My boyfriend's dog is a cat food junkie. Whenever she comes to my house with him (which is almost every day) she cleans out the cat food bowls, both dry and wet then promptly returns it all over my dining room and living room floors. I have a swinging door to the kitchen which we have been shutting, but the cats can't get in and out freely. I hate to put the food on the counter because Sam eats with his paws and makes a terrible mess and Sally has a bad leg and can't jump up that high. I thought about maybe cutting holes in a rubber box with a lid and putting the food in there, but will they go in there to eat? (my kitchen is pretty small as well so there is an issue of room too) Anyone else have a "hog dog" or have any suggestions?
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Creative ideas on keeping dog out of cat food
- Thread starter abby7625
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Obedience Class would be the first start. Kenai loves cat food as well, but she is trained that when the food goes on the floor, we tell her "Leave It!" and she does. Once the cats are finished, we allow her to go in and clean up only the wet food leftovers (there are hardly ever any of those) but she seems to understand and accept the arrangement.
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hmmm...will try telling her to "leave it". She already knows what that means. I usually just tell her "OUT" but she sneaks back in when no one is watching. I like the idea of obedience school since this dog is one huge whirlwind of fur and slobber, but my boyfriend disagrees with that.
I free feed, so it is impossible to watch the dogs 24X7 and my previous dogs and present puppies LOVED cat food. Obedience training works great if you are around all the time to watch, but they can get overwhelmed and sneak it.
I keep a bowl of food on my dryer with a bucket of food in front of it to served as a high perch to jump up from the floor. The dryer is on the first floor of my house. I keep most of the bowls upstairs where the dogs are not allowed. It's easier to train them not to climb stairs - they don't even know that there is food up there.
Now mine are also litter box divers. I have built baby gates around the litter boxes to keep the puppies away. This might work for food also. When they are older and more in control of themselves, we'll get to take the gates down but they are 4-1/2 months old and not enough self control or discipline yet.
Not sure if that will help.
I keep a bowl of food on my dryer with a bucket of food in front of it to served as a high perch to jump up from the floor. The dryer is on the first floor of my house. I keep most of the bowls upstairs where the dogs are not allowed. It's easier to train them not to climb stairs - they don't even know that there is food up there.
Now mine are also litter box divers. I have built baby gates around the litter boxes to keep the puppies away. This might work for food also. When they are older and more in control of themselves, we'll get to take the gates down but they are 4-1/2 months old and not enough self control or discipline yet.
Not sure if that will help.
We have a kitty food lovin dog named Toby. We free feed as well but our bowl is on a table in the kitchen, thats the kitties table. But at night he tries so eat whatever is left in it, so now we have to pour the food into a bowl that is behind the sink. He doesn't understand why he can't eat their food since they steal pieces of the dogs food. I wouldn't mind as long as he only took two pieces, but we all know that will never happen! We spray him with water when he tries to get the cat food, or the cat litter!Ick!
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- #6
My cats have dry food out all the time and I feed them a can of food in the morning and a can at night. My boyfriend's dog (Dakota) is also a litter box diver, but not as much as a food sneaker. I had a doberman that was one too...yuk!! I wouldn't be as bothered by it if she would keep what she eats in rather than out, although its getting rather costly to have to buy so much more food. I have a baby gate that I put across the door at nighttime when she is here. I leave a 6-8" gap at the bottom so the cats can get under it and its too high for her to jump over..However, I am not built like a grasshopper and can't step over it.
The basement idea is becoming more and more appealing. I have a low set coffee table down there that they can eat on and they spend a great deal of time down there because its quieter than it is upstairs. I just hate the thought of uprooting their eating spots.
The basement idea is becoming more and more appealing. I have a low set coffee table down there that they can eat on and they spend a great deal of time down there because its quieter than it is upstairs. I just hate the thought of uprooting their eating spots.
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If you use the cardboard box, be sure you weight it down well. One push of an inquisitive slobbery mouth and that box gets upended and the food eaten.
I have my cats food up on a drawing desk. There is a chair next to it so that cats can easily jump up. My dog still tries so hard to reach it but she can't. I liked the cardboard box idea also or maybe you could just put a baby gate up where the swinging door is and you can just tilt enough (lean it against the door rather than securing it between the door) for the cats to sqeeze through but not the dog (assuming this is'nt a small dog).
