Grabbing food out of people's (mostly children's) hands!

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

Oh,tough one here. We have been working on this for 10 months now with no luck. Really need advice aside from the obvious...dont let dog around kids walking or sitting with food. Well, in real life, thats not an option. We have no small children but family members do as well as visiting friends. Just yesterday, my daughter came by with 2 small children she is a nanny for. She gave them each a half an apple and before we could stop him, dog grabbed (roughly) apple from childs hand. He has swiped food off tables,counters,etc which we have worked on successfully by shaking can with coins and are careful about leaving food out but this grabbing behavior has GOT TO STOP before someone gets hurt. He is an amazing dog we love to death. This is his only flaw and he came to us this way with this very bad habit. Would really love some input. I have a trainer i can consult but wanted to start here first. Has anyone dealt with this and had good rehab results? Thanks much.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

I had this problem once with a dog who went blind and children who walked around with food.

"Besides the obvious" in my home, children were no longer permitted to walk around with food. Food at the table only.

That table was always off limits to the dog.   The dog understood this one simple concept.  Keep it simple for dogs. 

If I heard a crying child who just had their pizza plucked from the coffee table, or a cookie snatched out of their hands, well then, it was their fault. Eat at the table only.

My suggestion, although simple, may not be practical for many households, but food is to be eaten in one area and that area is off limits to the dog.  

It worked for us because I got tired of policing the entire house about food.   It also kept my carpets cleaner  :)

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

Well, besides prevention, my thoughts go to alternative behaviors for Buzz - does he know "down -stay"? How about training him to go to his bed during meals or visits, then reward him for his down-stay? Treats or puzzle toys might keep him distracted from the easy food nab via the kids. Also you could exercise him before their visits so he isn't as prone to the fun of nabbing when they arrive. Just a few thoughts. Hope it works out for you!

[Deborah Brown]

This is really tough because you need each human to carry out the training.  Obviously, the behavior is self rewarding and the dog isn't going to give it up easily.

My suggestions fall into the management category.  First, you can keep the dog behind a gate or crated when children are around.  Second, you could give treats to the dog and children together.  Dog sits and waits while children are given apple.  Then dog is given some type of chewy treat to keep him busy for awhile.  There's a good chance, however, that dog will finish before kids.  You could practice this with adults who won't give up their food.  Dogs understand fairness to a degree and yours may be able to learn that each person/dog gets their own treat.

I think this is going to require some vigilance on your part.  

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really think this would be an issue for many dogs.  If the child is at their level with "yummy food", I don't think most of them will have the self control to not try to take it.  They have no relationship with that visiting child....in their "dog minds" the food is fair game.  I agree this is going to be a management issue.  When the child is walking freely with food I would have the dog in their "place" in a down/stay.  If the dog is not trained yet to maintain a down/stay around distractions I would crate him or gate him in an area where he can't get to the "food carrying child".   You could train the dog not to go after the food, but it would take a great deal of time and proofing.  Every single time the dog successfully takes the food he is rewarded...so the reward for NOT taking it would have to be greater.  If you're training with aversives then the punishment has to be more meaningful than the reward....depending on the dog that could be difficult and you would really need to know exactly what you were doing.  I would definitely go the management route....good luck.

[Tracey & Spike]

I agree with Deborah. Give your pup a treat when the little ones are eating.. but make sure the pup gets his LAST. He has to wait so he will clue in that the teacup humans are ahead of him in "the pack".

We went through a similar situation with Spike. Counter surfing which we dealt with. And as a house of all adults Spike was never around little ones. Back in August we went on vacation and stayed at my Aunts. Who babysits her 1 yr old Great Granddaughter. Let me tell you Spike thought the kiddo was the best thing ever! She ALWAYS had food just for HIM! Mmmm goldfish crackers! Spike was never ever mean or rough with her but he did relieve her of her treats.

We worked through it just as Deborah suggested. Everytime the kiddo was given something to eat Spike got something. But only AFTER the kiddo was eating. Spike was given his super high value treat and put into a down stay to munch away. We worked at this daily. We did keep a house line on Spike so at the beginning we were able to grab him before he helped the kiddo finish her snack. We immediately plopped him back into his down stay.

By the end of the week long trip the kiddo was putting Spike into a down stay herself and feeding him from her hands. Actually she dropped a carton of goldfish and Spike took it BACK to her. And being the nice girl she was she shared.

You can work through this :)  

[Richard Crowe]

I have a few comments along this line.  Often problems in the interface between kids (especially toddlers) and dogs can be blamed on both the toddler and the dog but, the blame can be primarily placed on the human adults who "SHOULD" but, often don't, supervise both the toddlers and the dog.

First, only Judy or I give treats to Holly, our Goldendoodle.  She will not accept treats from anyone else.  This has circumvented many problems, including preventing her from eating "treats", such as chocolate offered by unwitting people, that might have an adverse effect on her health.  Also, in not expecting treats from others, she has never jumped for treats in anyone's hands.

Second, I taught Holly from the day she arrived in our home as a seven-week-old puppy that she is to sit for treats. She, being a smart dog, learned this on the first day we had her .  I knew that she was going to grow into a fairly large dog (she has topped out at a tall 55-pounds) and I didn't want her jumping on me or anyone else trying to grab a treat.  Sure, she sometimes begs for treats but, her begging is in in the form of sitting and that doesn't bother us...

Third, I have never liked toddlers wandering around with food in their hands.  When the kids were small, we would cut the treats small enough so that it could be eaten basically in one bite. All other food would be eaten at the table. Food is not a toy!  It is something to be eaten! Wandering around carrying partially eaten food in a toddlers hands can be detrimental to furniture and to the toddler because of the intake of germs etc.; while wandering around and touching other items during eating. It is certainly detrimental to the interface between toddlers and dogs. A carollary to this is that we don't feed Holly from the table so she doesn't connect "table" with "treats"...

Many parents (especially mothers) are extremely protective over their kids, and rightfully so!  However, it is often the poor dog that suffers because the adults have not fulfilled their responsibility to train both kids and dogs how to live together in harmony...

Finally, while a few coins in a drink can might be a fairly effective remedy for unwanted behavior and is certainly cheap in cost; the Pet Corrector sold at Petco and various other dog supply merchants (we but the large size from www.petflow.com when it is on sale) is an excellent deterrent to unwanted behavior.  The difference between the Pet Corrector, which is simply a can of compressed air which emits a sound that dogs dislike, and rattling coins in a drink can is that the Pet Corrector correction seems long lasting...

[Carol and Banjo]

Richard,   I've never heard of the product you've mentioned here.    I would be interested in trying it for counter surfing, stealing toilet paper off the roll and stealing decorative bed pillows.    All of these behaviors happen when I'm not right there...i.e. in the other room.   However, Banjo will always come running to where ever I am to show off his "prize".    Do you think the Pet Corrector would work in this instance?    Do you have to be present and within "hissing" distance?      I'm ordering this today if you think it will work!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think it's important to mention that Donna adopted Buzz from DRC as an adult, so she is dealing with habits that were formed long before he came to her. 

[Leslie Kennedy]

Need to follow this. Our Madeline is almost 6 months is very bad when it comes to surfing and taking food from our grandson. She is good with us but it seems to go out the window when around the little ones. We have learned to put everything away in the kitchen. Ugh!

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

Leslie, when our Bay was about Madelines age she started the counter surfing. She would steal whatever was up there; hats, gloves, food...didnt matter. I think it was a game and she was testing us By the time she was about 9 months we started obedience classes which helped so much. The technique our trainer recommened really worked for us. I put coins in a small metal can and whenever i caught her surfing, i gave the can a few hard taps on the counter. She hated that ( so did everyone in my household,lol). But eventually, she stopped. She is 2 now and I can honestly say i dont remember the last time she did it. Good luck!

[Leslie Kennedy]

Thanks. I agree it is a game for her. She will grab anything and run out the door with it. She is getting to the point where if we don't go after her she will come back with it to see why we are not chasing her. The trainer told us able the can or setting up traps for her. She suggested a cookie sheet with silverware or empty pop cans. That way when she jumps up they would make noise and scare her. Haven't gone that far yet but who knows with this beast lol!

[Donna Bay & Buzz]

Thank you all for the great advice.  I never thought about not letting the kids offer him a treat but I have taught them to do so with an open palm as he tends to snatch it rather abrubtly.  This will now stop altogether!  Second, when we are at a table eating a meal, the dog is kept in a gated off area, either in the backyard, or if inside, in the kitchen. One or two times we made the mistake and had him out with us and it didn't end well (well, for him it did, he got the egg sandwich and the hot dog)  This gets tough too because sometimes if there is food left out on kitchen counters (such as will be on Thanksgiving)   here we go again with the "surfing" which we pretty much licked.  We have not crated him, ever, as he never needed it.  We have one, just don't use it.  We may need to resort to this.  The other thing I may try is what Richard recommends and get the Pet Corrector.  Oh, and just to mention, I don't ever blame the dog.  It is his instinct and from where he came from, he obviously was never corrected and may even be the reason he was given up.  Our other dog would not dream of snatching food from anyone, children included!  I think a round of obedience training wouldn't hurt either.