My Child Eats Dog Food

I had the same problem, except my daughter is only 10 months. I sprinkled a bunch of garlic powder on it. The garlic is actually really good for dogs, it helps with their skin. She ate a few pieces and hated it...hope it works for you.

My daughter loves to eat our dog's food, especially his vitamins and she loves to splash around in his water bowl, making a hue slippery mess. The dog has had to adapt to her schedule. We now pick up his bowls when she is roaming, and I place them back down for him while she eats, naps and while we are out of the house. He has adjusted fine and I have less to worry about with my daughter "snacking between meals!"

Heya K. ~ I don't really have any advice for what to do about your daughter eating the food ~ but you might try giving your dog a feeding time, instead of having the dish w/ food all day :c) ~ we feed our dog bones in the morning & then she eats her regular food at night when we eat dinner ~ that way she eats it all at once & its not an on going thing........ then her bowl is empty & not so tempting to little ones :c)` good luck!!

I'm not really sure how your house is set up or if you have your dogs separate from your child, but let me tell you how it works in our house. I had to put a gate up to separate the livingroom/dinningroom and the kitchen/familyroom. That way the animals are kept on the side the child is not and so is there food and drink. So the child never has access to the dogs water/food. My son is 16 months old and it has always been a problem to keep him away from our dogs and cats. So that is why we had to separate the dogs in particular. Hope that gives you an idea perhaps. Good luck.

:) Oh the memories. I had the exact same issue with my daughter and the cat food when she was that age. And, of course there will be some parents who disapprove of the way I handled it, but i say each mom should do what works for them.... Here's what worked for us.

The cat food had to stay in its spot, and I couldnt keep her away from it. So I put a bowl of cheerios in an odd spot in the living room for her to "discover". Obviously they taste better than cat food. She would waddle over to them, grab a handful and dash away - thinking she was going to get in trouble. Eventually she was to an age when she understood NOT to eat the cat food, and then the distraction of the cheerios was no longer needed.

Sort of tricky, doesnt really teach anything, but it kept her and the cats happy. Thats all that i really needed.

How long as she been doing this? Both my children went thru a phase of doing that also. I was beside myself like you trying to get them to stop...try the opposite and don't make a fuss about it, ignore it and see what happens. Is it a big dog or a smaller dog? ..and how is the dog taking this? Hopefully doesn't get upset and snip at the baby..that's what you have to be careful with.

My son is now 11 and my daughter is 8..and to this day my girl LOVES to now feed our small Papillion one dog nibble at a time..and 'trains him'...that dog of ours is soooo patient with her when he's hungry!! Thank goodness she doesn't do this everyday, but when she's in the mood to 'train the dog'.

I know your little girl will 'grow out of it, but it drives us crazy while they are going thru this stage. Both my children, it was about the same age too..with my daughter it lasted longer than my boy.

Keep us posted on what is working...maybe sprinkle a little 'hot sauce' on a bowlful one day and really SURPRISE THE HECK OUTTA HER..HOT SAUCE works for stopping many undesirable behaviors!! Get the Video camera out on that day! You'll be ready for her to eat the dogs food on that day!

:o)

Is there a way that the dog could eat on a porch or in the garage for a while. Is she lacking something in her diet that the dog food may have? I wish u luck and I also pray for you and your family because your daughter is only being a little rebellious and u may see the humor in this later on, I know she will.

My daughter did the same thing with my mom's dog's food! Nice to know she's not THAT weird LOL. Anyway- what I would suggest if she doesn't seem to be "growing out of it" any time soon- ignore it. I know it's hard- but I really think she is doing it for the reaction she gets out of you at this point. So try ignoring it when she does it. Just try to make it less accessible to her and offer her another snack when she goes for the dog food maybe. I hope this helps!

Hi Kathy,

I am wondering why are you putting the food in her way. Why not put it a place that she does not have access to.

To stop the problem immediately, feed the dog
in the bathroom with door locked, twice a day, give the dog 5 to 10 mins to eat and pick up his dogfood after that. Dont leave dogfood laying out. She should never see dogfood.
I feed my dogs 12 hrs apart (6 AM and 6PM) and they quickly eat and are 'done'. I also cook my own dogfood because commercial dogfood is unfit for human consumption and it doesnt cost me any more to cook my own (crock-pot chick thighs mixed with brown rice, mixed veggies).

HI K., have you tried putting your dogs on a feeding schedule? Pick up the bowls and only leave the water, then put down the bowls at your childs nap time, or you could feed them only at night when she is sleeping. Another idea would to buy a time release feeding system for your dogs, that way the door over the food only pops open at the pre set times and less gets into your little ones mouth. Eating dog food probably wont hurt her, but I would be concerned about the germs and bacteria that is getting into her mouth from the dishes. I am a veterinary technician, and I can assure you, the old wives tale about a dogs mouth being cleaner than a humans is absolutely false!! Good luck, feel free to contact me with any animal related questions as well. C..