Does your dog beg for food at the table? Do they beg even from strangers when you’re at a restaurant? Then you should know, that you are one-hundredth percent guilty of this yourself. If a dog learns to beg for human food, it is an educational mistake. But the good news is, that you can unteach them to do this.
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.
Doing yoga with a dog, or doga in other words (the combination of “dog” and “yoga”), has become popular in the United States of America, but it has not become so popular in the Czech Republic yet. What is it about and what benefits does this sport have...
Earlier, this heart disease was attributed only to certain pure-blood breeds. Nowadays, it can even occur in cross-breeds. Another disease which reminds us of how important regular preventive check-ups at the vet are.
Days are getting colder and it is time again to prepare our furry friends who live outdoors for winter. All cats (whether they live outdoors or only go outside occasionally) need our greater attention in this season.
A Somali cat is a long-haired version of Abyssinian cat, one of the oldest cat breeds in the world. But it does not have an interesting or long history itself. Even though it is named after an African country, first Somali cats were born in the United...
Until recently, Cairn terriers were the most popular terriers in Great Britain (until they were overtaken by Westies). It comes from Scottish island Skye and it used to hunt foxes and otters here already in the times of Mary, Queen of Scots. That’s...
A team of Swedish athletes one of whom is Mikael Lindord regularly attends one of the most difficult races in the world to challenge other teams – the Adventure Racing World Championship. When Mikael and his friends stopped in the middle of an...
Each dog is an individual and has different needs. When it comes to diet, it depends on its health condition or physically demanding activities. However, we can generalize these needs to a certain degree according to a breed, age and mainly the size of...
Adopting a dog senior might save his life. They also need stable home and love which unfortunately can never be fully provided in the shelter. Nevertheless, most people who are considering adoption as an option automatically look for a puppy or at...
The International Rabbit Day is celebrated on the fourth Saturday or Sunday in September. This year, it was 22 September. This annual celebration of a cute mammal with long ears, short tail and a velvet coat is not only meant for the million of rabbits...
Do you also follow the recent trend which encourages us to come back to our roots and mind our planet more? I am personally very happy about that. More and more households live according to zero-waste and non-toxic principles and we don’t forget about...
Cats enjoying themselves in a doll house are a hit on Iceland. Their creators probably didn’t expect so much fame and first of all, they didn’t create the whole project for money, fame and for a short-time amusement. There is a much more noble purpose...
Your furry friend might get poisoned in a minute, only a few seconds of carelessness or a slow reaction is enough, especially if your dog is similar to mine and “eats everything he finds on the way”. Fortunately, my dog hasn’t been poisoned yet but I’m...
