Adventures in Crawling - What Do I Do With The Dog's Food?

[becka]

This should probably have occurred to me many months ago but I never thought of it.

Now that DS can crawl what am I going to do about the dog's food?

We have always left a bowl of food and water in the kitchen for our dog so he can eat whenever he feels like it. I don't like the thought of DS drinking water from his bowl but I can live with that easier than the thought of him eating the dog's food and choking because the dog food is hard and round!

When we are gone during the day I figure I can leave the bowls down but I am so forgetful about stuff lately I am afraid we will forget. The only other option I can think of is to start feeding him just once a day but he is so used to eating whenever that this seems like it would be a hard change for him to make.

What has everyone else done?

 

[wvjules]

Can you put a gate up....

nevermind, then how would the dog get to it.

 

[RUDisney]

You need to get another dog.

We always left Puggles food out all day and night and she ate at will. When we got Prancer, it became a race to see who could finish first. Neither one wants to leave anything in her bowl for fear that the other will eat it.

Seriously, if you start feeding just once a day, your dog will get used to it and know that if it doesn't eat when the food is there, he will have to wait until the next day to be fed. He'll figure that one out very fast, and your problem will go away. You'll also be able to train your DS to stay away (usually) from the dog's water.

 

[4greatboys]

My best friend has a little table that holds her dog food and water. It stands about 15 inches (maybe a little more) off the ground and it has 2 cut out holes that both the bowls sit in. I think she got it at a craft show.
The gate idea is good, leave it open during the day for the dog and when you are clsoed leave it closed. You can still open it for the dog when he needs food or water.

 

[peg2001]

You could feed the dog twice a day, morning and night. The dog will quickly learn to eat when the food is available. This is what we do and it works out well. The cats, who got food left out all the time, had their bowls moved up onto the bathroom counter.

Our DD, now 3, loved the water bowl. She didn't try to drink from it but considered it a wonderful play toy. She's outgrown that facination, thankfully.

Peggy

 

[December99]

I would personally leave it out. You can't live the life of always having to put things away. When you see Nathan heading that way, you go near him and say "NO" firmly and as he reaches for it also say no. Trust me - he will put one chunk in and probably spit it right out. But it's a learned reaction with the NO and he will eventually realize that that is not a territory he is to explore.

I know what 4greatboys is saying about the bowl thing that stands up some but that will be even worse when Nathan begins to start pulling himself up - you will have a mess when that thing tips over! But you just have to make him learn that certain things are there for either enjoyment or for survival and he has to leave them alone. I'm a mom that NEVER put anything away - things were always left where they were meant to be, including breakables, and Brittany learned not to touch them and to not go near them and play with them.

Probably not the action you wanted to hear but they will want to explore and you just have to let them know where their boundaries are!

 

[MosMom]

Either teach him to avoid it and watch him like a hawk or feed your dog on a schedule. When my daughter crawled we only had a cat so we just put the food up. This time around we have a dog so it probably will be a problem for us too when Elliot starts crawling. I will probably just start feeding the dog on a schedule (his fat bum needs a schedule anyway). Ohhh the joys of crawling.

 

[kendall]

The dog food won't hurt him if he does nibble a bit - yuck!

How about moving the food to a room where the baby is less likely to crawl - like the laundry or mud room? Your dog will adjust quickly. It would be hard to keep a constant watch in the kitchen area -

 

[pumba]

but do get down on your belly and crawl around and look for every thing that your son will be seeing now.....sometimes that is how to avoid potential problems and injuries to your babies....

 

[debster812]

I agree with the 'do nothing with it' crowd. We have about 8 potted plants in our living room. And we have floor standing speakers that are about 4 feet tall (I know, I know, big geek!!) but, we did not do anything with the plants or the speakers when DS got mobile. Did not make a big fuss, and redirected him when he was starting to get into them. He never ate dirt from the plants, and he never (my biggest fear) pulled the speakers donw on top of him.

 

[becka]

I would just leave it down (that is what I am doing with stuff that is not a direct safety hazard in the rest of the house) except I am really afraid this is a safety issue. The particular brand of dog food (Kibbles and Bits) that Rusty eats has pieces that are round hard balls that are the perfect size for DS to choke on. Maybe I should just try to find a new dog food for him that will not be such a choking hazard for DS?

Maybe I will post a thread looking for dog food opinions?

Thanks!

 

[BethR]

Hi Becka!

Oh the fond memories you bring back of my DD's and their first taste of kibble! (and no they DON'T always spit it right out. I have seen my share mushed up on their mouths! )

I know that I DID end up moving the dog's dish. We put it in the basement where our babies did not go.

Good Luck! You will find an answer that it right for you.

 

[nativetxn]

I can't tell you how much dry dogfood and milkbones Travis ate when he was a baby. No matter where I put the bowl, somehow, Travis would find it.

LOL! I had forgotten all about that. Thanks for the funny memory

 

[Fire14]

what my parents did was since our dog food was in utility room she just closed that door and if she forgot us kids had fun but learned quickly we were not allowed near the food or water. Us kids used to have fun throwing dog foodin water dish and feeding dogs their food from our hands.

 

[PNO4TE]

I had all but forgotten how much our older DD loved the dog's food. We joke about having to chase her down the hall and drag it out of her little cheeks. She survived to be a ripe old 24, so don't worry about the dog food.

Oh yeah... she STILL loves the smell of the dog food aisle at the grocery store!

Elin

 

[KimRaye]

BWAHAHAHA!! Sorry, I'm laughing WITH those that had kids that ate the dog food! DS tried this SOOO often (while my Mom watched him) that, for Christmas, my Mom gave him a rawhide bone!! LOL

If you're going to schedule the dog's feedings, maybe you can do it when Nathan naps and sleeps or, in his playpen and/or bouncy seat, bathing, etc.? just an idea.