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Subject: Training not to beg, behave when humans eat.

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theniffs

Obsessed

06/17/2008 12:03 PM
Ok, Ive been trying to train my 11.5 week old baby to not be interested in human food. I have a strict rule about not feeding her from plates etc. I have even picked her up and had her sit with me while I eat and she gets all sniffy at the food and I tell her no. So far so good. I'm wondering if I am going about this correctly. I want to be able to take her out to eat with us but she has to be able to behave and I REALLY dont want her to beg. Does anyone else have any suggestions of things I can do to help? I live in California and many places have patios, most places that do allow you to eat on the patio with your dog.

rattytatty

Training Moderator

06/17/2008 12:14 PM
First of all... be realistic. You will probably NEVER train your dog to not be interested in human food! LOL But... you can indeed train your dog to be well mannered while you are eating, and this will become important as the dog ages ... especially during the times you have company in your home for a meal. If you continue to eat your meals and allow her to roam free.. she will continue to beg because that's a dog's nature. If this is a big deal for you and you want to train her NOT to do this you can do one of several things. You can train her to go to her "place" while you are eating. This place can be her crate (and yes... she will throw a hissy fit in the beginning, so wear ear plugs!). Over a period of time she will learn that her crate is her place at mealtime. Put her in it so you and any company you have can eat in peace. Or... you can train her to a boundary. For example... my breakfast area is on ceramic tile floor. The den is carpeted. So as you walk into the breakfast area from the den, the floor surface changes... so it's almost like a "line" is there. If you do not have this situation... you can use a yardstick to create a line.... something visual for the dog to see. Everytime the dog crosses the "line"... correct the dog and tell her to stay. Or you can teach another command for just this purpose if you prefer. You can say "boundary", which over time will teach the dog that she's supposed to stay BEHIND the line (boundary). This training works well because it's a visual for the dog... he/she can actually SEE the difference created by either a different surface or a yardstick. I don't always enforce it, because it's not a huge deal to me. But I can say "get back" while we are eating and all four of my dogs will sit on the carpet where it meets the ceramic tile and not cross into the ceramic tiled area. I trained them to do this... but don't always enforce it because it's not a huge deal to me. But it becomes a huge deal if you have guests over and you don't want your dogs all over your guests, ya know? Your puppy is old enough to begin some very basic training, and you can begin establishing yourself as the "pack leader". Good luck to you!

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, NA, NAJ

alice4512

Bratty Ratty

06/17/2008 12:56 PM
Dogs pick up this behavior very fast from other dogs too. Our friends dog does not beg at home but when he comes to our house and see's our two beggers he is right in there. We tried and tried to teach them manners but the urge for human food is strong in them. The alternative (and probably not a good one) is we give them each a mini dingo when we eat. It takes them like 1/2 hour to eat and gives us peace. We all finish at the same time. It's just what works for us but Nora's methods are far more socially correct!!

The great pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too ~Mom to my good boy Fred and my crazy girl Alice~

gwacie

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

06/17/2008 1:04 PM
Excellent suggestions (of course) from our training mod! I clicker trained my Roxy and Zip to go to a rug on cue. Then I give the go to your rug command when we are eating so they do not bug us. Roxy is very very very food attentive so the rug is like Nora said, just on the other side of the kitchen door and hall where the flooring changes to wood. Over the years Zip has decided there is no point in begging so he just sleeps in the other room and has taught most of the dogs that we have had (fosters and permanent) to ignore the eating humans too. But Roxy has eternal hope that some day she will get fed while we are at the table so she waits on the rug. Terrier hope springs eternal? Good for you for training your pup now before you have a problem to fix!

gwacie (Bethany) http://www.myadams.net/dogs/

rattytatty

Training Moderator

06/17/2008 1:14 PM
There are several ways to achieve this goal... you need to find what works for you personally in your own home. The key is consistency. Don't try one way and then another way the next day, and another way the next day. Whatever method you decide on... stick with it. Your pup will learn through your consistent methods. There are some good suggestions here for you!

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, NA, NAJ

theniffs

Obsessed

06/17/2008 1:34 PM
borders and such will work at home, but im talking about going out specifically. Many places here if your dog is well behaved will allow your dogs to come. Im actually signing up for a training class with a company here that is getting lots of press because of how awesome they are but its not until august. I think training with other humans and dogs around will be a big challenge compared to at home. Pixel loves people and loved playing with my in laws dogs. So in public there is much more distractions than in our home.

rattytatty

Training Moderator

06/17/2008 1:39 PM
Signing up for a training class is an excellent idea -- good for you! But... unless the dog is trained to be well-mannered at home, it's highly unlikely the dog will respond well away from home.

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, NA, NAJ

theniffs

Obsessed

06/17/2008 2:22 PM
I realize that, Im not saying I wont be training at home im simply saying getting them trained at home is a lot different than taking them into public. I would think they would forget most of their training with all the distractions

rattytatty

Training Moderator

06/18/2008 9:04 AM
That is SO true! When I trained Bailey to heel.... I started on the grass and worked him for several sessions on the grass. Once he became accustomed to the grass and was heeling fairly well... I moved to the concrete driveway. I pretty much had to start over... and once he became accustomed to the concrete and was heeling fairly well... I moved to the gravel. I pretty much had to start over... and once he became accustomed to the gravel...I took him to the high school ballfield and worked him on yet another grassy surface. You'd think grass is grass, right? No! I had to pretty much start over again... haha Then I worked him at the training center on astro turf... and this was yet another period of transition. Eventually, I got him to where he will heel on ANY surface at any location... but it took awhile... several months in fact. You are correct... different locations yield different distractions (smells, sights, sounds....) and this is the reason it's so wise to train a dog in various locations.

~Nora~ Mom to Hoss, Lil'Bit, Buster & Bailey, CGC, NA, NAJ

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