Karen,
You have alley dogs too? I free-feed my two and they always act as though I abuse them by withholding people food. Have never fed people food, but they must figure that if we eat it, it must be pretty good. They act like vultures when I am cooking dinner. They know they can't be in the kitchen, but they lay right at the edge, with just their paws in, looking like poor, pathetic "alley dogs".