How do I teach my dog to stop begging for food?

Picture this, you dig into your favourite food and while relishing that first mouth watering taste of biryani you have your pet drooling, whining and literally jumping to get a taste of your meal. You are probably guilty to giving into their lusty demands! Who can resist a dog that is looking at you so forlornly and soulfully as you tuck into a lovely meal?

What adds on to the behaviour is that you reinforce them by giving into them each time they ask for titbits. They beg you give thereby making this habit stronger in your pet not to mention the tough time you are bound to have with them when you have houseguests!

The simple way to stop such unfavourable is to stop feeding them when the beg. Period. Not so easy ain’t it? You need to start early and particularly when the start adulthood. It takes time, patience and training to stop this habit in your pet. Do not be easily discouraged. To make things easy for you here are 3 ways to teach your pet not to beg. You can choose either of the tree methods and stick to the one that you find your pet responding to.

• Ignore your dog – You along with the rest of the family need to ignore your pet when they compel you to feed them. Do not keep eye contact with your pet. Do not interact with them as they will find your attention itself rewarding and continue begging. Be hard hearted and never give in to ‘this one time’ and feed them. Your purpose is lost. So, be consistent in not feeding them no matter how frustrated they get. Once you stop feeding they will stop begging.
• Teach an alternative behaviour – Train your pet to lie down at a particular spot. Place your pet’s crate or mat on the floor, ask them to lie down, once they do reward them by throwing them a treat or a toy. Keep training them they will slowly get it. Once they do use this training while you sit to eat. They will be busy with their food stuffed toy or treat while you chow down.
• Use management when you don’t have time to train or help – When you do not have the time to train your pet or anyone to help you train your pet you can use management during mealtime. Management includes; baby gate that will prevent your pet getting near your table, you can put your pet in a crate if they are happy in it but ensure you keep them occupied with a bone or a food stuffed toy or you can keep them busy by giving them a food puzzle toy that will keep them going till you finish your meal.

So, with consistent training and persistence you can eliminate begging behaviour in your pet. You can always contact a trainer for further advice.