Before you brought ‘Fido’ home from the breeder, mealtimes used to be quiet, pleasurable times where you and your family would discuss the day and share stories. Now your dog begs for food! You taught your children proper table manners and how to converse in hopes that they would benefit in knowing how to be behave appropriately when out.

 

Then Fido came into the picture and life has never been quite the same. Mealtimes became noisy, interrupted, and frustrated, almost to the point of you giving up on ever eating in peace again! It started with the kids giving Fido tidbits of their breakfast and lunch when you were not looking. Then Fido started hanging around the table during dinner, becoming more and more insistent that he deserves some food as well. When he started to bark and paw, however, was when you decided enough was enough and now you are determined to stop the behavior, it is just a matter of where do you begin?

 

Dog Begs for Food for a Reason

 

Dogs beg for food for a reason – the reward of food and at some point in Fido’s short life, looking cute, sitting pretty, pawing, barking, and jumping worked! Someone somewhere at some point in his life gave him food when he behaved a certain way and now he spends your mealtimes trying to repeat that event. The sad thing is when you work diligently in making sure your dog is never rewarded for begging behavior and then you have a party or go to a dog-friendly BBQ or some such thing and someone unknowingly defeats all your careful work. Once started it is hard to stop so if you have to, lock Fido in his kennel during parties or put a sign around his neck that says ‘I will die if you give me human food!’ (‘please don’t feed me’ only ever works to make people want to feed a dog even more).

 

 

Never feel like you are depriving your dog of some special pleasure by not teaching them to beg for food. Dogs are amazing in that they are not capable of knowing what they are missing if they never experienced something in the first place. If he has never tasted human food, there is a good change he will never associate your food with something he can eat and will never try begging for it.

 

Retraining a Dog that Begs for Food

 

There are several ways to retrain a dog once they have learned the art of begging for food. Some of it depends on how bad their begging behavior is and how long they have been doing it.

 

Before you try to retrain begging behavior, first make sure that your dog has been exercised for the day so he is tired, been let out right before the meal so he will not ask to go outside, and feed him his entire dinner so he is not hungry. Hunger and begging are not linked but a starving dog is more difficult to dissuade then a dog that has a full stomach.

 

If a mischievous friend has taken your well-behaved, non-begging dog to the dark side at a party, stopping the begging behavior should be easy. Giving him a sharp ‘no!’ when he gives you that imploring look and telling him to ‘go lay down!’ should stop him in his tracks. Make sure he does actually go and lay down however as giving the command but not following through can lead to further problems. When he does lie down, give him a ‘good boy, good down’ and then ignore him for the remainder of the meal.

 

For the dog that has been either begging longer or is emphatic about it, you may need to take several angles in an attempt to retrain him.

 

Feeding your dog on a regular schedule helps as does stopping all human food from passing his canine lips. He will learn that there is a difference between what is in his dish and what you eat at the table.

 

For a dog that is utterly out of control and disruptive, crating him or closing him in an outside  kennel  can help to bring peace back to your table. This does not retrain him however. Make sure you give him something to occupy him, however, so he does not associate the crate or kennel with a punishment.

 

Do not give in when your dog begs for food – ever! Dogs learn that a behavior that worked once will work again and only redouble their efforts if the current level of whining,  barking , pawing, and jumping is not producing the desired results. This is usually when people give in because it is easier and quieter then sitting and listening to him fuss.

 

 

Make him work for his anticipated reward! Put him through his obedience paces by putting him in a ‘down/stay’ beside your chair. If he starts to move, give him a ‘eh, eh, eh’ and put him back into his down. When he  sits  still, tell him ‘good down, good stay’ and reward him with affection when you are done your meal.

 

There is Hope for a Dog that Begs for Food

 

Patience, diligence, and never giving in will retrain even the most persistent of dogs that beg for food. Remember, you both developed this inappropriate together and it will take retraining on both your parts to correct the problem!