My cocker spaniel is becoming a scrounger!

This sounds awful because i know all dogs are pretty much the same but there must be something i can do bhe is such a scrounger. Jumping up to the side to sniff if were dishing up he just litraly scrounges anywhere for a crumb of food hes getting so bad has anyone got any tips? Thanks.

I guess some would say its a dogs natural instinct to scrounge,also some dogs are food obsessed,will basically eat anything. Or it could be that he's just plain hungry. The jumping up while your dishing out could be dangerous, hope someone can help you with that

Yeh he has only done that once or twice but i try and make sure he is putside or on his bed he doesnt do it all that often. But like you say i think he could just be food obssesed but sometimes its a bit naughty really as i would rather he wasnt like that.

Don't worry, big doggy world! Be loads of advice coming your way. I wish you luck

I know many will say I do this the wrong way (but it works for us) I feed ours 3 times a day before we eat. Mollie after she has eaten just settles down to watch us but usually falls asleep, Betty just sits back and watches as she is full from her meal she doesn't want ours. This has worked with all our dogs with one exception our late Duncan and he was on steroids so hungry constantly.

I feed Lacey too before we eat. We can then have our dinner in peace.Works for us too

I am a very BAD dog owner. I used to actually enjoy sharing some of my dinners with Bella. I'd take some off mine and put it in her dish beside me. (Only if it was stuff that wasn't bad for her - chicken, fish, some fruit - but the occasional more fatty bits crept in)

Well Bella got a bit too fat. Not obese but fatter than she should be. So she has been on a 'diet'. This diet consists of her just having HER food and none of mine. Half a frozen raw chicken wing in the morning and then her ration of kibble dispensed to her in bottles or toys during the day to make it more interesting. She stopped expecting any of my food pretty quickly really. I also stopped stuffing a kong with cream cheese, or peanut butter etc. In fact she's had NO cheese at all and no bits of hot dog or anything like that.

But today I relented! I just had poached salmon steak for lunch and she LOVES the skin and I just couldn't bin it knowing how much she loves it. So she got that - so much for the diet. Still, before she was on the diet I'd have given her some of the salmon too and probly some of the buttered mash as well!


Must say I haven't noticed her getting a lot smaller in the two weeks she's been on the 'diet'. I combined it with extra exercise too and although that didn't seem to make her hungrier (in fact she is sometimes to tired out to eat when we get back!) it does seem to make her SLEEP more. So I was wondering if all this extra dossing about is counteracting the reduction in foodstuff?

My little 'sausage dog'

Also guilty Friday night is chip shop night, Lace has a burger......

I forgot to say I always put HER stuff down at the SAME TIME as mine when I eat. I can't see the point of this 'feed them after you eat'. Seems to me that would make them more likely to 'beg'?

But what do I know! It's hard not to get into some sloppy or bad habits when you are all alone with your dog all the time. They are your PAL, your MATE - and you treat them like a pal or a mate!

If I didn't give her her food when I eat mine she would stand staring at me looking all quizzical with her head on one side and doing those hardly audible little plaintive woof woofs. And I would not be enjoying my food!

She's pretty good at being put outside though. Never complains to come in if put out.

When it comes to stuff she loves and I really don't want her to have it now - I eat it when she's not looking!

** you go hunt the lizards Bella while I eat this Lion Bar!

Funny thing and I've no idea why she does it but.....when I put Lacey's bowl down she'll just stand over it Untill I say fetch or go on, it's like she needs permission to eat!!!Its habit now I guess. Only does it with me though,anyone else gives her it, she scoffs it.