pup and very emaciated when he was rescued.

body- it was in a pan on top of the hob. I have a big range cooker thing and it was right at the back.

scrumpet- she was also very thin when she was abandoned with puppies. She gets fed 3 times a day, trying to get her to put on weight...

Yep.

Yep.

Who knows? Being opportunistic scavengers, dogs don't necessarily have to be hungry to want to eat (which is why so many end up obese, with their owners going "But he's so HUNGRY and I can't bear to deny him...") - they fill up when they can, just in case food proves to be tricky to find later.

Ah, what a nuisance but dogs (and cats) do this.
I remember my cat snatching a cod fillet off my plate once -quick as a flash.

My dog once ate the supper before it was cooked

Dd1 left the fridge open and he manage to stand up on his back legs and nick the meatballs

Also a rescue dog.

i guess i will have to be more vigilant about leaving food about. She had my toast the other morning, but that was on the kitchen table. Still a bit that she got right up to the top of the cooker.

Sorry, but @ 'what should I do?'. Order a takeaway...

It's normal behaviour until they learn otherwise. You'll need to make extra sure she can't get anything from the worktops in future and eventually she will stop trying.

If it makes you feel any better, our older dogs have stolen things in the past I would never have expected (whole tubs of margerine!) and one stole the last egg when my son was getting his school cooking ingredients sorted out once, but they are totally reliable these days and I could leave my Sunday joint in the middle of the floor and tell them to leave it and they would, even if I left the room.

Youngest dog (still a pup really) did steal a whole piece of cheese the other day when my back was turned though, entirely my own fault for being complacent.

My border collie - not a rescue - is an opportunistic eater. In his time he has snaffled countless blocks of butter left out to soften, a joint of beef and accompanying yorkshires and assorted pies, muffins, oatcakes etc which have been left unguarded. I think the only thing that stops him from grabbing dinner from the stove is his fear of "the dog who lives inside the cooker"

Yes, we have expert thieves here. We were on a steep learning curve to begin with as I hadn't realised just how far a big male greyhound can stretch when he's after butter. Our kitchen now looks incredibly tidy as we've learned the hard way NOT to leave food unattended (with the exception of fruit or salad veggies - he doesn't bother with healthy eating.

In all seriousness though, please do be aware that some human food can be poisonous to dogs. In particular, avoid them getting hold of chocolate or anything with grapes or raisins, sultanas. If young children around, they also need to be reminded. The other thing to be very careful of to avoid choking or splinters is cooked bones, especially poultry.

Heh - I had a "moment" on Xmas day... I'd left the Turkey in the lean-to, on top of the washing machine, in the plastic wash basket, to come up to room temperature before I cooked it. A little later on, I forgot about the Turkey and put the dogs outside.

I then went off to pick up an elderly friend who was joining us for dinner.

Halfway back home, I remembered the Turkey....

You know that sinking feeling when you just KNOW that a disaster has occurred and it's your fault? I had that.

By some miracle, they hadn't touched it. They must have known it was there, but luckily the fact that it was slightly inaccessable obviously put them off; although if they'd been determined enough they could have managed it.

You know that swooning feeling you get when you're Very Very Relieved about something? I had that.