i have a 21 month old choc lab, called DaisyDoo- she is nuts and my hubby wants rid as nothing works on her bad behaviour! ( he talks about getting rid- but wouldnt give up that easy)
she scarfs her food - like she only has 3 secs before its removed!
she can open doors (either way)
she steals food from anywhere she can get it!
she has been wormed and gets enough food
she isn't skinny/hungry
she gets breakfast and tea
is this a breed thing- i did have a retriever when i was younger but she was about 6 when we got her so was sound!
I have tried using rolled up newspaper and tapping her nose, i have tried training techniques but nothing seems to work- HELP

labs are well known for being greedy guts and that's why they have a tendency to put on weight. How about giving her something else to chew that will take a long time for her to eat? Child locks on the doors might help too.

also you could try the dog pause bowl, which is designed to make dogs slow down when they are eating

http://dogpausebowl.com/

Our Irish Setter is just the same ,even after 6 years - good luck , though !

Does she get plenty of exercise and does she have lots of stimulating toys? Boredom can be the cause of lots of bad behaviour.

Do you have an enclosed garden? Also, do you feed them dried food? If the answer is yes to both, just throw the food over the garden, so they have to search for it, and so that it's not all in one place to wolf if down.... Worked for a friends dog.

Sounds like the only problem you have is that it is eating a lot!

Well I will swap you our Dexter he is a 5 month Border Collie and he is terrible. If it was just food we would be made up

Best thing I can suggest is not to have anything left on cupboards (they tell you this for all big dogs) so that the only food they have access to is their own. And only feed them the require amount.

The door opening thing I would suggest so kind of lock - even if it is only a hook and latch thing.

I have 2 labs, both enjoy their food but I've never had any trouble with counter-surfing, opening cupboards or stealing food (apart from the box of chocs they threw around the room at Xmas one year!).

Mine are both fed on a raw diet consisting of raw meat, offal, veggies, fish & raw bones. It takes them much longer to eat their food than a 2 second kibble fest plus when they're chewing & digesting their bones it gives the food a chance to reach their stomachs & give them a full up feeling. I think it is a more satisfying diet from the dog's point of view.

There's loads of info out there if you're interested in raw feeding & bones ~ just google BARF or prey model diet. There are also lots of forums to give advice on what to include & quantities. It was the best thing I've done for my dogs & having just returned from the vet this afternoon for their annual check up, I'm pleased to say that the vet was very impressed with the state of their teeth ~ both around 7 years old now (goodness time flies, I remember very clearly saying I had two 4 year old labs!) & no tartar or decay at all, just clean white healthy teeth.

Stick a large raw carrot in the middle of it if you are that concerned about it - but providing she isn't being sick afterwards - I wouldn't worry - I've got girls who can clear a bowl in three seconds flat


Put bolts / locks on them or use baby gates


Don't give her the chance. Don't allow her unsupervised access to the kitchen - don't leave food laying around where can get it.


WHY are you using a rolled up newspaper? what do you hope to achieve? it can risk damaging their nose - and how does she know when she is doing something wrong?

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Some labs are just plain greedy, they don't seem to have a built in 'stop' mechanism when it comes to food.

One of my girls will happily sweep the work surfaces, the bin area, my jacket pocket - she's cost me hundreds of pounds in vets bills eating stuff she shouldn't - but apart from the dead fish on the beach, every occasion's blame lays solely on my shoulders for not being more vigilant.

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There are many simple steps you can take to counteract this behaviour - they are all under YOUR control - there are many worse things she could be doing - it's up to you not to afford her the opportunity.

Have you considered switching her to a raw diet? a nice chicken carcas or lamb shank won't be wolfed down in 3 seconds - it will exercise her jaws, clean her teeth and give her a 'real meal' to focus on. Some people who don't want to go all raw give one meal raw, and one of kibble a day.

If you don't want to switch to raw, consider getting her bones, they will keep her occupied for hours.

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I've got 6 labs - three who can open any door, three who will steal any food - it's been up to us to take steps to stop them doing it - but tapping on the nose with anything is certainly something I wouldn't do.

Dogs have relatively short memories - any punishment (which shouldn't be physical) must be given when they are caught in the act - 5 minutes later and the dog won't have a clue why it is being punished.

thank you so much for all replies! i realised pretty quick that the rolle dup newspaper didnt work ( i would never hurt her - more like the noise)!
i have a young daughter 4 and the biggest thing is when she steals her sweets or food- i agree about it being on my shoulders, she is just to crafty by half lol!
i have stairgates up on the kitchen and to be honest its when she sees i have missed closing it or she can sneak out that we have the isses.
I'm going to give all suggestions a go!
to be honest the fast food eating bothers me most as i dont want her to become ill- so far the only thing i have found to slow her down is sticking my foot over the bowl so she has to squeeze in to get the kibble bit then i end up with a wet foot - and she has to smell them (heheheh)
but thanx all of you for helping - much appreciated..
ali

I really would think twice about doing this, you could create food aggression, and with a four year old around, this really isn't somewhere you want to go.

A lot of people say, oh - I can put my hand in my dogs bowl etc etc - and yes so can I - but some people seem to think the dog should be calm about it and become shocked if they are not.

In truth - think about how you would feel if someone came along to your meal and stuck their hand in it or started helping themselves - I suspect you wouldn't be very happy

In truth, unless she is showing symptoms such as regurgitating undigested food and eating it again (not very pleasant, but quite normal in the doggie world ) - then personally I wouldn't be overly concerned.

Do try the carrot - I know it has worked for some people - alternatively, the other suggestion, maybe try feeding her some raw food, I think you might well notice a difference - the food will take much longer to eat, and actually takes a fair bit of effort

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dealing...ood/page1.aspx

thanx for that site its made me understand 'her' head better!
ive saved it to favourites.

Your dogs hardly as bad as Marley from Marley and me. We have two lab puppies 4 months old and they eat everything in sight too, that's what labs do. It's typical of the breed and you won't stop her. Ours are fed twice a day but they still try and get stuff out of the bin etc they just won't stop eating. Changing their diet etc won't work either it's just labs for you i'm afraid.

If you don't want the lab we'll have her! lol

ps have you had her since she was a pup? The quick eating might be a survival of the fittest thing where she has had to compete with other labs for food and learnt to eat fast in order to eat.

sorry been away from pc for a while - yep had her since she was 10 wks and she has always scoffed/scarfed her food- and nope you cant have her - she can be infuriating but i love her ... hubby can go first.... he gets frustrated with her but daisy and my four yr old daughter are like twins so hubby will have to ignore her food obsession as he wouldnt see little one unhappy ( i am very good at diplomatic emotional blackmail lol)

tried the scattering and this slows her down great! also making it wet helps - just have to accept she is as she is!

This is interesting - with my first litter - I fed all my pups separately - and none of the dogs have gone mad for their food - to the extent one of them would often not eat.

My second litter - I mixed and matched - sometimes I fed inidvidually and other times I fed them as a group - the difference in the vigour they attach their food is quite astonishing

It's definitely a breed thing, labradors are very greedy. She won't make herself ill from eating quickly and I don't particularly see why it would be causing you a problem if you keep food out of her way when it's not her meal time and keep the pet gates securely shut. If you just feed her the required amount per day and leave her to it then she'll be fine.

Plus you say your dog is only 21 months old. They are still partly in the puppy stage at that age and in my experience labradors take until about the age of 3 or 4 to settle down. As you say, you just need to accept her, it's just her breed and there's nothing unusual or dreadful about her behaviour really.

I miss having a lovely dog around who appreciates food. Our stupid cat just turns its nose up at it like a stuck up...cat.

My black lab Max would eat you out of the house tbh lol. He's not bad in any way though, my dad has him well trained he just eats and eats and eats and never seems to stop!

all posts are so helpful thanx!i was worried she may choke or end up with stomac/bowel issues.
she eats like she hasnt seen food EVER!
i think it was free for all with food from the breeder when i picked her there was two different litters all together and it was madness so maybe it stems from then.
we went for a walk in local country park on saturday and after a few hiccups she was brilliant - (took a horse too, daughter riding) and daisy was great with the horse too - lovely walk stress free lol

It seems that many people have the opinion that labs are greedy monsters who will & do eat anything & everything they can get hold of!

I have 2 labs & I've never experienced these problems (apart from the one "experiment" they had with a box of chocs!). They are not greedy, they have never attempted to steal food (even when I've left the cupboard containing all the dog & cat food open) & I can even leave crisps, dips, nibbles etc on a low coffee table & they wouldn't dream of touching it. I often have my dinner on a tray on my lap in front of the TV & neither of the dogs even glances at my food. They are walked & fed well before I eat so they are usually asleep by the time I eat. I can put my plate on a foot stool when I've finished & neither of the dogs would try to lick the plates. I leave dry cat food on the floor in the kitchen & the dogs never eat it.

I have never particularly trained the dogs to do these things ~ they just seem to know that my food is mine, the cats' food belongs to the cats & that they have their food twice a day in their own bowls on the kitchen floor. They are left home alone for several hours a day & still don't touch the cat food or try to steal anything.

The only thing I've insisted on is that OH and any visitors do NOT give the dogs any food from their plates. If there are leftovers that are suitable for the dogs then they are taken to the kitchen & put in the dogs' bowls.

The one exception to these rules is on picnics in the countryside. But this is because we are more relaxed, we're usually sitting on the ground & we've allowed the dogs to have bits of leftover sandwiches or whatever. But even then they only lie down & watch us eat in the hope that they will be given a small scrap.

I had both dogs as adults so I had no input to their early feeding regime as puppies. Are mine the exception to the "greedy labrador" rule? Or is it the fact that I raw feed & have stuck to certain rules for the dogs? One of my dogs has even been on a diet & lost 4 kgs but still hasn't become a greedy, counter-surfing, bin-raiding scavenger! Or am I just a very lucky lab owner?

What slowed Molls down was putting her food into Kongs and hiding it, made her food last much longer (she was making herself sick she ate so fast). Freezing the kongs in the summer cools her down too.

It seems to have taught her to be slower or perhaps because she is 10 now, she can have a bowl of food and eat at more relaxed pace unless Duncan is mooching around making her think he is after her food

I have also heard several trainers recommending putting dry kibble into the Nina Ottoson Dog Pyramid. As far as I know it can be used for feeding treats or for regular meal times and the idea is that the food comes out slowly as the dog knocks the pyramid around. Supposedly it keeps the dog stimulated trying to get the food out and means the whole lot isnt gone in 30 seconds too. It might be worth a try?

I havent tried one myself as my dog has the opposite problem - just sniffing the bowl and walking off which can be very annoying too!

Ottosson has two ss - promise I am not normally a spelling police person but it helps if you are looking for one to get the name right.