My friend is having an issue with her dog scavenging while in the park on a walk, I have been trying to help but without much success, if anyone has any advice please feel free to advise us.

It's a real shame as soon as he gets to the park his head is down searching for food and has no interest in anything else, he really dosen't get the exercise he needs and all he wants to do is find food, he'll raid people picnics, gets in rubbish bins etc etc. He is a dog on a mission to find food!!!

In the summer she has him on the lead alot as there always people about with food and there is alot more of it left on the ground and he has got both of them in trouble a couple of times when he has raided peoples picnics. :(

The first thing I suggested was get the vet to check him out to make sure he wasn't lacking in anything and all was well health wise, her vet did a few tests and came up with nothing he's in very good health.

We have tried a number of different things over the past few months but so far we can't seem to distract him away from the food on the ground for long enough. We have tried lots of yummy treats ( ham, cheese, beef ) to try to keep his attention and it will work for a short while but then he'll lose interest and wander of again in the search for food.

Any ideas? :)

what is your friend feeding the dog on??

My Yankee is like that too, he always has his nose to the ground sniffing away! He has picked up so much rubbish in our park, it's a good thing he has a cast iron stomach! I have to keep a close eye on him and on the ground ahead to try and grab him before he spots any food. Not much help I know, but at least your friend isn't alone in having this problem!!

He's on James Wellbeloved and gets porridge for breakfast, so he gets two meals a day but my friend is a little soft and he does get given left overs alot. He's a good size not over or under weight and pretty fit. 

I'd really like to help her but I often don't see them everyday and sometimes I only see them once a week and I'm not sure how consistant she is been with him. It is such a common problem but he seems so obessed with scavenging though, like nothing else matters. The difficult thing is he is 7 and has probably done it all his life so I think it going to be a really hard habit to break.

You mean not ALL dogs live to scavenge ? :( Mine certainly do, but not living in "civilisation", they have to make do with sheep poo, blackberries, cow poo, hazelnuts, fox poo, grass, badger poo, unidentifiable decomposed things
rabbit poo etc. etc.

I asked about food as some dogs have been known to be terrible scavengers on certain brands. I feed burns and get scavenging unless i add some naturediet to it. others have noticed the same when their dogs have been fed burns, but im not sure about JWB as i've never fed it.
perhaps someone out there who does feed will be able to help on wether it might be to do with the feed :)

IMO some dogs scavenge and some don't, no matter what they are fed. All mine (2 Dobes, 2 Goldies and a Sussex Spaniel) are fed on Naturediet but still love to eat anything and everything, especially poo of all descriptions and decomposing rabbits! In the past they have been fed various dried foods and still ate muck!

I feed Burns with Naturediet and all three of mine scavange! Its a really pain in the neck!
Thye spend all their time on the hunt for food scraps and or poo!

Yup I agree it's in their nature just some dogs are worse than others, mine isn't really that bothered in general, but she has a penchant for chewing gum, she chews it a few times then just spits it out until she finds the next. 

Yep chewing gum is a problem here especially when it gets in the coat.

He sounds like many dogs.  the species are basically scavengers as well as hunters.  The only thing that will prevent him actually eating wht he finds is a muzzle, if you can fnd one he can't remove (I never did).

I thought a muzzle was a good idea until one of mine decided nice fresh cow pats could be sucked through them, and then tried to remove the muzzle by rubbing it on my leg! Don't cow pats stain?!