| You have company over for dinner. The table | | | | the dog from the table despite the rules. |
| is beautiful and the food smells and looks | | | | |
| delicious. Unfortunately, your dog thinks so | | | | Don't fool yourselves - you have created a |
| too and is sitting up and begging for morsels | | | | monster and it will take several weeks of |
| off everyone's plate and, if not rewarded, | | | | consistent work on your part to break your |
| attempting to take the food on his own or | | | | dog of this habit. Once you start, he will |
| pawing at your guests. This can ruin the | | | | most likely begin to whine and howl loudly in |
| dinner party and is not particularly good for | | | | complaint of the treatment. DO NOT GIVE IN. |
| your dog either. How could this have been | | | | If you do, the battle is lost and will be |
| avoided? | | | | that much harder next time. One weak moment |
| | | | of slipping the dog a treat just to be nice |
| Know that his is not the dogs fault and it | | | | (and you are not really being nice at all) |
| started a very long time ago. Some horribly | | | | can ruin all the prior training so standing |
| misguided individual who was trying to be a | | | | your ground and enforcing the rule of not |
| good pet owner did this while the pup was | | | | giving meal time treats to the dog is a must. |
| still very young and trained the dog for this | | | | |
| very behavior. Want to know who taught your | | | | One way to implement this change is to feed |
| dog this trick? It was YOU. | | | | the dog at the same time the rest of the |
| | | | family, preferably in a separate room. This |
| No doubt you weren't consciously training | | | | way the dog has its own meal and will not |
| your pet for this unwanted behavior and you | | | | feel the need to beg food from others in the |
| did it with the best of intentions but the | | | | household. If this is not an option, give |
| behavior is here now and must be dealt with. | | | | your pet something to distract it, perhaps a |
| Your dog learned this trick from all those | | | | toy to play with to keep them occupied |
| times when little scraps of food were tossed | | | | throughout mealtime. |
| down to a cute little puppy who staring up at | | | | |
| you with those sad brown eyes. All of this | | | | Consistent and rigid training is the only |
| could have been prevented by a simple act of | | | | effective way to correct it. Every member |
| will power then but now you have a problem to | | | | and guest of your household must enforce the |
| deal with. | | | | rules or all your work will be of no avail. |
| | | | Guests can pose a problem, especially if they |
| So how can you stop your dog from begging? | | | | slip their dogs treats when they eat. Just |
| | | | explain the rules before you sit down to eat |
| Stop rewarding the behavior. This means not | | | | and, I hate to say it but... watch them. It |
| giving in and not paying attention to your | | | | is a habit for them and they may not even |
| dog when he begs. Make sure everyone in the | | | | know they are doing it. In this circumstance, |
| household knows not to share their meals with | | | | I like to keep my dogs away from the table |
| the dog and follows this rule no matter what | | | | just in case. |
| the circumstance. You may even have to | | | | |
| confine your dog to its kennel or a separate | | | | Once you stop your dog from begging, you will |
| room during meal or snack times if this is | | | | be blessed with a healthier pet, a happier |
| difficult. This is especially useful if you | | | | household and pride in your well-mannered |
| have people in the household who tend to feed | | | | canine friend. |