Dog only eats human food

[Heidi3333]

Please help!

My family (I'm living with them temporarily) has a lovely wee Jack Russell bitch, she's 7 years old. She's a lovely dog in lots of way but one thing she does drives me INSANE. She hardly ever eats dog food and instead follows me about all day long looking for human food. This is from the moment I get up until I go to bed. She follows me everywhere looking up at me. As soon as she hears the fridge door opening she raced through to the kitchen. There can be dog food/biscuits/snacks in her bowl and she will ignore them and instead hold out for scraps of human food. The only time she will eat her own food is if she's starving.

We occasionally give her scraps of cold meat, sausages etc so I know we aren't helping but sometimes I do it out of irritation to get some peace. She's always been this way but recently it's got to the point that she barely eats dog food at all.

Being followed about all day in this way drives me insane!! It seems to be more than anyone else in the family.

How can I stop this behaviour?

Thanks

I think you have already failed tbh as you’ve given her human treats. So the cycle of be annoying till you get what you want will repeat itself.

Give her human food
Dogs don't have to eat dog food.
They can eat chicken, pork, eggs, turkey, fish, certain fruits and veg etc.

They don't have to have gloop in a can. You just have to ensure that what you feed them is safe and appropriate.

My great Aunt used to have a dog that would only eat beefburgers! Of course that's not accurate, the dog just knew to hold out for the beefburgers and my lovely soft Aunty couldn't deny her

Unfortunately it's not your dog so all you can do is ignore it's begging. You need a full family agreement to stop giving snacks and let it go hungry for a few days until it gives in and eats it's dog food. What food is it on? If it's biscuit food then you can try softening it with hot water and putting some fish oil on it. Or mix some cottage cheese in with the biscuits. That's what I did with my fussy eater. Funnily enough, since we got another dog she's eating a lot better as the other dog is a greedy guts and will steal her food if she doesn't eat it up.

I agree with @Woeismethischristmas. This is now learnt behaviour and she won't stop it unless you all do.

Why dont you just put the sausages /meat /pasta /rice in her bowl ? And all make a pact no scraps to be given . With a dog if they are fed scraps from the fridge /peoples plates they will always - try it's a lottery to them . They will take the chance on 1 time out of ten being given food .

My dog only has food that is also fit for human consumption. Raw chicken wings, raw minced beef, cooked chicken meat , liver, kidneys, tinned sardines or mackerel. All as cheap as pet food but much better for him.

No ham as its too salty, and sausages less frequently.

He has a bowl of a good quality complete dry food next to his water bowl which he grazes on.

To be honest, if I was a dog, I'd prefer meats and sausages and cheese to dry biscuits, etc. if I knew the difference :D

Do you know what brand of food she's on? It's possible that it's just not appetising to her?

I would suggest either feeding her "human" food, cooked and prepared for her.

Or switching to raw (gradually).

Or considering a higher-quality, complete wet food (no kibble). Someone here can probably make a recommendation on that. I feed my dog raw, so I don't know about tinned dog foods, but you basically want something high in meat/protein with no carb fillers (rice and so on).

I know you say she's your family's dog, not yours? So I guess you might not have much of a say in what she eats. If they won't change the food she's on, all you can do is refuse to give her any titbits, and she'll pester you less.

There are many recipes online for healthy, complete nutrition dog food using human food ingredients. Could you try some of those?

They make sure your pup gets good nutrition. But it is still human food not slop in a can.

Try this one maybe?
damndelicious.net/2015/04/27/diy-homemade-dog-food/

There are a couple of other recipes on this site. The owner has two gorgeous corgis.

Two issues.
Food. Are they feeding decent quality stuff the dog should enjoy?
Behaviour. We eat at the table. The dogs don’t come into the dining room. They aren’t ever given our food.

My dog has always held out for human food then eats his late at night when he's really hungry

You need to stop giving her human food. This will never solve itself if you keep giving into her and giving her what she wants.

My beagle is exactly the same with husband because he keeps feeding him from the table. We can sit and eat a meal together and I'm left alone whereas DH is pestered constantly, lol.

So, stop feeding her scraps. No scraps, no snacks, no tidbits from the fridge - nothing. She gets her meals and that's that. She'll learn eventually.

In the long run, human food is fine but it needs to be on your terms, not hers. So some additions to her meals maybe, but it should always be in her bowl so she only associates it with mealtimes.

Stop giving human food. FULL STOP!

Our lab is fussy and can go on hunger strike. DH is softer than me but I am as hard as nails! No human food, dont leave the dog food down. If they wont eat then it waits until the next meal time before food comes out.

But all the family need to agree to this. And ignore the puppy eyes. They are born to look cute.

AND NEVER NEVER FEED FROM THE TABLE - EVER.....

Feed it raw. Many do. I'm sure a much more exciting diet than kibble!

The dog knows you have food it likes and are weak!

The only way to break the habit is to be in a different room when eating so the dog soon learns there’s no point in following you as you never give it anything! It will eat its dog food if it has no alternative.

Stop feeding it anything other than dog food from its bowl. You already know the answer.

We feed our dogs half and half it's no real hardship.

A little bowl with a sprinkle of kibble then some raw carrot cucumber or apple and some chopped chicken, tuna a bit of beef or just crack an egg on top...

I wonder if that could be a good halfway house?

The jack russell hasnt got a problem,but you have.Stop giving your dog human food and your dog will stop pestering you.it will take a little patience,but be assured,if you are consequent,you will have a dog that eats dog food.

Try making the dog food interesting, like putting kibble in a Kong.

She is a human dog

Thanks for the replies.
What's kibble??
I know I m weak and I know I'm to blame. I just need to toughen up and refuse to give her anything human. I've managed all day today and will try to keep it up!

Could you eat dog food to even things up?

Kibble is dry dog food.

Presumably you are home all day. My 2 follow me into the toilet as well (before DH had to stop work I never bothered to close the door) mine are exactly the same. I don't eat meat, but they still lust after anything on my plate,cheese, especially or bread.as it's not your house or dog, not much you can do unless everyone is on board

I'd also separate the attachment from the food conversation.

It's quite normal for a dog to 'shadow' their main caregiver or a particular member of the family –it's part of doggy behaviour and isn't necessarily connected to the food issue.

Definitely stop reinforcing the food dynamic, but if her shadowing you is the main irritation, you need to work on that separately.