This article was co-authored by Deanne Pawlisch, CVT, MA. Deanne Pawlisch is a Certified Veterinary Technician, who does corporate training for veterinary practices and has taught at the NAVTA-approved Veterinary Assistant Program at the Harper College in Illinois and in 2011 was elected to the board of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Foundation. Deanne has been a Board Member of the Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Foundation in San Antonio, Texas since 2011. She holds a BS in Anthropology from Loyola University and an MA in Anthropology from Northern Illinois University.
There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Your dog begging at the table can be seriously annoying. Some dogs get very demanding, even barking at you if you don't give them food. To help resist this behavior, you need to learn to ignore your dog, as well as take your dog's health into consideration. You can also take steps to discourage begging.
Steps
Ignoring Bad Behavior
Look away from those begging eyes. Giving your dog any attention when it's begging only encourages it to beg more. Plus, if you look at your dog, you're more likely to give in. If you give into your dog and feed it food sometimes, that teaches it will be rewarded for this behavior. By ignoring the dog altogether, your dog will learn that begging doesn't get it anywhere.[1]- Make sure everyone in the family works together to ignore begging. You must be consistent.
Don't talk or pet your dog. Trying to talk your dog out of begging won't work. Therefore, you shouldn't just look away; make sure you're also not talking to it or petting it. Any attention you show your dog will only encourage it, making it want to beg more.[2]
Try teaching some basic commands. Teaching your dog "sit" and "stay" can help with begging, as it removes your dog from the table area if you can get it to "stay" somewhere slightly away. To work up to these behaviors, you need to start small.[3]- To teach sit, have a treat ready. Start with the treat in front of the dog's nose, and move it back and upwards, above the dog's head. The dog will need to lift its nose to follow the treat, pushing its rump down. As you do this move, say "sit." If the dog doesn't complete the motion, try pushing gently on the dog's rear end. Reward the dog with a treat when it is in the sitting position. Keep practicing the move, then work on doing it without a treat.
- For stay, get your dog in sitting position. Say "stay." It can help to hold your hand up to the dog with your palm flat. Walk a few steps away. If your dog follows, take it back to the starting position and repeat the command. When your dog stays, even for short periods, try rewarding it with a treat.
Reward good behavior. Once you've ignored your dog's bad behavior, make sure to reward good behavior. That is, if your dog has been begging for 20 minutes, and then goes and lays down quietly, take it a small treat to let it know that being quiet and not begging is what gets it rewarded.[4]- For this tactic, it can help to have a comfy place for your dog nearby, like moving its dog bed near the table.
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Using Your Dog's Health to Stand Strong
Think about how treats could affect your dog's weight. Feeding your dog table scraps can add a number of calories to your dog's diet. That can cause your dog to gain weight over time, particularly if you have a small dog. With a small dog, even a bite or two can be a significant number of calories. Resist feeding your dog's begging by focusing on its future.[5]
Learn which foods are toxic. Many human foods are toxic it to dogs. Knowing which ones could hurt your dog will make it easier to resist feeding your dog food at the dinner table, as many human foods contain ingredients that could harm your dog.[6]- Onions, garlic, and chives are probably the most common ingredients that are toxic to your dog. However, other common toxic ingredients include raisins, grapes, xylitol (a sweetener), chocolate, coffee, caffeine, alcohol, and macadamia nuts.
- Yeast dough is also a problem because it can bloat in your dog's stomach, which may mean emergency surgery if the dog's stomach twists.
- Foods like milk, dairy, nuts, citrus, and coconut oil can cause upset stomach and diarrhea.
- Feeding your dog fat trimmings and other high-fat human foods, like butter, eggs and nut, can cause pancreatitis.[7]
Remind yourself your dog isn't starving. When you're looking at those big, soulful eyes, it's hard to remember that your dog just ate five minutes ago. However, if you remind yourself of that, you may be able to resist your dog's begging better. You're not starving your dog. You're feeding your dog food that's appropriate for it.[8]- If you're not sure whether you're feeding your dog enough, talk to your vet about how much your dog needs and what food is best.
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Discouraging Begging
Feed your dog its own food during dinner. Your dog considers your family to be its pack, and your dog likes to eat with its pack. One way you can make your dog feel more included while not giving into begging is to feed your dog its food while everyone else is eating. Plus, it gives your dog a distraction, at least for a little while.[9]
Provide a distraction. If a standard meal isn't distraction enough, you can try a different kind of distraction, such as a food puzzle toy. These toys make your dog work for its food or treats, which keeps it entertained.[10]- If your dog still comes up to the table, you can tether it to a heavy piece of furniture in the same room. Just don't leave your dog alone, as it could cause harm to itself with the tether.
Separate the dog from the dinner table. One way to discourage begging is to put your dog in another part of the house. For instance, you can put your dog behind a baby gate away from the table or put it in another part of the house and close the door.[11]- Another option is to put the dog in its crate, if you've crate trained your dog.
Never feed your dog from the table. While you can feed your dog the occasional "human food" treat (as long as it's a safe food, like bland chicken), never feed the dog from the table. That teaches your dog that it can expect to be fed in the future from the table, encouraging begging. If you want to feed your dog a bit after dinner, take the food over to its bowl to feed the dog.[12]Advertisement
Expert Q&A
References
- ↑ http://www.akc.org/content/dog-training/articles/beggars-cant-be-choosers-how-to-stop-your-dog-from-begging-at-the-table/
- ↑ http://dogsaholic.com/training/dog-begging.html
- ↑ http://www.akc.org/content/dog-training/articles/teach-your-puppy-these-5-basic-commands/
- ↑ http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/pets/dog-behavior/make-your-dog%E2%80%99s-begging-less-bothersome?page=1
- ↑ http://www.canismajor.com/dog/nutrit3.html
- ↑ http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/people-foods-avoid-feeding-your-pets
- ↑ https://www.caninejournal.com/foods-not-to-feed-dog/
- ↑ http://dogsaholic.com/training/dog-begging.html
- ↑ http://www.purina.com.au/dog-food/eating-problems/not-eating
About this article
To resist your begging dog, avoid petting it or looking at it during meals so you aren’t tempted to feed it. It’s also helpful to teach your dog some basic commands like “sit” and “stay” so you can have it sit at a distance from the table. Additionally, try feeding your dog its own food during dinner, which will make it feel included and less likely to beg. If you’re still tempted by your dog’s begging, just think about how too many scraps can actually negatively affect its health, so by resisting you’re keeping your dog happier and healthier. To learn how to use food puzzle toys to keep your dog distracted during meal time, read more from our Veterinary co-author!
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