# HELP! My dog eats Everything in sight!



## Bella~Lugosi (Mar 8, 2008)

It's driving me crazy. My biggest "pet peeve" is dog begging and food stealing. And she does both, but lately she will eat anything and everything! Last night she took a brand new stick of butter off the kitchen counter!!!
I wanted to kill her. I don't know what else to do with her. She spends more time in "Doggie Time Out" then anywhere else
Any suggestions please!!!1


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## rvamutt (Jan 8, 2008)

Time outs really only work for attention seeking behaviors and this has nothing to do with attention. What do you feed her? How often? Where? How old is she? How long have you had her? How long has she done this?

Keep her out of the kitchen. Why even let her in if she's stealing food? If you have to tether her to you using a leash, that way she has to be right beside you at all times. Her stealing food is your fault for allowing her access to it.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

What you have is a resource control issue with priority access to those resources.

Practice NILIF religiously, and make sure your dog is getting a good amount of exercise.

By the way, claiming that you want to kill your dog, even in frustration, is not likely to win many people over on a dog lovers forum.

Good luck!


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## Inga (Jun 16, 2007)

What Curb and rvamutt said! Exercise Exercise Exercise and more Exercise and also the NILIF and management through availability. (put stuff out of reach) Good Luck. This is actually a fairly easy thing to solve.


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## Bella~Lugosi (Mar 8, 2008)

rvamutt said:


> Time outs really only work for attention seeking behaviors and this has nothing to do with attention. What do you feed her? How often? Where? How old is she? How long have you had her? How long has she done this?
> 
> Keep her out of the kitchen. Why even let her in if she's stealing food? If you have to tether her to you using a leash, that way she has to be right beside you at all times. Her stealing food is your fault for allowing her access to it.


Let me start by telling you that Bella is a (almost) 8 month old Weimaraner.
So I already do know that alot of her behavioral problems are going to come from her "Strong Will" like personality
Right now we are feeding her a Vet recommended "High Quality" all natural food. I know that this sounds awful, but I'm not sure of the name. My husband buys it. She was eating Euk. but she really didn't like that. Then I swithched her to Royal Canin, but the Vet would rather her be on what he switched her to.....And she does seem to do just fine with it.
I still feed her 3 times a day. However, it is really hard right now to figure out just how much she is eating do to the face that we got another Weim at the end of January. A 7 week old pup at the time. And before anyone says anything: Yes they get along GREAT! And no, thats not when this food nabbing started. It was before he arrived But she does get plenty of food. She is growing strong and weighs a ton.
They have their own area for everything. i.e., where they eat, sleep, etc.. 
It is close to the kitchen, but there is no other choice. My house is one of those wide open style houses. We like to have our family close and always insight!
We have had Bella since she was a baby (I picked her out from birth), and she never really started this stuff until she started obedience school, believe it or not! My husband seems to think it's because of all the reat rewards that they give. And I see it at home also. She'll give up her food until she knows that she is not going to get any more treats, no matter what she does! She's VERY intelligent. When we were house training her, she would ring the bell to go out even when she didn't have to go, and then come in and wait/beg for a treat! She's actually quit funny
As far as not letting her in the kitchen: Well thats definitely my choice, but like I said before, thats not possible. I use to crate her when I was preparing dinner if she would stay out, or when we we're eating. But I have people tell me that that was wrong also! I can't win. However.....I have had dogs all my life, and I don't buy nor do I give in to the "It's your fault if you let your dog misbehave" crap! I have been able to leave a dinner plate on the coffee table and walk away, come back and nothing been touched. My dogs always knew better. They ate out of their bowls, and that was it!!!! No if ands or buts. And I never had to be mean, violent or nasty at any cost.


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## Bella~Lugosi (Mar 8, 2008)

Curbside Prophet said:


> What you have is a resource control issue with priority access to those resources.
> 
> Practice NILIF religiously, and make sure your dog is getting a good amount of exercise.
> 
> ...


Thank You. And one thing that I left out of the above reply is: Bella gets A LOT of exercise! Are you kidding, she wont let you not exercise her She gos everywhere, does everything and has the complete run a few acres of land. She is plenty exercised.
Sorry about the "killing" comment. I realized that it wasn't a good idea after I post. However, I didn't realize that I was on such a judgmental forum
Let's be honest..... I have friends that would give their own lives for their dogs and they even at times have said the "K" word! I'm no Mike Vick.

Hey, thanks INGA!
Beautiful dog! reminds me of my Sabrina R.I.P.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Why were you told not to crate your dogs while preparing/eating dinner?

If you can't find a baby gate long enough to keep the dog out of the kitchen (which you may be able to to...they've got some awfully big ones out there nowadays), then my second choice would be to crate.


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## Bella~Lugosi (Mar 8, 2008)

FilleBelle said:


> Why were you told not to crate your dogs while preparing/eating dinner?
> 
> If you can't find a baby gate long enough to keep the dog out of the kitchen (which you may be able to to...they've got some awfully big ones out there nowadays), then my second choice would be to crate.


Yeah, I didn't see the problem with the crate either. but I was scolded for it on a forum just like this one, because i was told that the crate is suppose to be their "safe" place, etc..


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## MegaMuttMom (Sep 15, 2007)

The crate will stay a safe place if you put your dog in there with something good to chew on while you work in the kitchen. After you have cleaned up and put food out of the dog's reach, you are all set. The less opportunities the dog has to steal food the better. Once snatch of something good and the problem gets exponentially harder to fix.


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## Curbside Prophet (Apr 28, 2006)

Bella~Lugosi said:


> I didn't realize that I was on such a judgmental forum
> Let's be honest..... I have friends that would give their own lives for their dogs and they even at times have said the "K" word! I'm no Mike Vick.


We don't know you from Tom, D!ck, or Harry. We can only make judgments of the words you use, and if you don't understand why it might be a problem to say you want to kill your dog on a dog forum, I'm sorry.


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## Bella~Lugosi (Mar 8, 2008)

Curbside Prophet said:


> We don't know you from Tom, D!ck, or Harry. We can only make judgments of the words you use, and if you don't understand why it might be a problem to say you want to kill your dog on a dog forum, I'm sorry.


Don't get me wrong, I understand where your coming from, but common sense (in this case) would tell me; that any person that would join a Dog Forum to get help & info in reference to their pet, certainly isn't a dog hater!
I'm sorry if i hit a nerve, it just seems a little judgmental to me. I'm not here to pick a fight. I'm here for the same reasons everyone else is. Why would I have joined otherwise? What happened to innocent until proven quilty?


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

Bella~Lugosi said:


> It's driving me crazy. My biggest "pet peeve" is dog begging and food stealing. And she does both, but lately she will eat anything and everything! Last night she took a brand new stick of butter off the kitchen counter!!!
> I wanted to kill her. I don't know what else to do with her. She spends more time in "Doggie Time Out" then anywhere else
> Any suggestions please!!!1


Dogs are opportunists; she's simply doing what dogs will do when they haven't been trained otherwise. When dogs continue to beg and to steal food, they only do so because it works. It's your job to teach her house manners, and to train for wanted behavior. What do you do when she begs?

Since Bella has been raiding food successfully (for how long?), this behavior has been reinforced, so you will need to control access while you work on this unwanted behavior. Have you taught her "leave it?" Time out for this behavior is pretty useless. Supervision is key, and whenever you can't supervise, you need to contain her, or tether her to you. 

When Maddy was a puppy (9 wks.), I crated her, then as she got older, had her lay on her rug/bed, and never allowed her access to things she should not have, or get into. A version of NILIF was part of daily life. Any demanding behavior was ignored, then she was redirected to a wanted behavior, followed up w/positive reinforcement. "Leave it" and "drop it" was learned at a very early age, and "no" was never used, because it does not teach a dog anything. My rescue, Beau, was 16 mo. old when I took him home, and he wasn't above begging or stealing food! LOL I had to work with him, and watch him like a hawk when I set up scenerios, to prevent him from going for it. Daily 30-min. down/stays were part of the training, as was NILIF, and going to his rug/bed during (human) meals. Lots of work on self-control, which included waiting to eat his meal after his bowl had been set down on the floor, until he was given the cue to go ahead and eat. 



> Bella is a (almost) 8 month old Weimaraner.
> So I already do know that alot of her behavioral problems are going to come from her "Strong Will" like personality


Weims are great! At 8 months old, Bella is entering adolescense, that time when boundaries are tested at every opportunity, and during which they seem to "forget" everything they have been trained! LOL 



> I have had dogs all my life, and I don't buy nor do I give in to the "It's your fault if you let your dog misbehave" crap! I have been able to leave a dinner plate on the coffee table and walk away, come back and nothing been touched. My dogs always knew better. They ate out of their bowls, and that was it!!!! No if ands or buts.


Well, dogs don't learn through osmosis! LOL Rare is the dog who isn't an opportunist where food is concerned. Since dogs you've had in the past "knew better" than to touch food that was not in their bowls, how did you teach them?


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## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Bella~Lugosi said:


> I didn't realize that I was on such a judgmental forum


But now you know, right?



Bella~Lugosi said:


> I was scolded for it on a forum just like this one


There are no forums just like this one.



Bella~Lugosi said:


> Don't get me wrong, I understand where your coming from, but common sense (in this case) would tell me; that any person that would join a Dog Forum to get help & info in reference to their pet, certainly isn't a dog hater!
> I'm sorry if i hit a nerve, it just seems a little judgmental to me. I'm not here to pick a fight. I'm here for the same reasons everyone else is. Why would I have joined otherwise? What happened to innocent until proven quilty?


This is not a court of law. It is a collection of opinions. Some you will like and some you won't. People will make judgements based on what they read and express opinions accordingly. That's all anybody can do here.

And it's a very sad fact that people DO register on forums just do start a fight and some register here just to tell us how much they hate dogs. 

I didn't believe from your post that you actually planned to kill your dog. I HAVE read a certain defensiveness in every one of your posts and I think that's going to make it hard for people to respond or for you to have a good experience here until you're a bit more comfortable.


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## shewolf4 (Feb 24, 2008)

Good replies- all of them. I would crate heralso- its not what tool you use, but how you use it. Also- re-think the "treat" - a treat is what you make of it and it may be a point that she thinks she gets a treat-aka food- everytime she does something required- or not. I had dogs like that- would do anything for it and then some- heck- I have a horse like it. Thats when I wean off the food and give the treat of more praise and rubs. My treats can also be bits of their own food- nothing "special" and thats not too interesting to them either, but they still work for it and never know whats coming, but dont get over eager either, rather tend to wait until I ask for something


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