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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Taking food from dogs

30 replies

ChickensArentEligableForGold · 20/08/2012 21:23

Inspired by another thread. Have you trained your dog so that you can take food from them? And if you have, why have you? I'm curious because I have never taken food away from my dog. Once I have given him food in his bowl, it belongs to him iyswim so I've never taken it away again. I do drop extra bits in to his bowl on occassion, so when I approach him when he's eating, he generally moves back and looks at me expectantly waiting for something tasty. I'm sure I could take his bowl away if I wanted to, although he'd probably be rather confused, but I never have. My DC are older and I've always told them to leave the dog when he's eating (or asleep) so it's never been an issue. Just being nosey :)

OP posts:
Lizcat · 20/08/2012 21:39

Yes I have so that if he starts to eat something poisonous or dangerous I can get it of him. Very straightforward leave it command used even with amazing bits of liver. Can be a life saving command.

Original poster
ChickensArentEligableForGold · 20/08/2012 21:42

Ahhhh. Got you. Yes, I can use 'leave it' with Jas, but not sure how he'd react if I said it when he was eating from his bowl iyswim.

OP posts:
Cuebill · 20/08/2012 21:43

Nope I do the exact opposite and add food to their bowl when they are eating. This teaches the dogs that human hands bring good things and are not a threat.

I do have a leave it command but would never teach that with the dogs food in a bowl but rather with high quality treats.

ReallyQuiteScared · 20/08/2012 21:46

not trained it per se
but my dog will just let me touch her, take her bowl, take food out of it, whatever

I don't do it I just have happened to have to move her bowl so she is out of the way sometimes or take something out that the kids shouldn't have put in etc etc

HarlettOScara · 20/08/2012 21:46

Same as Lizcat. One of my dogs is a complete trash-hound and will Hoover up all sorts of crap off pavements etc. I need to be able to get the KFC bones anything potentially dangerous off him.

Original poster
ChickensArentEligableForGold · 20/08/2012 21:47

Yes, we do 'leave it' with sausage or gravy bones. I just always thought that you didn't interfere with an eating or sleeping dog. Or rather, I was always told that growing up.

OP posts:
CakeMeIAmYours · 20/08/2012 21:49

Yes, we work on the principle that everything in the house belongs to DH and myself; DDog is allowed to have/eat/play with them but only when we allow him to do so.

In practice, we don't tend to take things from him, but I know if we did tell him to 'leave it' or on some occasions to prise open his mouth and take things from him, then he would let us without a fuss.

We trained this into him as a puppy by taking things from him and replacing them with something of higher value. So for example with his food bowl, we would take it from him while he was eating and then return it to him with something really, really good in it.

Likewise with toys, we would take an ok toy from him and then give him one of the uber special, mummy/daddy only toys instead.

IMO, dogs should never guard anything, its worrying behaviour and should be addressed as a matter of urgency.

LtEveDallas · 20/08/2012 21:51

I do, and trained muttDog for the same reason as Lizcat did. I lost a dog to an accidental poisoning, and wouldnt want to go through that again Sad. We've also trained MuttDog to 'wait' for her food - she cannot take it until we say "have it"

I also didn't want hr to become food protective. Too many idiots out there that don't train their kids (!) I didn't want Mutt to be come a statistic of a braying mob who think its I'm for their children to behave however they want arou d a dog (sorry, family issue)

catsrus · 20/08/2012 21:52

When my dcs were little (and Pre-dcs when I was TTC) I was very conscientious about making sure dogs would allow anyone to take food away. We 'borrowed' neighbourhood children and literally had them taking food away from the dogs as puppies, making them wait etc. our first 4 dogs would let anyone, including crawling babies and cats, take food from their bowls actually there was one who drew the line at the cats

When the dcs were older and i could train them I did that instead Grin

It did require work, but it was our vet at the time who suggested we do it and I'm really pleased I did as sometimes a baby did find its way into the dog food bowl

CakeMeIAmYours · 20/08/2012 21:53

I agree that sleeping dogs shouldn't be disturbed, but equally, they should be well enough socialised that they won't nip or similar if they are disturbed.

I was also taught never to interfere with an eating/sleeping dog, but 'in those days' less importance was placed on socialisation and training that it is now.

Original poster
ChickensArentEligableForGold · 20/08/2012 21:53

I don't think Jas would react if I took his bowl away, but I haven't trained him iyswim. He's just never had to guard food because he's always been fed and no one else tries to take it. Perhaps it would be different if I had small children

OP posts:
Cuebill · 20/08/2012 21:53

A dog is not born food protective! A dog will become food protective if you keep removing their food.

iseenodust · 20/08/2012 21:57

Puppy (12!) is also trained to sit and wait for his food until we say take it. I can and have taken all manner of things out of his mouth. He won't give up a toy in his mouth to anyone else though. But if they picked up his toy from the ground he would wait until they gave it to him.

catsrus · 20/08/2012 21:58

This has actually made me think I should do this again, even though I don't have young dcs now - one of our dogs will leave on command, the one I've had from a pup, but the rescue is totally food focussed, not a guarder but a food inhaler - it would be hard to get anything dodgy from him in an emergency Blush

RedwingS · 20/08/2012 21:59

I have a 'leave it' command so that he doesn't eat any random thing he finds by the wayside, and a 'drop it' command so that when he disappears into a bush and emerges with some dead thing in his mouth, we have a chance to stop him eating it. It's important because if there is a dead rat or something, I don't know if it died of natural causes or was poisoned. It has worked with a dead woodpecker, a bird's nest and live chick, a live mouse, a dead mole, assorted dead rats, but not with a big fat dead squirrel, so some proofing is still required. (He eventually dropped the squirrel of his own accord).

RedwingS · 20/08/2012 22:06

Have I just made my dog sound horrible? All the things that went in live came out live too - he was gentle with them.

Ephiny · 20/08/2012 22:07

One of mine, I can take food away if I need to. If he has hold of something he shouldn't have, I can tell him to drop it, or if I really have to I can safely prise something out of his jaws with my fingers. He does not ever bite or snap, which is as it should be.

However my old boy is a rescue from an abusive home where he was starved - he has bitten me once when I took a bone off him (I took it because it was making his gums bleed, he was in pretty bad condition when he came to us). He has become calmer around food since, not really through training but just through learning that he will be fed and doesn't need to guard. I've also taught him the 'drop' command which is useful at times! I would be wary of letting small children near him and food though, just in case.

LookBehindYou · 20/08/2012 22:15

Yes I did with my rottie. I also added food. So he knows that I am God of all things foodie.

Original poster
ChickensArentEligableForGold · 20/08/2012 22:19

I think because we've never taken food away, Jasper just assumes I'll bring it. Like a kibble Santa. Who sometimes also brings chicken.

OP posts:
LookBehindYou · 20/08/2012 22:23

No, Redwings he doesn't sound horrible. Dogs are generally quite revolting.

midori1999 · 20/08/2012 22:56

I've trained my dogs to know that if someone goes near their food bowl it means something good (eg, adding more food, adding a nice treat) is going to happen. I have also trained them to know that if I 'take' something from them, including food, I am swapping it for something better.

I've done it because sometimes I do want/need to take food or things from them. (for example, one has to be seperated when they have bones etc so I give them for a period of time, then remove) Also, because I do have DC and even though I am very strict about the whole DC/dogs thing, I want to cover all eventualities.

RedwingS · 20/08/2012 23:16

Thank you, LookBehindYou. He is definitely revolting, he just threw up on the living room carpet.

midori1999 · 20/08/2012 23:19

Is he eating it too? Grin (one of the bonuses to having several dogs, one of them is bpund to eat any vomit!)

RedwingS · 20/08/2012 23:30

Haha. Sometimes he does, but this time he left it for me to clean...

tooearlytobeup · 20/08/2012 23:38

Yes we have trained our dog so we can do this. He is happy for us to take anything from his mouth. He's a spaniel and will eat anything he can get hold of, so I need to take anything dangerous from him. My kids are well trained not to touch his food, but we have so many other children visiting the house I cant be absolutely certain he will never be disturbed. He is so unprotective of food that he takes his bones and kongs onto the childrens laps to chew Grin

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