Stop your dog begging for food
Fed up of your dog jumping up at the dinner table? Begging for food or being a general nuisance when you are trying to eat?
In this article, we will cover why your dog begs for food and how best to control it.
Why does my dog beg for food?
If, like many owners, you are wondering why you’re dog is begging, you must understand how dogs learn. They learn through association. Before you take them for a walk you would put the lead on. Through repetition, they have learned to associate the lead with going for a walk and will most likely get very excited. When puppies are small, someone in the household is most likely giving them scraps from the table. So when they get older they have learned to associate dinner time with teats from the table and will get very excited.
But, I have never fed my dog from the table…
If you cant recall a time when either yourself or someone else has fed the dog from the table, you just have a food-motivated dog who lacks impulse control! All this means is they see you eating and can’t control themselves!
What can I do to stop the begging?
Aside from no longer feeding your dog from the table. Here are my top tips to stop your dog begging at the table.
Management
if you don’t have time to train your dog, simply have an area where you can put them whilst you are eating. This is where crate training comes in handy. Or if your dog is not crate trained, an area of the house shut off with a baby gate can work too.
Mat/bed command
Teaching your dog to stay on a solid object such as a raised bed will help to teach calmness around dinner time.
By incorporating these training methods into your dog training routine, you will soon find your begging dog no longer sees your food as its food!
This article explores just some of the basics your dog will need to stop your dog from begging for food. For more help book an in-home training session, tailored to the needs of your dog and your family.
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