Tossing food off of highchair tray to feed dogs...

How do you discipline a one year old that thinks it's HILARIOUS to drop food off the side of his tray to feed the dogs??? At this point, I've slapped his hand and said a stern NO. He does, in my opinion, a fake cry and then goes back to eating a few bites and then he does it again. This is such a big pet peeve of mine. We have an overbearing yellow lab (whole nother story on that beast) and a little shih tzu who stand over top of the boys during feeding time. ANNOYING and I don't want to give them any incentive to stick around and now this ... WAHHH! Any suggestions as to how to teach Izak not to do this? Aaden hasn't caught on yet but as you all know it's usually monkey see, monkey do so I'm sure he's not too far behind.

 

We have a lab/terrier mix who is getting fat from all the windfall from the highchairs. The boys adore her (the feeling isn't really mutual), and they find it funny to throw food to her. We have to shut her outside or in the laundry room during meals so they don't get distracted, then let her out to eat what has fallen on the floor. We yell "Cleanup on aisle six!" and she comes running.

I don't think my boys are really capable of understanding discipline right now. They are just experimenting with gravity and stuff. We encourage them to put things in their mouths instead of throwing, put away the dog to avoid temptation, and realize that when the throwing begins, the meal is probably over and we need to get them down from the highchairs.

(Editing for word choice.)

 

My girls did this as well, and the only thing that helped was to put my dog outside (or away from the eating vicinity) during feeding times. Then of course I would let the dog back in after dinner to clean up their mess. It does get better, but I still see my girls sneaking the dog food from time to time. Good Luck!

 

I was going to say the exact same thing. I still put the dogs away when they eat.

 

I totally agree with this. At my parents house, they let their dogs out when the kids here. Our kitten is famous for also begging for food, so I let her downstairs when the kids eat or they will try to feed her too.

 

We have 3 dogs that just LOVE mealtime at our house. And if the girls don't like their food, the dogs are their best friends. Most of the time 2 of the 3 dogs get shut outside during meals. The other one gets to stay in because she won't beg. And yep, they get let right back in after the meal is done to do clean-up duty!

 

[quote name='Izak&Aaden's_mommy' date='10 November 2009 - 11:06 AM' timestamp='1257869194' post='1502932']
I should clarify "slapped" ... it was not a hard slap but mearly a "tap" on the hand. Poor choice of words on my part as I really do not use any sort of harsh discipline at this point and I know that they are learning and absolutely not doing this type of stuff to spite me.
[/quote]

No worries, I for one didn't take it to mean you were being harsh! I think it's very important for children to learn discipline, to hear the word "no" and understand what it means. Speaking only for myself, I think mine are just to young to get it yet, and I would rather have them learn this with things like electrical outlets, etc. My guys are so skinny and small and I don't want to have struggles for control over eating. I may let it slide too much, but this is a sensitive area for us because I'm trying to get them up in weight. I'd rather just remove temptation than try to teach discipline at mealtimes right now.

That day will come though....

Anyway, just thought I'd give you my perspective.

 

I agree with the other posts. I think it is probably easier to train the dog to do a sit or down/stay/not beg rather than your lo's just yet. We are training our dog that he is to be in a down stay during mealtimes with the kids and then afterwards he can "clean up". It is working somewhat, but when lo's (like my two) are waving food around at "doggie level" it sometimes becomes too much of a temptation and then the dog should go outside the kitchen to await the end of mealtimes. Good luck.

 

like everyone else, the dog goes out during mealtimes. otherwise, not one bite of food will pass their lips but the dog gets a full meal! he has now learned to sit on the other side of the gate when they are eating and knows that as soon as i remove the trays he can come in and have at it. i personally don't know what i would do without the dog, he keeps the floor spic and span!!

 

Our dog has been taught to "get in the hall" when we tell her to and we do at mealtime. As soon as a morsel of food hits the floor though she is right there to clean it up. So, for the most part we've resorted to just dealing with it. I did put her in our bedroom off and on for awhile when the feeding the dog stage was at full force. In general though, we just don't make a big fuss over it. I just tell them no, we don't feed the dog people food. I've told them that every day for over a year and they still feed her at least one bite per meal . It lost it's luster early on though and they quickly quit feeding her all of their food because then they didn't have any! Now they just try to get her to eat what they don't want. Mason will feed her, then get mad because she can't give it back too! If they drop something on the floor they also holler at her to come from the hall to clean it up. It's an ongoing battle that has gotten much easier with time. The early finger food time was the worse, I think because it was new to all of them (dog and boys).

 

My dogs are untrainable...they both are something else. Love them but not the brightest crayons in the box! I put them outside for lunch today and Izak didn't start dropping food until he was done eating. And I did let the dogs back in to clean up ... cleaned the floor up in about 2.5 sec and yep, it was spic and span.

 

Mine LOVE to feed our dog too but he's pretty good about sitting away from them on oncue (i.e. removal of tray) he's on the food! But sometimes they'll dangle food in front of his face and they also find it hilarious As long as they've eaten most of their meal, I'm okay with it. If this were happening at the beginning of a meal, then I wouldn't be.

 

one of the best ways is to not let your dog in the room while you eat.

Personally I can't stand a dog under my feet, staring at me, begging or eating table scraps while I eat so we don't let our dog in the dinning room until after the meal is totally cleaned up.

 

I haven't read the other responses, but throwing food off of the high chair is common. Your child thinks it's funny because of the reaction. Can you put the dog in a different room while you are feeding him? Just stay calm and say 'no throw.' If it continues, take the food away and mealtime is done.

 

I was also going to suggest the same thing! The novelty will soon wear off! Kids, eh!