As long as people have had indoor animals, it's been a back and forth battle between toddlers and the pet food bowl. For whatever reason, it's the most magical, mythical place and a day's work isn't complete in the world of a 2 year old unless the whole bowl has been emptied and examined piece by piece.
Many people simply remove the challenge by feeding their pets at scheduled times throughout the day, leaving the bowls empty or off the floor during the other hours. We've known some cat owners to leave food and water out on countertops so little fingers can't snack on any Meow Mix when they get bored, but giving your cat a buffet in the middle of your work space can be tricky.
Have you found a good way to train your little ones that kibble is bad and carrots is where it's at? More often than not, it's not that wee tots want to taste the food (one attempt at that and usually they're cured of that curiosity), but empty the bowl all over your nice clean kitchen floor! How do you combat the problem in your own home?
Let us know in the comments below!
(Image: Flickr member Robert S Donovan licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Oh, not my toddler. Apparently our dog's food is quite tasty. Count yourself lucky if you're not fishing kibble out of the kiddie's mouth and a messy kitchen floor is your only concern!
Not about tasting? Ha! My 20-month-old calls kibbles "doggie crackers" and will do just about anything to get a taste of them. We've managed to teach him not to dump the water bowl (for the most part), but food bowls still have to be put up when he's around, or he thinks it's a snack buffet for him. I guess if the dogs eat his Cheerios, he thinks he can eat their snacks.
We keep a plastic crate on top of the dishes and move it off to the side when the dogs seem hungry/thirsty. It's been working decently well for us. Feeding outdoors is another option, for those with fenced yards.
I have also known toddlers that liked cat and dog food.
My daughter is seven months and not quite crawling but we had to put the cat food out of reach when we got the dog two years ago. The cat food lives in attractive bowls on top of a dedicated table in the living room. It is the only part of our house that manages to be neat and minimalist!
When the baby goes mobile we will have to reexamine the water bowl since the dog needs access to it too.
Nobody's mentioned the mini-splash pool aka the dogs' water bowl! We have three year old twins that have finally outgrown the fascination with the dogs' water (although they did just dip their chalk in it this morning because it made different colors), but we have a 9 month old on the verge of mobility and we'll start it all over again!
There was a time, last year, when all my daughter wanted to eat was dog food & "na-nas". I am so gratefuul that the fascination with the dog food bowl is over. Now, how do I get her out of the toilet?
My 15 month old son is past wanting to eat it, but whenever he has the chance he loves to feed the cat, he goes to the pantry, picks up her kibble bag and carries it over to her bowl where he turns it upside down. Thankfully opening the zip lock has not occurred to him as a step in the process, yet.
Normally the kitchen is protected by a baby gate though, thus keeping her bowl, water, the bin, the oven, utensils and cleaning products out of reach.
This has never been an issue for us since we do feed our dog at a scheduled time. I think it's good to have things out of sight for saftey (drowning, choking) and just honestly annoyance!
i went to an in-home daycare for my toddler years and the teacher, who remains a family friend, loves to tell everyone how she spent most of her days fishing dog kibble out of my mouth and fists. Must have turned me off meat altogether though because I've been vegetarian practically since then.
My toddler likes to put the dog food into the water bowl *_*. So we have to not fill the water bowl too much and watch for our dog when he approaches his water bowl (then we know he needs a refill).
For cats and tall-enough dogs, you can put their bowls on an end table or baker's rack or some such that keeps them a foot or two off the floor, so out of the reach of crawlers anyway. Also prevents adults from tripping over the bowls. You can also buy expensive and ugly pet-food-bowl rack things. I've found that my cats drink more water now that the bowls are a couple feet off the ground -- they seem to love the idea of a piece of furniture they can climb onto and not get yelled at.
My cat needs a space of his own so that he can escape my 10-month-old when necessary, so we put a baby gate across the door to our bathroom. The cat can jump the fence, and it keeps the baby out of his litter box and food bowls. When the cat is looking particularly panicked, we move it to our bedroom door so that he has a whole room to himself.
Our dog is crate trained and has bowls that clip onto the walls of his crate. he gets fresh food and water in there every day when its time to go in. I'd recommend a crate even if you don't plan to confine the dog but to define a space that belongs to the dog and is off limits to kiddos. We were taught from an early age, that the crate is off limits. The dog can eat in peace, and use it as an escape if the kids are being rowdy.
It was when my son started eating the dog's food many months ago that I realized he was finally ready to eat cheerios. We have a small dog that eats many little meals throughout the day so we have to keep the food down. I put a baby gate up at the end of the hallway. It's a gate with a door so the dog can get through but for some reason it keeps my toddler away.
We also have the kitchen gated off. Keeps little one away from food, water and cleaners. We have to keep the dishes on the floor because our dog is very small. I have grown used to the gates so I don't mind.
My 10 month old daughter LOVES to eat Cat food and play in the water dish. I haven't come up with a good solution yet.
Please be careful - I have heard tragic stories about babies who choked on dog food and never recovered, never. There really isn't anything cute about putting choking hazards on the ground.
We never had a big problem with that. And we "Free Feed" our dog. Our daughter was more interested in HER toys. However our dog loves following her around while she is having a snack. We always make sure to remind her NOT to feed the dog.