Taking food off a pup - good or bad

[Roxibear]

I was always taught to take food away from a pup at an early age to get them used to it. There seems to be a school of thought on another thread that this is the wrong thing to do. I did this with my first rottie and had absolutely no problems but she was incredibly good natured. My present pup Roxi is more stubborn although she does allow food to be taken from her with no problems. Kids play with and take toys from her with no problem, but since the other thread came up and I started thinking about it in more detail I realise she does gulp her food down faster as you are taking it away. This is natural I know but it won't change into anything else, will it. She doesn't know drop or leave commands yet and has just started basic obedience. Should I wait until she knows these commands and then move on to food removal? Thanks in advance.

[LavenderRott]

I don't take food away from my dogs. There would have to be something pretty serious going on for me to interrupt dinner time.

Having said this, I know that if I tell Chase to "leave it" while she is eating, she will step back from her bowl. Missy would do the same with kibble, but now that they are eating raw, all bets are off.

As long as the dog knows a leave it command and will let you take bones, etc., without you losing a hand, I see no need to mess with them at mealtime. And I wouldn't take a bone away just to prove a point either.

[danyp1]

Originally Posted by LavenderRott

Having said this, I know that if I tell Chase to "leave it" while she is eating, she will step back from her bowl. Missy would do the same with kibble, but now that they are eating raw, all bets are off.

That sounds familiar. I had to tell sam to leave half a chicken. I thought she would never let me have it.
But I was wrong. She left it and sat once I told her the command... I guess I did something right :D
I make "aus" and "leave it" a daily thing I practice with tugg toys and treats. I never take her food away just because but I do make her sit/wait/ok before she gets her meal. When she was fed kibble I used to pass by and drop some snacks of and on but since she is fed raw I have not done this.

[Roxibear]

She is only 15 weeks but is doing the sit/wait/ok commands. I don't intend to take food off her to prove a point, what I want to do is rule out the possibility of any accidents. By that I mean kids going to close when she is eating and her reacting. Of course I know to let her have meal times at peace but there is always the possibility.

[rotts and roses]

Originally Posted by Roxibear

She is only 15 weeks but is doing the sit/wait/ok commands. I don't intend to take food off her to prove a point, what I want to do is rule out the possibility of any accidents. By that I mean kids going to close when she is eating and her reacting. Of course I know to let her have meal times at peace but there is always the possibility.

It is my opinion that you got lucky with your other dog and what you are striving to do may very well backfire. If your dog has it's food taken away,
it will begin to feel the need to defend it.I really believe this only leads to food aggression. Put yourself in the dogs place for just a second. You are eating, someone comes and takes your plate away for no reason whenever they feel like it, after a while wouldn't you want to hold onto your plate and keep your food?
With kids especially I feel it is best to let the dog eat in peace, with no feelings of needing to guard and protect it's meal. Work on drop, out,& leave it with toys and for treats. Teaching a dog these will be much more effective and SAFER. Why risk doing something that could cause bodily harm to you or your children? Once a dog thinks it has to guard its food, it is nearly impossible to make it think otherwise.

[pbach]

Our Nikki - would horde her bowl of food and growled whenever someone was around her bowl. We did not want that happening. We have taught both dogs that they will sit and wait until we tell them to eat - therefore I can stand next to her bowl and she knows that I won’t tolerate any crap. I can put the bowl down and I can pick the bowl back up. However, once we've given them the command to eat - they are left alone to eat in peace.

Bones - toys etc...are not treated the same as food bowls. We have the right to take that item away at any time (of course we'd do the same with their food bowl if it was necessary). Claus knows the leave it command and he'll leave it, but Nikki will occasionally try our patience’s - consistency is the key and one day she'll learn.

[Wookie'sMom]

To rule out possibility of accidents keep you kids away when she's eating. It's really that simple. Kids do not need to be anywhere near when a dog is eating, period.

[DNeff]

Actually, the best possible way would be to train her to enjoy people approaching her bowl, not just relying on people keeping her distance. Read Pia Silvani's article on Best Behavior: The Coveted Food Dish. She outlines some good techniques to help your dog "enjoy" haivng people approach her food bowl and eventually even "enjoying" someone picking up the bowl.

http://www.sthuberts.org/petpouri/articles/fooddish.asp

I would much rather see a handler work through a problem, than manage the situation to avoid it occuring. Even management can fail sometimes, and if you have worked with your dog ahead of time, it will never have to be an issue.

Dawn + Osa
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[Rocky's_mom]

Well, since she knows sit/wait, have the bowl in your hand, tell her to sit and wait, put the food down and tell her she's released. Then, leave her alone and don't let your kids near her. Now, you can teach her to drop it and start out with non-value toys and have her drop it and then give her a higher value treat. I taught Rocky drop it while have a good fun game of retrieve. but, since she is only 15 weeks, I don't know what age to start drop it at...anyone? (both of my dogs I got when they were 6 and 7 months old)

[Roxibear]

In general the kids aren't near her when she is eating and I don't intend for them to annoy her ever. I do think it is too easy to say just make sure kids are not near when she is eating. Anyway, thanks for the tips and I'll certainly take a few on board. Its funny how the simple things can be overlooked, like holding her dish when doing the sit-stay. I think I'll leave her bowl alone until she knows the leave and drop commands and then take it from there with adding treats to her bowl an odd time. Thanks.

[Wookie'sMom]

For the record, I was not suggesting that as your only action. But the only way to completely "rule out the possiblity" (a quote from Roxibear), would be to completely eliminate contact with the kids during feeding time...I kind of assumed there would still be work on the "drop" for other purposes.

[Rocky's_mom]

Roxibear-I also wanted to say THANK YOU for listening. SO many times, someone posts and then fights with everyone about our opions. It's such a relief that you are activly listening to what we are saying.

Also, as I think Wookie's mom said...you can go up to her bowl and drop yummy treats in her bowl. That way, when she see's you coming, she'll know that you are bringing good instead of taking away.

[RottiMomCT]

My 12 & 14 year old nieces know to not bother the dogs while they are eating. They can feed the dogs and put yummies in the bowls while they are eating, but simply taking the bowl for no good reason is just not smart. Gives the dog MORE of a reason to protect it!

That being said, I have taken Ben's bowl away from him while he was eating and put it back simply beacause his meal started up in the kitchen and I was heading back down to the computer room (where he normally eats) and wanted him down there. He knows to step back and allow us to take his bowl. Now, would I do that with any of the other dogs?? Probably not, except for Baby (the lab/GSD mix) as she gets her Glocosamine supplements given by me as mom in law always forgets to give them - Baby is usually halfway thru her meal and I walk over and pop the yumies into her bowl - I think she feels special cuz she gets a meatball and the others do not.

Unless there is a good reason to take the bowl, leave the dogs to eat in peace.

[SABELLESMOM]

I've never touched a food bowl, and I don't "take" a bone simply for the sake of taking it... I teach a drop command because it's useful in quite a number of ways, play for instance. Think about the games you play with your dog...fetch, frisbee, etc.

It's useful on the side of safety too. Suppose she picked up something dangerous to her? A rotten piece of dead animal for instance or something toxic to her like an onion? I want to know she will drop what I want her to drop.

I like my dog to "enjoy" her treats too. I go out of my way to make sure they are high quality ones at that! If I ever practice having her give me one, I don't keep it. She gets it back. I generally practice with toys or something else.

[cryjay]

My two kids can totally be around while my dogs are eating. In fact they can put their hands in the food bowls grab a handful and the dogs will sit down next to them and start to eat out of their hands instead of the bowls. I have always been able to take bones and food right out of my dogs mouth. I think it is important that everyone is able to do this. You never know when you may have to. I'd hate to see that my dogs food somehow got something on it that I wouldn't want them to eat... then put it in theirs mouths and me not be able to go retrieve it. They will drop things when told but sometimes it is hard to drop the smaller items. I can also sit a treat on top of my dogs' noses or have them lie down and put it right under their noses so everytime they breathe they smell the treat lol ( I know it sounds so cruel) but they will not touch it until told to do so. I think it is all about control and the dogs knowing that I am their Alpha and will choose when they will or won't eat that treat. And no, my dogs don't go through that everytime they get a treat. Also I think it helps that my dogs aren't so glutenous at their dishes because they have hard food and water down all day long. They just eat a little bit a few times a day. Otherwise I will make them some steak and liver or eggs at supper time and even with that my whole house can right into the bowl with them.