Dogs Begging for Food: How to Curb that Bad Pekingese Habit
You are eating and there is your puppy, giving you that look. Most owners can’t win over that look and thus give into his wish. Dogs begging for food is quite innate and it is up to you as the owner to curb this nasty behavior. Begging is a behavior is harmless, however it can be annoying at times. While canines deserve to eat their meals in peace, but so do we, and it is very disturbing to eat while a dog is drooling beside you.
Begging is a natural and instinctual behavior; it is also a learned behavior. This means that at some point in his life, he has found out that begging would get him results from his owner. It is up to you to train him properly so that he won’t be able to develop that habit.
Begging usually begins when the family pet is beginning to receive shared food items from his owners. A member of the family would slip something to him under the table just because that person doesn’t want to eat it or if a person is generous enough to allow their pet to lick the minor leftovers from the plates. It won’t take long before your pet would stand by your table during meal times because he knows that he will get something to eat too.
It is normal for your pet to mooch from his pack leader (owner). or from the rest of the pack which are higher ranked than him (members of the family). So, from the day that you bring him home, it is wise to establish a dinner-time routine — when it is your family’s meal time, train to crate him. Or if not, at least train him to not stay in the same room where you and your family is dining.
Dogs Begging for Food
Stop What Has Already Begun
- Feed him. And I mean, feed him the same time that you and your family are eating. That way he will be too occupied with his own meal to be ever concerned with yours.
- Crate him. Train him to be crated during meal times. It is never too late to undo his behavior and you can begin by putting him away when you and your family is eating. It can also prevent any saboteurs from any members of the family, especially the kids!
- Give a command. Every time he attempts to come near you during meal times, give him a command to go elsewhere. It may be to his crate or to just lay down in a corner or to simply leave the room for the time being.
- Ignore. Begging is a type of an attention-seeking behavior and ignoring him would teach him that it won’t give him any results anymore.
Dogs begging for food won’t change overnight, you should know that. Be patient and use discipline consistently and don not ever give up. Your greatest reward will be a better behaved dog. As you may have noticed that all of these hints have to do with removing your pet from the scene. This form of negative reinforcement is really what works best along with complete refusal to give in to his food begging. Do not forget that you have to out-stubborn him in order to succeed, and dogs can be truly stubborn indeed.
