I've got a 3.5 year old shepard, Raina, and a 2.5 year old daughter, Eden. More frequently than not Eden, will leave food on her table which is nose high to Raina. If she leaves it for more than a few minutes Raina will almost certainly eat Eden's food. Is it asking too much of Raina to leave Eden's food alone after Eden has abandoned it or should I put out the time to train her not to eat Eden's food under any circumstance?
I've got 3 & 6 yr old kids, along with 2 and 3 yr old dogs.
If my kids are eating, the dogs are in their 'place' laying down, expected not to get up. In that case, they can't get the kids food. If I don't put the dogs in a down stay, my Dutch Shepherd will certainly scavenge anything he can, including taking food straight out of my 3 yr olds hand.
We solve the problem by not letting the dogs have free run of the house while the kids have food.
ETA: Oh, and WELCOME Corey!!!
I think it's too much to ask of a dog to leave food that is unattended. At least my dog. I've got plenty of things to train on my list before I get to that behavior. Just my priorities though.
Edited by Kelly Byrd (06/07/2011 11:32 PM)
Edit reason: eta
Thanks for your comments Kelly. I should add that Eden is likely to share her food with Raina, which makes it hard to tell Raina no, if Eden's stuffing the dogs mouth. If I were to put Raina in a down (we don't use stay) she would hold the command for a reasonable amount of time and not touch the food. I could even put her in a down, place the food under her nose and tell her to "leave it" and she wouldn't eat the food. If she's not holding a command and I tell her to leave the food she'd walk away. It's when Raina is wondering the house freely, I'm not there to oversee her behavior and the kid leaves the food unattended that I'm thinking it is unreasonable to ask Raina to leave the food alone.
It's when Raina is wondering the house freely and the kid leaves the food unattended that I'm thinking is unreasonable to ask Raina to leave alone.
That is what I don't allow anymore, for the exact reasons you've stated. My daughter will happily feed the dog all kinds of stuff. Koenig no longer gets to wander while kids eat.
My last dog would leave unattended food alone for very extended periods of time, with no command. This behavior was never really 'trained' though- he just seemed to know that if I left my plate on the floor, and then left the room, it was not an invitation. Still belonged to me. It'd take A LOT of work to get my Dutch boy that that point. I think it is an unreasonable hope for some dogs. Just depends.
If Raina holds a down well, then why not put her in a down with your daughter is eating? Once you get it all picked up, release the dog. (BEFORE she has a chance to break the down on her own! Don't push the length of her down beyond what you know she can handle)
Lynne Barrows Webboard User Reg: 09-22-2007
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Quote: Kelly Byrd
That is what I don't allow anymore, for the exact reasons you've stated. My daughter will happily feed the dog all kinds of stuff. Koenig no longer gets to wander while kids eat.
If Raina holds a down well, then why not put her in a down with your daughter is eating? Once you get it all picked up, release the dog. (BEFORE she has a chance to break the down on her own! Don't push the length of her down beyond what you know she can handle)
And/or consider crating the dog while your daughter is eating. I think it's unrealistic to expect that she won't be opportunistic especially if your toddler is feeding her stuff on the sly.
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Just my priorities though. 
My daughter will happily feed the dog all kinds of stuff. Koenig no longer gets to wander while kids eat. 
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