Why does my dog always want my food?

If your dog always wants your food, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.

So, why does my dog always want my food? Likely reasons why your dog always wants your food are that it is hungry and that it is in its nature to take food when the opportunity arrises.

There are a number of possible reasons why your dog takes your food and it is likely to be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.

Why does my dog always want my food?

Below are likely reasons why your dog takes your food and what would make them more likely.

Nature

Food is hard to come by in the wild and it would have been in the best interest of dog’s to eat food whenever the opportunity arose. The reason why your dog always wants your food is likely to be that it is in its nature to take food whenever it gets the chance because it does not know when the next meal will come.

Your dog is hungry

The cause could be that your dog is hungry itself. This would be more likely if it tends to only take your food when it has not been able to eat in a while. In this case, it could help to feed it sooner than usual and it would help to ensure that it has been eating the right amount of calories.

Dominance

A part of the cause could also be that your dog is being dominant and trying to be the one to eat first. This would be more likely if your dog also gets aggressive when it tries to take your food. In this case, it would be an option to get your dog to stay in a different part of the house when you are eating.

Your dog likes the smell

Dogs have a strong sense of smell and it is likely that the smell of the food attracts your dog. This would be particularly likely if it tends to do it more when you are eating food with a strong smell.

Things to consider

Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main reason why your dog has been doing it.

If your dog has always wanted your food

If your dog did not always want your food, it would help to consider what else happened when your dog first started wanting your food. If it started wanting it suddenly, it might be due to things such as a change in its diet or learning that it can get away with it.

What is different when your dog does not want your food

If your dog seems to do it more at a certain time, it would also help to consider what is different about the timing. For example, if it only does it when it has not eaten in a while, the cause would be likely to be that it is hungry.

What to do about my dog always wanting my food?

Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.

Avoid rewarding the behavior

It would help to avoid giving your dog your food and to make sure that nobody else gives it their food. Otherwise, your dog will learn that you’ll feed it if it makes you do it.

Ensure it is getting the right diet

It would also help to ensure that your dog has been eating the right amount of calories and that it has been getting the right diet.

Get it to stay somewhere else

If your dog has been bothering you a lot, another option would be to simply get your dog to stay elsewhere when you are eating.

Why does my dog always beg for food?

If your dog always begs you for your food, it is likely that it has learned that you will give it your food and that it is hungry.