# Behavioral Question



## lillymarkee12 (Aug 2, 2016)

I have a question for all of you on the forum. We have a 8 month old golden retriever, and a 16 month old son. A lot of the time she will follow him around when he has food and even eat it right out of his hand. I would like an effective way of getting her to stop. As of now I just tell her no and put her in her crate for 5 minutes, but she's right back to it again.


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## Xlionesss (Jun 20, 2016)

Some people may not agree with what I'm going to say, but I'm of the opinion that food should NOT be involved with a one year old child and a puppy. I would make sure there is not even an opportunity for this to happen. It may be hard, but if food is in the picture, they should be separated, at least until the child is much older.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

I agree with the previous poster. You're lucky your dog doesn't show signs of food aggression. They should be supervised anytime they're out together, but when your child is eating it's best to put him up in a high chair. Or put the dog in the other room until he's finished.


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## Yaichi's Mom (Jul 21, 2012)

I agree with the two posts above. Allowing your son to walk around with food with a GR puppy around is just asking for trouble. GR's love food and your pup likely thinks this is the best game ever. Your pup trying to get the food may unintentionally end up with a nip or worse....a bite. 

If you continue to allow this, make sure that you are diligently supervising. It is also a good time to train "leave it" when your pup tries to follow/get the food from your son.


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## Charliethree (Jul 18, 2010)

lillymarkee12 said:


> I have a question for all of you on the forum. We have a 8 month old golden retriever, and a 16 month old son. A lot of the time she will follow him around when he has food and even eat it right out of his hand. I would like an effective way of getting her to stop. As of now I just tell her no and put her in her crate for 5 minutes, but she's right back to it again.


 Keep in mind that she is naturally drawn to the food, as any dog would be, and prevention and management is your first step, while you teach the behavior you want from her. Putting her in another room, blocking access to the room he is in with a baby gate is an option,( or into her crate, if she is happy there), with a something to do, a Kong with something in it, or a chew toy to keep her busy, making it a good place to be, while your son is eating.

Consider what you would like her 'to do' while anyone is eating. Consider teaching her to go to a 'place'/bed, in the room you are in, when anyone is eating, laying a foundation skill for life, of appropriate behavior when there is food around that is not intended for her or you need her to 'settle', or stay out of the way for a short while, or she can go to 'take a break' on her own.
Train Your Dog Go to Place

Teach your son, it will take consistent supervision and redirection from you, that when she is in her 'place'/ on her bed, that she is to be left alone. A good thing for him to learn, as dogs do need a place they can go when they want to be left alone, to rest, relax, take a nap. And when he gets older teach him how to invite her off her bed to come and play with him.

Teach a reliable response to the 'Leave it'/ 'Take it' cues, gradually working up as she is successful at it to food items dropped on the floor. 

Leave It & Take It - Dog Behavior and Training - Green Acres Kennel Shop

When our dogs are performing a behavior we would prefer they not do, we need to ask ourselves what want them 'to do' instead, and take the time to teach them, and reward them for it.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

I have raised 3 children (my girls are 19, 13 and 9 and I've had 3 Goldens and a sheltie and a rough collie over the past 30 years) in a household with dogs, here's the only safe way to manage this: no one walks around with food. Any child with a snack sits in a chair at a table, just like mealtime. Period. It is pretty fool proof. Especially if you practice obedience training on a daily basis with your dog (are you enrolled in classes with your puppy? If not, I highly recommend it for the next year or two. It keeps you honest about daily practice which is key in managing a young dog with young children.)


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

With both of them so young and accidents can happen in a blink of an eye I would suggest following a plan of management. Children only eat seated at a table with you supervising or the puppy is put in a crate or behind a gate with something yummy or fun to do. 

I do believe in training things such as go to your mat, leave it etc but not during your childs snack time. It should be done when the total focus is on training the dog. Later when the pup is matured and those great habits are set in you can work on it under supervision in more real life situations. 

Management will keep them both safe.


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## lillymarkee12 (Aug 2, 2016)

Thank you all for your input. Lilo has her own room with plenty of toys and a dog crate for when she sleeps, so this is defiantly her 'place/spot' in the house. I just feel very bad leaving her in there because through out the day my son ALWAYS snacks... if you've had a young child you know that all they do is eat...ALOT! lol But Lilo is actually very good with him, I can leave a plate of finger food on our coffee table for the baby to snack on and she will not go near it. But as soon as he walks into another room with it she follows him around waiting for him to drop something or waiting until he is standing still to start licking his hand and eventually get the food out of it. 

On another note...I mentioned I had a golden growing up as a child (mind you there was four of us kids running around) he NEVER showed aggression towards our family. This is why I don't believe Lilo would ever bite my son, he plays in her food bowl sometimes and she will back off until he's done or walk away and come back. He's constantly hugging her and loving on her, they lay on his little couch together and she's let's him do whatever he wants to her and when she's had enough she will walk away. They have such a great bond, and she's a very good dog. I just don't like the fact that she tries taking food out of his hand, and it's completely understandable that when there's a baby involved who can't use words is walking around with food of course any dog is going to try to take it.


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## Parker16 (May 30, 2016)

I second nolefan's input! Charliethree also gave valuable advise. My son is not allowed to snack while walking around. And during meal times at the table, our dog is crated. He loves food too much like most Goldens!


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## Elsa Cholla's Mom (Feb 8, 2016)

I think you are asking a lot from an 8 month old dog, to not touch food that is at eye level. And the fact she doesn't go ofr a snack plate on the coffee table, means your dog is such a pleaser! You're very lucky already. Sometimes we have to ask OURSELVES, are we asking too much of the dog right now? 
Even the best of dogs will learn tricks. When my kids were little, my parent's border collies knew not to take food from them, but one girl, Beth, learned that if she 'bumped' my daughter, 3 at the time, and the ice cream fell to the ground, the people wouldn't want it. 

When people are talking about your dog, going to place, they don't mean crate, just to a mat/spot within the room. 
Personally, having raised 3 kids, you will eventually want your child to stay and eat in one spot yourself. Do you want a six year old, or a ten year old, leaving food contamination on every toy, wall, light switch, door knob, book, TV remote, computer keyboard, in your house? Now would be a good time to separate eating from all other activities with your child. I know it's a survival skill, munching kids are content kids, but it does get out of control eventually.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

We can have a bad day and make mistakes and so can the nicest of dogs. Most dogs that end up biting, bite someone young in the home. Please think of the safety of both of them. As the parent you can change or start new habits that will be a happy medium for both the child and the pup. 


Doggone Safe - Home

Stop The 77

https://thesciencedog.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/the-kids-are-alright/


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

lillymarkee12 said:


> ...I just feel very bad leaving her in there because through out the day my son ALWAYS snacks... if you've had a young child you know that all they do is eat...ALOT! ,,,
> 
> ....This is why I don't believe Lilo would ever bite my son, he plays in her food bowl sometimes and she will back off until he's done or walk away and come back.....



Please understand that many of us who responded have raised multiple children with multiple dogs. We know that toddlers graze all day long. What we're telling you is that it is ok to give your son some structure and tell him that if he wants to eat, he has to sit in a chair at a table. He is old enough. We are also saying that if you won't set rules with him, you don't have to isolate Lilo in another room. You can teach your dog to go lay on a small rug or bed in the kitchen or family room and stay there until you release her. She sounds very smart and biddable and should be easy to train this command.

On this forum, we have had numerous people show up here over the years with stories about their child being bitten or a mark being left on them by the family dog and they are so upset. They don't know what happened because the child couldn't tell them the whole story and the dog can't talk and now they don't know if they can actually trust the dog with kids which they never would have imagined because the dog has never shown a moment of aggression. It is heartbreaking. 

I am begging you to stop taking unnecessary chances with the safety of both your son and your dog by letting him play in her food bowl to the point that she must back off or walk away and come back later. I am thrilled that you grew up with an amazing Golden and I am equally happy that your son is bonding with the wonderful puppy you have now. However, I am concerned that you are placing a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the puppy by being lax about safety. 

As you said yourself, your baby can't speak. Neither can your dog. You don't know when your Golden reaches her limits if she can't tell you. You don't know if one day she growls at him and he can't tell you. The child always comes first, that is as it should be. However it would be a terrible shame if it ever cost such a nice dog as Lilo her place in your home because you asked too much of a dog and she made a mistake. Dogs with bite histories are almost impossible to rehome. Rescues will not take them because it is a liability. Generally a dog that bites once is going to bite again.

Please think hard about how you would feel if the unthinkable ever happened and Lilo left a mark on your son, he was in tears and you didn't actually see what happened and didn't know if she was provoked tto bite or accidentally got his finger and left a mark - all you know is your child had food, now he is crying and it appears the dog bit him. You would be sick. 

Please set Lilo up for a long, successful and happy life with your family by setting up tighter structure or rules regarding her interaction with your child when food is within his reach and hers.


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## Anele (Dec 12, 2014)

lillymarkee12 said:


> This is why I don't believe Lilo would ever bite my son, he plays in her food bowl sometimes and she will back off until he's done or walk away and come back. He's constantly hugging her and loving on her, they lay on his little couch together and she's let's him do whatever he wants to her and when she's had enough she will walk away. They have such a great bond, and she's a very good dog.


Your dog sounds very sweet, gentle and intelligent! However, be aware that any dog has the capacity and capability to bite. I cringe when I hear people, especially parents, say, "My dog would never bite" because it makes me wonder if they aren't preparing for the possibility that the dog may.

As a parent of 5, I know it can often be harder to direct a human than it is a dog! However, many of the behaviors you are describing from your son-- while very typical and normal for a young child-- can set a dog on edge. Messing with the food bowl, hugging, doing "whatever he wants," etc. What is your response when he does these things? 

If you don't already, I would immediately work on creating safe dog habits with your son. "Oh, that's Lilo's bowl, let's play with this bowl instead," or instead of hugging, "Let's pet Lilo this way" (unless you see she enjoys it, though many dogs don't). Then, while working on these things, reward Lilo heavily when she is tolerating this behavior. He messes with the bowl? You come by with a nice treat for her. He's hugging her? Treat! I guess what I am saying is, you don't want to take advantage of your dog's good nature. One day she may have just had enough or may not be feeling well, and then . . .or, maybe your dog is fine, but another dog your son encounters isn't. It's our responsibility toward our children and dogs to be safe. You may be doing all of these things already-- please forgive me if you are-- but I figured it would be helpful for lurkers to read for their own situations, just in case.


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## Rabbit (Feb 13, 2016)

I have a toddler and a 14 month old golden named Keller. We got Keller at 8 months or so, fully grown and not trained! He was paws up on the counter stealing food, having sandwiches out of our hands, etc. 

With Keller, I practiced the give and take game and also the leave it command with clicker training. I steadily built on each small success for 4 months or so, still reinforcing it every mealtime. Working on his impulse control was the best thing for his training. Make it a game that they always want to play! 

We don't let the dog interact with us at the table, when we're eating. No petting, no talking to him, or letting him smell the food near the edge of the table, etc. He can sit or lie down but cannot, and does not, beg. If he seems like he's in more of a pestering mood, I will move him out of the kitchen and put him behind a baby gate to give us space. 

As a reward for leaving food that falls on the floor alone, we let him have it at the end of the meal, when everyone is gone and the kitchen had been cleaned. It's usually only a few bits thrown by our toddler, but it means so much to him, ha ha. 

As for the baby, most snack times are at his high chair. It's only fair that he doesn't get followed around and pushed when trying to enjoy a snack. If I do snack him in the play area, I am present. Keller won't get to tempted if I'm there. I don't leave the baby and dog together with food if I'm distracted of multitasking. He will respect me but I feel he has the potential to be pushy with a toddler. 

Good luck! You'll get there!


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

I agree with the rest of the advice here. We have two children(5.5 & 8.5) and an almost 5-month old puppy. She would absolutely take food from either of my children if they were allowed to roam free with food. She doesn't see them as any sort of authority figure and would take advantage of that situation if it was given. 


I'd encourage your toddler to eat at a table, or highchair, and teach Lilo to "stay" or "leave it". Our puppy is only 5-months old so we have to constantly stay consistent when any of us is eating and remind her "no" or "go lay down". She is even listening to our 5-year old when he says, Go lay down. When she does, we reward her with a treat(a carrot or an apple slice usually). 


However, even without dogs, we don't let our kids walk around with food. So, my suggestion is to attempt to remove that temptation for your pup & your son.


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