How to unteach your dog to beg?

Of course it is ideal, if the dog never learns to beg. For example, my dog never had an issue with this. And otherwise, he is quite a mischievous little dog. But he has never gotten food at a table from anyone, not even while meat was cut in the kitchen. Thanks to this, he has learned that when people are eating, it doesn’t mean, that he is going to. He just knows, that human food is not for him, and that’s why he doesn’t even try to beg for it.

However, if you fail to resist the begging stare of dog’s eyes in the puppy age and from time to time, you give your doggy a piece of food off your plate, he will get used to that whenever you’re eating, something tasty might come from it. Then you can’t wonder why they are begging. They just learn that such behaviour pays off and from their point of view, it is rewarded with a treat.

Unfortunately, it may happen, that even if you yourself will consistently teach your dog, that they shouldn’t beg, then some of your friends or family members might secretly slip something to them under the table here and there. You leave your not begging dog for someone else to watch and you will get a first-class bum in return. What can you do? Steel yourself with patience and start to ignore the begging dog. This way, you can unteach them the begging skills again.

If the dog comes to the table during a meal, starts throwing heart-wrenching stares at you or they start whining or put their snout in your lap. Simply ignore them completely. It is no good to start talking to them in a kind voice, since then they can interpret this as a positive signal which approves of their behaviour. In short, it is ideal, if the dog stays at their place when the humans are dining, in their bed or on their blanket and they aren’t at the table at all. Simply put: before you start eating, send your dog friend to their place.  

But if the dog sets off to you to the table, immediately send them back to their place, so that it is clear to them that they are not welcome at the table and nothing good is waiting for them there. If the dog should come back to the place by you after you send them to their place, always order them strongly, to go back.

And one final advice: if you ever wanted to give your dog, for example, a piece of meat that you are cutting in the kitchen, or a piece of your own food, for instance (even though, this is definitely not necessary in case of a balanced diet), always put the food into their own bowl. The dog just has to remember that they are getting their food only in their own bowl, or as a reward during training and not from a human plate that you are eating from at the moment.

So if you have a little dog beggar at home, try to be consistent and patient, and you will see, that they will unlearn this undesirable behaviour after some time.