My Bijou is a thief when it comes to food!

[tricollie4me]

I really could use some advice -- Bijou is our five-month-old rough tri collie. She's lovely and sweet and funny. We love everything about her but...

She steals food from my kids -- directly out of their hands! She's extremely bold and insistent. Doesn't matter if it's my youngest child (age 2) eating a banana or my oldest child (age 11) eating a sandwich, if Bijou can nudge her way onto their dinner plates or nose her way into their hand-held snack or upset their bowl of popcorn, she'll do it. She's absolutely incorrigible in this regard and it's making me just a little bit nuts.

We basically kennel her briefly during obvious mealtimes -- lunch or dinner when the kitchen, the dining room table and the kids can all be found with food! But when the kids are just walking through with a snack, or my little ones are on their way downstairs to the rec room for some playtime, if there's food, Bijou is a nuisance!

What can I do to make this easier for everyone? I realize that Bijou, though a much-loved member of our family, is a dog doing what dogs do (seek food at all costs, lol), but there's got to be a way I can temper her constant desire to steal food. We've taken to eating at the dining room table much more often (which is kind of nice!) but I would like kids and adults alike to have an occasional snack in my house without the likelihood of being mauled for an apple! It seems impractical to kennel her each time someone wants some graham crackers!

She eats correct portions of high quality dog food twice a day, gets plenty of water and lots of exercise, love and affection. This collie of ours does not need to be herding my asparagus!

Ideas?

Thanks in advance! I just know someone has the perfect solution or has been through this with their pup...(right?)

[Giselle]

Sounds to me like she's taking advantage of the young pups (your children). I think Bijou's problem is realizing that she is NOT allowed to steal food from the "higher beings" in the pack- the humans. My trainer taught Leave It by playing off what an alpha dog would do to the lesser pups in the pack. He held the desired food next to his mouth and sort of growled in the back of his throat whenever Gissie went to nose it. Apparently, this is alpha's way of saying "Back Off. I'm alpha and I decide who gets what, and you're not allowed to get this." Since you have young young children, I would suggest you do NILIF (Nothing in Life is Free) and lay down the rules that Bijou is submissive to all the human beings and that she is NOT allowed to steal food from any human of any age. That combinend with teaching the command, Leave It, should help.
Edited to add: When she has mastered the command Leave It, whenever she starts nosing her way around your children's snacks, deeply growl a LEAVE IT. This should deter her from stealing and reinforce the idea that you decide what she can and can not eat.

[tricollie4me]

Thanks, that does help. Bijou is very responsive and becoming responsible in the house, and definitely defers to me and my husband as alpha figures. However, the young kids do not have the same authority and I've tried to teach them to "be big!" when Bijou wants to lay claim to their food, or jumps on them, etc. One of my boys in particlar cuddles up into a tiny ball when Bijou gets playful, and I've tried to show he must be tall and strong because in this case (with our dog) he DOES get to be the boss! It's difficult but not impossible, and I'm going to employ your suggestions toute suite.

As an aside, I like the NILIF method and use it for all my interactions with Bijou. "Leave it" is understandably a hugely important command and we are still working on that on!

Thanks so much for your insight.

[bckrazy]

Giselle's advice is really good!

You might also want to start her in Obedience classes (if you haven't already), and practice a solid down-stay. Have her down-stay while the kids are having a snack or you're eating, and when everyone is done (if she hasn't broken her stay) give her a special treat, a bone, a stuffed kong, a greenie, etc. Also have your kids never offer her their food while they're eating. Crating is also good ^_^. . . we have to crate Gonzo for dinner, and he eats his food in his crate, because my little brother is only 2 1/2 and doesn't understand why the dog shouldn't share his food