# At the end of my tether



## sugar (Aug 15, 2012)

Hi all 

Apologies in advance for the long post / rant but I really don't know what to do about Poppy and her scavenging. She has always been a really fussy eater and we have struggled from the off to get her to eat the kibble the breeder gave to us. 

To cut a long story short, after trying different foods which she ate then got bored of or wouldn't eat at all I did some tough love and held out until she eventually stared to eat Barking Heads puppy food because she was starving.

I can tell she doesn't like it and really just seems to eat it when she is absolutely ravenous, sometimes she will go all day without eating. The real problem is that she is constantly following me around tripping me up, wanting food and whining so I know she is very hungry and I feel bad about it as she obviously cant be happy. 

The whining is bad but worst of all she tries to steal food from mine and other peoples kids. She knocked my friends toddler over yesterday to and stole her rusk so she had success but really frightened the little girl! She jumps up, whines and stares at us if we are eating meals and just begs and whines all the time. 

My husband (who didn't really want a dog anyway) is getting annoyed with me about it saying I shouldn't give her treats when she goes outside to do her business because I'm encouraging her to eat human food. Is this correct? Im worried if I don't she will start going inside again. 

I feel terrible saying this but I just dont like her at the moment, I feel she just wants me for food. Im working at home today and she is just whining,scratching, trying to get at the bin and hunting around for food - its driving me crazy. She has turned her nose up at her food again today. My kids are also fed up of her stealing and whining at them for food and lock themselves in the other room when whey have a biscuit or snack so they dont want her around which is really sad. 

I realise she must be hungry which is terrible but if I give in again (ive done this before and have given her some human food) I fear I am encouraging her like my husband says. I cant do any training wither her because I don't want to give her treats. I meet some friends at a cafe one a week and one of them has a dog who sits nicely but if I bring poppy she just pulls and tries to get to peoples food and has knocked a plate over before and stolen food from it (very embarrassing) . Im dreading summer time because I won't be able to let her off the lead because she will steal picnics. 

Please can someone advise. Do I carry on ignoring her? try another food? put her on raw food (which I really cant afford) crate her when we are eating? punish her when she steals food? Im really at a loss. 

She is a lovely affectionate dog but this eating thing has been a nightmare from the beginning and I know its awful but today listening to her whine and scratch and beg and scavenge I wish I didn't have her at all :-(


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## Chumphreys (Oct 1, 2011)

Are you using dog treats for treats or human food? I boil up liver for Malie,cut it into small finger nail size pieces,and bake them in the oven on a low temp for 2 hours.You can them freeze them and feed them frozen.That way although she may be eating what is classed as human food,you have made it just for her.Offer it to hubby and see if he would like to eat it ) Mine runs a mile as soon as i start to boil it ) Have you tried feeding her raw food.Malie came to us on raw and we have carried on.I use a company called Berriewoods who deliver to our door.We spend about £30 and it lasts for nearly 3 months.I also give her chicken wings,legs etc to eat in the garden for one meal.We have 3 children and i am also a childminder.Malie has never snatched food from them.Yes if one of us is eating say a biscuit(Sorry salad),then Malie will be at our feet.The kids always ask if they can give Malie a bit of what they have.If I know it is safe for her then i give the go ahead and they make Malie sit and give her the tiniest bit.She then happily trots off and ignores them.I think when it's made a big deal of then the food becomes something really interesting and the dog turns it into a game.Malie hates kibble but will do anything for fish 4 dogs star treats.Malie also loves any raw food with tripe.
XClare


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## Chumphreys (Oct 1, 2011)

Just to say I have found raw feeding cheaper than barking heads.I buy tesco's basic liver which costs about 50p and makes loads of treats.I also buy tesco's basic chicken wings which again don't cost much and last for ages.
XClare


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## benson (Apr 18, 2012)

Chumphreys said:


> Just to say I have found raw feeding cheaper than barking heads.I buy tesco's basic liver which costs about 50p and makes loads of treats.I also buy tesco's basic chicken wings which again don't cost much and last for ages.
> XClare


Found the above ineresting, Benson has never had chicken wings do you just give them as they are or do you have to do something with them first, I grew up with the idea you never gave a dog chicken bones, and although I realise now it of course meant cooked bones I have never been able to bring myself to give him a bone, had one with the introduction pack of NI still in freezer!! How long do you boil the liver for before baking it, will give that a try. As for Poppy, I am afraid I shut Benson on other side of stair gate when we are eating, as he keeps trying to steal ours will do so till he stops doing it!! Poppy is not alone!!


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## wellerfeller (Jul 12, 2011)

Hi sorry you are having a tough time. My poo is a scavenger too, he will eat tissues, sticks, poo all various kinds, clumps of cut grass, it is a long list. He has got better but still lives to eat something he shouldn't and funnily has learnt to never steal from the kids or anyone really.
You have to be ultra consistent and try to make sure she never gets the opportunity to steal from people as she only has to get her prize once or twice and she knows how to get what she wants. I would also make sure she doesn't get human food until she is established in eating dog food. Then you can add tasty left overs to her bowl or treats if you wish but never ever at your meal times, or from your plates. To be honest I don't think changing her food will have a great effect as she just sounds like she will do the same thing but perhaps trying a wet diet will help, Applaws do a nice one.
I would also take her to the vet, get her weight checked see if they are happy with her condition, if they are then stick to your guns, dog food only and I promise you she will eat enough to keep her going. If the vet is concerned about her weight then ask if they can recommend a higher calorie food, which will give her what she needs even if she only eats a small amount instead of what you feel she should be eating.
You could also try feeding from a treat ball or kong rather than a bowl as she may well just like the feeling of hunting out and working for her food rather than it being plonked in a bowl in front of her.


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## Chumphreys (Oct 1, 2011)

benson said:


> Found the above ineresting, Benson has never had chicken wings do you just give them as they are or do you have to do something with them first, I grew up with the idea you never gave a dog chicken bones, and although I realise now it of course meant cooked bones I have never been able to bring myself to give him a bone, had one with the introduction pack of NI still in freezer!! How long do you boil the liver for before baking it, will give that a try. As for Poppy, I am afraid I shut Benson on other side of stair gate when we are eating, as he keeps trying to steal ours will do so till he stops doing it!! Poppy is not alone!!


Hi i give Malie the chicken straight from the freezer.She trots of outside and spends ages chewing it.The liver i boil for 5-10 mins.It stinks though (
xClare


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## DB1 (Jan 20, 2012)

you can also try just using her usual kibble as treats when training - its funny how fed to them one bit at a time they often seem more interested by it. My dog is 9 months now and he would still snatch any food out of a child's hand given the chance.


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Is she up to date with her worming? Just a thought! It seems a bit strange for her to be so hungry all the time! Hope you get to the bottom off it, I can imagine how frustrating it is! 


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## JasperBlack (Sep 1, 2012)

Would she like her food stuffed in a kong to make it more of a challenge. You could mix kibble with rice and sweet potato and stuff it in a kong. Jasper likes that, I mixed some peanut butter in with it! It smelt yummy x


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## Skyesdog (Jun 7, 2012)

I have a treat ball that you put kibble into and then they roll it around the floor with their nose and the kibble slowly falls out the hole (hole size is adjustable). If Lola is off her food she will generally eat it from the ball!


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## MillieDog (Jun 1, 2011)

Do you have to feed her kibble, she obviously is not a fan of the stuff. Have you considered wet or raw feeding ie NI.

My Millie didn't like kibble and I went through about 4 or 5 different ones - she's like them for a few meals and then just not interested. She too would starve herself rather than eat. I then looked into raw feeding and it make a whole heap of sense to me. Then phoned up Natural Instinct to have a chat, they were so helpful.

Millie couldn't believe her luck and happily tucked into her NI food. She does however have off days and sometimes walks away from her food, she's not a fan of plain chicken or turkey, but loves tripe based NI. She also has a bowl of Barking Heads kibble always available - if she's peckish or fancies a different texture she dips into it, but her first choice is NI. 

At least I know she's not starving. Once you know she's no longer hungry you can work on the poaching of other food etc. 

Make it easy for yourself, think differently to kibble if she's showing she really doesn't enjoy it. Cockapoo's are clever dogs and not just gannets who hoover up any old food - there's different breeds of dogs for that


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## Cat 53 (Aug 26, 2012)

You could also try giving her pumpkin....it's great for digestive issues. Max hated kibble and it gave him the runs. He liked wet dog food but it was becoming expensive so have switched him to raw and it's great. Easy enough to do and much cheaper than wet dog food. I can get 18days food for max for about £8.00. I think once he has stopped growing that will work out even cheaper. I got the raw mince ready frozen from a store that does riding gear and other animal feeds, chickens, rabbits that sort of thing. Brought 6 x 400g packets for £5 all different. Chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, rabbit, venison and tripe. Last of the lamb today. They also sell bigger packs which are probably cheaper still, but you would have to weigh those out. It might be worth checking around and investigating a little bit. Especially as you are all so unhappy. Good luck. Just a thought.....does she have other things to gnaw on? Antler bars, pork skin chews that sort of thing?


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## tessybear (May 1, 2011)

Neither of mine liked the breeders kibble after a few days and I soon discovered they didn't like kibble at all. Mine would rather starve than eat food they don't like, believe me I have tried tough love over food, they ate my best fur cushions instead in protest! 

Cockapoos are notoriously fussy eaters. You will find something Poppy loves, its just trial and error. Try a raw chicken wing (mine ate them from very young) and also try wet food. A lot of them prefer it. Poppy is obviously very hungry and it is affecting her behaviour. I buy Natural Instinct for mine But they will also wolf down nature diet which you can buy from most places. I think most cockapoos love it.


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## RuthMill (Jun 30, 2012)

Found some info online that I came across when looking up some doggy stuff... Excerpt below. Hope you find something useful.

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There are many reasons why your dog may be stealing food and other household items. Take a look through this list to determine your dog's specific trigger or reason for the counter surfing behavior:
Stealing food and other items is a self rewarding behavior. What this means is that when your dog steals something the consequence is that something pleasurable/desirable occurs. This could be something like getting to eat the food he/she has stolen or receiving attention from you. This is a bad situation for us dog owners because the thieving behavior is being rewarded and therefore reinforced each time your dog steals something. This means that the behavior is highly likely to continue and will most probably get worse in the future.
Some dogs steal items of food simply because they don't know any better - they have never been properly taught that it is inappropriate behavior.

Keep food and other items out of reach - prevention is always the best option in dog training. This involves things like clearing all bench tops and locking garbage bins. By doing this you are removing the thing that is motivating and then reinforcing your dog's stealing habit.
Supervision is the key to correcting a thieving dog. When you are present you can provide your dog with instant feedback regarding his behavior. This includes both positive and negative feedback.
Only ever feed your dog from his dinner bowl or as a reward during obedience training sessions. This means never throwing scraps to your dog from your dinner plate or when you are preparing your dinner. In fact it is a good idea to give your dog a stuffed kong toy when you are preparing your dinner.
Provide your dog with loads of physical and mental stimulation throughout the day. Nice long walks on the leash, fun games like hide and seek and some obedience training are all great for this purpose.
Never chase, yell, hit or give attention to your dog when he steals an item - this is the response he wants from you!
Always reward desirable behavior. If your dog is sitting calmly on his bed while you are preparing your dinner praise and reward him with a tasty treat. This is really an obedience training exercise so it's ok to give your dog a reward in this situation. When a dog is rewarded that behavior is reinforced and is likely to continue in the future (which is what you desire in this example).

Obedience training is the key to preventing and solving most behavior problems - including counter surfing and other thieving behavior. Some basic obedience training will also build respect and strengthen the bond you and your dog share. Try this dog obedience training command to help stop the stealing in its tracks - leave it!.
Set up a "booby trap" for your dog. This method is designed so that your dog learns to associate stealing with an unpleasant consequence (not cruel or painful). This method works best for dogs who steal from one place in particular - such as your coffee table. You can achieve this unpleasant consequence through the following strategies:
Place some tasty meat on the kitchen bench. Tie some cord to the meat and at the other end tie some empty tin cans with some pebbles or coins in them. When your dog counter surfs to grab the meat he will get a nasty surprise when the tin cans come crashing down. Ideally you will be there to witness this happen. You should immediately say "ah ah!!" and snatch the meat away before your dog eats it (most dogs drop the meat when the cans come crashing down).
You can also buy some foul tasting substances at your local pet store for this purpose. Put some of this liquid on the "bait" and wait for your dog to try to steal it. The idea is that the food from benchtops will become unappealing to your dog and therefore he will discontinue his thieving as there is nothing in it for him.
Another method I have used with success with my cheeky whippet "Pocky" involves a water pistol. This method requires you to spy on your dog and then provide an unpleasant consequence to any thieving behavior - the instant it happens. If you spot your dog counter surfing the bench give her a shot of water to the face and a stern "No!". Once again this will stun your dog (not hurt her). The idea is to jump out from around the corner and surprise your dog just as she is in the act of counter surfing - but before she actually eats the food.
Ask for an alternate behavior from your dog in situations where he may be tempted to steal. Use a command such as this - go to your spot to occupy your dog's mind and behavior. Make this spot the most special and appealing place in the whole house. If you get this one right your dog will spend a lot of time in this spot!

Reference: Dog Training Central


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