HELP, DD LOVES Dog Food!!!!

[KristiKelly]

Okay guys, I need help. DD20 mo. (we've nicknamed her "Stitch" for many reasons )keeps eating dog food. She loves it. I've caught her a few times with it in her hands and say "put it back" or "go give it to Annabelle". She will take it over to the dog, put it in front of the dogs nose, then pop it in HER mouth, laugh and say "umm-umm". I've tried getting it out of her mouth but she bites me.

I did switch to an expensive premium brand dog food - nothing's to good for my dog or my child. .

Annabelle is not a dog to gobble all of her food at once and grazes throughout the day. I can't take her food away.

DH jokingly says, "well, it doesn't kill the dog so it won't kill her." I agree - BUT...

Any suggestions for keeping a child out of the dog food?

On the plus side - she does sit on command.

 

[Amlee]

My nephew did the same thing. Nothing we did would make him stop. He finally out grew out of it. From the time he could crawl he would get into the dog treats and food.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If you want to stop it you have to feed your dog at once. Your dog will not starve. Our dogs eat once a day.
Or just keep the food down when you can supervise the dog eating.


That being said my oldest who is almost 16, just left with her friends in a CAR to go out to the mall, movies, etc.... was a dog and cat food eater. So it didn't kill her.

We gave up. I know that is wrong but she was a "strong-willed" kid and eating pet food was the least of our concerns with her.
We just let her. She ate it for a good 6 months I say.

One day she went to eat the cat food and said "yuck" and never ate it again. God is she STUBBORN!

 

[betsywdw]

Add my DD to the dog food club! She is 11 1/2 months and I cannot keep her out of it! I swear, it's really hard to pry dog food out of a baby's mouth that has new sharp teeth!

 

[r3ngels]

How funny, I would just feed the dog once a day and then lift it up when the dog isn't eating... but it's not gonna kill her, maybe even an excellent source of fiber

 

[mookie]

We had the same problem with our DD too. Plus, our dog was also one to graze throughout the day. Our peditrician said it wasn't a problem, but if we were concerned to switch to all natural foods for awhile. It was costly, but we had piece of mind. She did eventually grow out of it...took about 6 mos or so.

DH just kept telling me not to worry about it....she was getting protein!

 

[KristiKelly]

How funny, I would just feed the dog once a day and then lift it up when the dog isn't eating... but it's not gonna kill her, maybe even an excellent source of fiber

Well, she does need the extra fiber, she has problems in "that" area.

Our peditrician said it wasn't a problem, but if we were concerned to switch to all natural foods for awhile. It was costly, but we had piece of mind.

We have to buy all natural expensive dog food anyway. Alot of dog foods make her throw up. blech!!!

Look at me, I'm so impressed, I FINALLY figured out how to multi quote.

 

[CEDmom]

As gross as that is I don't think it'll hurt her assuming she's eating other more human food. Maybe you could check with your Dr or Vet just to be sure.

 

[Mermaid02]

I caught my 2 year old son eating Maddy's treats back in the day- I was totally grossed out (I believe they were liver flavored) and all he said was, "mmmmmm Maddy's treats good" (insert barfing smiley here)

I have no advice, but I feel your pain.

 

[juligrl]

Both of my girls have eaten dog food before. Look at it this way, it's better than eating dog p**p (which older DD did once).
Since my youngest isn't walking yet, I just put up a gate between my family room & kitchen (where the dog food is. That keeps her out of the food and my little dog can clear the fence so she can still get to her food.

 

[famofsix]

I ate milkbones for large dogs when I was a kid. My mom doesn't know.

I think I would switch to a natural brand dog food, feed the dog at certian times and not leave the food out all day and hope Stitch outgrows it.

 

[bookgirl]

At least it's dry dog food,,,,,could be that smelly wet cat food.......yuck.

 

[Nala2007]

well I guess it's better than my dd...for about 2 months when she was a year old, she kept trying to dig in her diapey and eat poop....like a monkey...

yuck

 

[sha_lyn]

We've joked that from the time he could crawl until he was 2, DS probably ate 20lbs of dog food. He loved the stuff. He's almost 18 now and in perfect health, so I guess it didn't hurt him LOL

I don't think DD ever bothered the dog food bowls

 

[GoofyBaseballMom26]

This thread is hilarious. My DS used to try to eat cat food (dry stuff). I think I managed to avoid a lot of consumption but obviously any he ate didn't hurt him either. I have a cute picture of him trying to eat it.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Count my DS (almost 3) in as a member of the Pet Food Eating Club. We leave dry cat chow out for the kitty to nibble on all day and a few times I have caught him in there dipping his skinny little fingers into the bowl. I figure he does it not for the taste, but for the texture, since he's a sensory-seeker.

TOV