How can I teach my dog to refuse food from anyone but myself?

thinkerbelle1: How can I teach my dog to refuse food from anyone but myself?
My dog is allergic to many foods, particularly high protien foods such as meat. My household includes myself, my husband, two teen aged sons and an elderly aunt who suffers from early stages of alziemers. The aunt frequently forgets that no one is to feed the dog but me, and gives her some of whatever she is eating. This is causing some serious health problems for the dog. I’m thinking the best thing would be to train the dog to refuse anything to eat from anyone but myself. Anyone have any ideas of how to do this aside from locking the dog away from the aunt. They are really great friends and keep each other company while the rest of us need to be gone.

Answers and Views:

Answer by skate_freely
im sorry i have tried that i cannot be any help to that its just dogs like to eat anything they can so that was a pain trying to teach you just have to keep a close eye on him at all times when he’s out

Answer by stacy g
To teach your dog not to take food from anyone but you. Put your dog on a leash and have people offer it to him and when he goes for it you firmly tell him “No” and pull back the collar and continue to do this. Be sure to reward your dog with food that you have touched and noone else.

Answer by smartypants
I would put signs all over my house that say PLEASE DONT FEED “DOGS NAME”. On the fridge, everywhere. I cannot think of a way to get a dog to not eat what is offered that looks good to them.

Answer by Jason & Milly T
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

ASK CSZAR ON HIS WEBSITE HE WOULD LIKE THAT QUESTION.

I WOULD SAY IT’S IMPOSSIBLE, BUT YOU CAN TRAIN A DOG TO DO ANYTHING. ‘CEPT HOMEWORK…..I TRIED.

Answer by Shar
It seems very unlikely that your dog is allergic to meat, since that is what they were made to eat. Is it possible to feed your dog a raw meat diet and see if that helps? It’s most likely that it is another food item that is causing the problems. Search “raw dog diet” and you will find many helpful links explaining what it is and how it will make your pet healthier.

Answer by country_girl_in_a_city
That’s a very tough one. I’ve never met a dog who -I believe- could be trained to not take food from someone. Every dog I’ve owned has had it in their nature to seek out food wherever they could. However, what I can say – is like any behavior, doing the right thing should have positive consequences and doing the ‘wrong’ thing should have a negative consequence.

In this instance, there may be a few options. If your aunt is the only one who forgets, maybe have her work with you. Have her start to feed your dog a treat, and firmly tell him “no”. (Negative consequence) If he walks away and doesn’t take it, reward him with something from you. Another option might be having her give him different things that taste terrible. Talk with your vet on this one, I can’t help but think there’s something out there that’s safe for him to eat but tastes disgusting. It is better yet if it smells fine but tastes terrible to a dog. (If you slathered something in cod liver oil for me, I think I’d vomit. Maybe your dog hates spinach?) Because dogs always smell their food before they eat it, I imagine a multiple way approach would be best. (You saying “no” so he’s clear on what you want him to do, and the treat tasting terrible.)

Good luck!

Answer by Tonya R
I agree with putting him a leash and training him that way, good idea..

A guy I know trains his not to eat till they are told to.. He puts the food down and they are as well on a leash and he will make them stay and sit till he tells them “free” that means they can eat.. every time they move toward the bowl he will yank the leash and say NO and make them sit again and give rewards.. he does this everytime he feeds his dog till the dog learns.. this way anyone can feed the dog if he has to go away they only need to use “whatever word” he has given as the free command.. it takes time but it can work..

I can walk into his yard with a treat in my hand and the dog will not take it from me unless I use the word..

Answer by wu_warrior_69
As an owner of several American Pit Bull Terriers, I actually deal with this question all the time.You have to start out by not allowing your dog to have any treats.Untill It performs some task e.g; sit, stay, roll over, goes potty(outside) or doesn;t mess anything up when left alone.but always award with a treat.And never I repeat never allow anyone to give them any treats or food.And when you do give it food wheather it be a treat or its bowl of everyday food make sure you touch it (sounds silly i know) because you leave your own personal scent all over it.i mix dry and wet food togather with my hands instead od utensils for example.If you ever see your dog attempt to take food from someone first correct your dog however you do.i use gentle yet firm nudges on the neck.then after you have used these exercises for a few weeks start tolerence training.it seems like teasing but it works.have someone sit in front of you while your dog is sitting between youre legs.and when your dog attempts to go for the food or seems interested correct it.then when the person is done eating reward your dog with a treat as long as it hasnt went for the food.This should work for your dog.If it works on my pitties (although very sweet and kind they are notoriously hard headed) it will work for you> peace Rob aka wu_warrior_69

Answer by russell h
i trained my pitt bull to only eat from her bowl. I separated her from the kitchen so she can’t beg. I began teaching her at 1 month old. Start by making her sit on one side of the room and place the bowl on the other. You need to teach her she can’t move until you let her/him know it is ok. Once you have that covered. Place a cookie on the floor and tell her no. You have to let it sit there for a while. After about 30 min place the cookie in the bowl and show her that it is ok if she eats it from there. It is very important that nobody in the family cheats and gives her some from there hand. You should get or make some kind of treat that your mother can giver daily. You need to tell her she must place it in the bowl first.
My dog is doing great.
I also taught her not to bark at people walking by and never step in the road unless I do first. ( Teach her to sit right on the curb and stay ). If she tries to move tell her NO. Slowly take one step in the street and say NO again. Everyday take one more step until you are able to cross the street and she won’t unless she is told.
Your dog has respect for you only if you demand it. You must follow the steps for a few weeks and she will understand.
My email is : ( [email protected] ). if you have any other questions.

Answer by majolica2002
Before you train for food refusal, realize that you will never be able to go on vacation without your dog, and you will have to be there for every meal for your dog. There are two ways to train it, the dog only takes food from you, or the dog only takes food from a certain bowl (that in your situation, you could keep locked up). In the first method, you would never be able to go anywhere long term without your dog, and you will NEVER be able to give the dog away, if that becomes necessary. In the second method, you will have to make sure you always have that same bowl.

These websites have information on poison proofing your dog, which would be the same training for your dog. The second one is on a discussion forum, but it has good information. Just remember that you will also want to proof your dog for taking food directly from other people, including strangers.
https://leerburg.com/poison.htm?set=1

Answer by hj_thorne
Teaching your dog the “Leave It” command works well in case you drop something on the floor that could be dangerous to your dog such as medication.

Best way to do this is put a leash on your dog and put a treat on the floor in front of them, when they reach for it, tug on the leash and say in an authoritive voice “Leave it”, move the treat closer and repeat, reward only when they ignore the treat on the floor and reward every time they do. The trick is to get them to not look at the treat once you’ve issued the Leave It Command, most of the time they will look at you. Reward with a separate treat. When finished you can let them have the treat on the floor but you must pick it up and give it to them.

It will help with items outside you don’t want them to pick up, or if you aren’t close enough to stop them from eating something they aren’t supposed to.

I trained my Weimaraner puppy at 5 months to do this, I can pile a long line of treats on her leg while she is laying down and she will not even look at them after I have told her to “leave it” it’s easy to teach and doesn’t take long but you must be consistent.

You will need to train the humans also to not give food to your dog. Explain to your aunt that you are training the dog, that usually makes them try not to screw up what you’re doing. Explain it gives your dog bad diarrhea and that human food can be harmful. It might help.

Good Luck