Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,

I'm really having problems with my dog, Porthos now. Most of the time he can be a great dog, full of fun and stuff - but there are some things that I can't break him of regardless of what I do.

So far there are two big things that I really wish he wouldn't do - one is eating cat poop, the second is cat food. I got the cat poop thing figured out, having to hide the pan in an area that it's tough for him to get ahold of. Now the problem is food.

How do I get him to stop? I really am perplexed why he can't figure out that eating cat food makes me a little POed, and if he doesn't then he gets praised and everything else. He even got so far to hide when eating the cat food because he knows I really hate it that bad.

What can I do? My 15 year old cat can't go through a whole lot to grab his food, it's just not right. I really hate it that the dog seems to listen only when it's in his best interest, or when I'm pretty angry - he doesn't listen otherwise.

>>Hey all,
>>
>>I'm really having problems with my dog, Porthos now. Most of the time he can be a great dog, full of fun and stuff - but there are some things that I can't break him of regardless of what I do.
>>
>>So far there are two big things that I really wish he wouldn't do - one is eating cat poop, the second is cat food. I got the cat poop thing figured out, having to hide the pan in an area that it's tough for him to get ahold of. Now the problem is food.
>>
>>How do I get him to stop? I really am perplexed why he can't figure out that eating cat food makes me a little POed, and if he doesn't then he gets praised and everything else. He even got so far to hide when eating the cat food because he knows I really hate it that bad.
>>
>>What can I do? My 15 year old cat can't go through a whole lot to grab his food, it's just not right. I really hate it that the dog seems to listen only when it's in his best interest, or when I'm pretty angry - he doesn't listen otherwise.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Dogs are opportunistic eaters--scavengers--by nature. It's not fair to expect him to change his nature. Every time he eats cat food he gets a huge reward. It's not good for him and could wind up making him quite ill if it happens too much. Training doesn't solve this. The cat food has to be removed from his reach. There really is no other way.

You might consider feeding your cat at specific times, perhaps in a crate, and not leaving any cat food out.

I believe there are some special radio collars for cats that open a door for the cat that stays firmly closed for other cats and wildlife--purpose being to use a cat door for an outdoor cat and not allow things like raccoons to use it to get into your house. You might be able to use something like that, though I'm reluctant to put a collar on a cat. They tend to get hung up on things. Maybe there is another "passkey" technology that would work.

Training a dog to pass up food that is there for the taking would require pretty awful training methods. I really don't think you want to try to go down that road. It probably wouldn't work, anyway. Beagles have huge appetites.
-----
Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series at www.veterinaryforum.com

Perhaps you can put a babygate across the door to the room where your cat's food is kept. We did this in my house because the dog and cat didn't like each other much, the cat unfortunately died, but the gate stayed up. I have a lot of other animals in the basement, and I am somewhat allergic to the dogs, so I prefer it be there. I mounted the gate with the cat in mind originally, and just left it the way it was because it was so hard to get in the wall. I made it so that the cat could easily go under it if the dog was bothering him, and he could have gone over if he really wanted it. It was mounted in the landing of the stairs, so the dog wouldn't have been able to get a running start down the stairs or anything. Maybe you can put a baby gate across the door to the room where the cat's food is, and if the cat is too old to jump over it, mount it a few inches off the ground so it can get under, but not the dog.

If you are going to mount the gate off the ground and want to have a swinging gate (if you need to go in the room ofter) get one that mounts on its own pivoting anchors in to the wall. The ones that have a frame the will pressure mount with a swinging door in the middle will not allow you to have the gate up off the floor. If you don't need to go in the room often, a pressure mounting gate is much easier to set up, but in my opinion too annoying to use if you need to get in the area you are blocking off frequently.