Prince Simon wants Tablefood
My puppy won't stop begging for table food. Today, he even jumped up on that table to partake in my burger... Is there something that I should do to curb is enthusiasm?? |
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| Never give him any....ever.
People food...maybe, but not table food. Izzie doesn't beg at all and will even sit next to me on the sofa while I am having a snack and may sniff it once, but won't try to eat it. The only reason I can think that she is like this is because she has never gotten food from our table. She gets baby carrots and cottage cheese for treats, but nothing that we are eating at the time. My last dogs were horrible beggers...but we did feed them table scraps...so they were just trying to speed up the process  |
| Great question. Sorry, we've never had that problem so I don't have good advice.
The command "leave it" has been universally applicable for us though. Teach it using a dog treat - place it on the floor in front of your puppy and say "leave it". You'll have to cover it with your hand whenever he tries to eat it. As soon as he looks away from the treat reward him with a treat from your hand (not the floor). Eventually you won't have to cover the treat to stop him from taking it. This command is great when on walks, as they just seem to want to taste everything! "Leave it" might work for table food too. Never feed your puppy from the table or the countertop, of course. Hopefully others will have good advice on this. It's easier to get them trained on this when they're young.... another few months and your puppy might be at eye level with the dinner table!  |
| *Sigh* I feed from the table. I know, I know but I only feed healthy food but it, alas, at the table. Because I know I'm going to do it, I've trained them to sit next to me, on the floor, until I'm done eating and they know that if they wait, they get something at the end. I don't feed while I'm eating. Clyde and Bear will lie on either side of me on the couch and not bother me while I eat either, just a little sniff. If I get up when I'm done without giving them something though, I've got 2 shadows until I give them some kind of treat! |
Mine weazle table scraps out of me too, hard to sit there with THAT moochie look and dribble. 
They love the Vegies  |
| First of all, you need to decide if you want to feed from the table or not. If you do not, then you must correct Simon every time he even attempts to take something from the table. If you do not want to feed from the table, you must NEVER do it, or allow anyone else to do so, either.
We've had this issue with 2 of our 4 dogs, most recently our puppy Sherman. Sherman actually jumped on the table to take a piece of leftover pizza. My soft hearted husband thought since he had worked so hard (Sherman was about 4 months at the time and jumping to the table was an effort) and no way were we eating that piece of pizza now, Sherman should get it. I said no, Sherman could not be rewarded by getting to keep his prize. I took it from him. Hubby and Sherman both recovered nicely. Pushing in chairs around the table when they are not being sat in is a good idea. Makes it harder to get onto the table. With my first OES, I knew he'd be big enough to eat from the table without climbing on anything, so I decided to deliberately teach him not to do so. I would put a tempting bit of meat or cheese on the edge of the table where I was sitting, and when he reached for it, I'd correct him with a firm and gentle NO. After several times of making him sit back and wait, I'd give him the longed for bit from my hands, but only if he was sitting, and only if he was sitting nicely and took it nicely. Started with very short time intervals, moved up. It is hard to feel mean sometimes, but nothing is kinder for your dog than to teach it manners and to make sure it only eats what is good for it so that he remains at a healthy weight and healthy. Teaching Off, Down, and Drop It are extremely useful for this issue. They are also important to teach if your dog should ever get hold of something actually dangerous. It is important! My dogs have come across the dessicated carcasses of dead birds and even bats. It's easy for them to snag some such dangerous treat and to hide it for a while in their hairy faces, but very, very dangerous for them to have. I'm bringing this up only to reinforce the idea that it is very, very important to be able to take whatever you need to from your dog, ideally by getting him to drop it voluntarily. His life might depend upon it. |
| Hi,
Welcome to you and Simon to the forum. Oh boy while I realize hard to resist cute little puppy eyes , I think you're setting yourself up for future problems. The number one golden rule which I learned over years of experience with dogs and doing the occasional dog behavior consulting is this: Whatever you do now..be prepared to put up with the behavior for the next year, 5 years, 10 , and 15 years. Unless you change his and your behavior that's what is going to happen. Yikes! I can't imagine a 100 pound muddy sheepie jumping on the table! 
My son used to feed his dog table scraps and I never thought it was such a bad thing as Blue remained under the table. Now 16 years later the same dog drools and will sit at your side waiting for a piece of tidbit. Some may find it cute but truthfully most dinner guest would get turned off. I learned not to do that with the other two dogs and as a result they will not try to come near the table while the people are eating. With three big dogs in my household I knew there was no way anyone would ever come over, nor would I ever be able to eat a single meal without getting bothered. Old Blue is now 17 and while he's learned from the others not to bother us for food he still comes close to the table. If I only knew then what I know now...this has continued for all those years. I wish we hadn't started. Unless you are going to live the life of a hermit and never have a single dinner guest over you are setting yourself up for trouble. Granted all the people that come to my place are animal people anyhow , having a dog jump on the table at 100 pounds is asking for trouble. Remember your pup is going to continue to grow! You are also allowing Simon to view he has alpha status in your home which is a huge no no as he will see himself as the boss in the household and that causes all sorts of problems. He needs to be told to "leave it" and not touch your food. It's going to be tough on you but please be firm. What would happen if you were at a park or public place and Simon jumped on someone to snatch their food. Not a good thing to even think about. Teach him proper manners now and whatever work you put into him now will pay you back for years to come. Good Luck! Marianne and the boys |
Marianne wrote: Hi,
Welcome to you and Simon to the forum. Oh boy while I realize hard to resist cute little puppy eyes , I think you're setting yourself up for future problems. The number one golden rule which I learned over years of experience with dogs and doing the occasional dog behavior consulting is this: Whatever you do now..be prepared to put up with the behavior for the next year, 5 years, 10 , and 15 years. Unless you change his and your behavior that's what is going to happen. Yikes! I can't imagine a 100 pound muddy sheepie jumping on the table! My son used to feed his dog table scraps and I never thought it was such a bad thing as Blue remained under the table. Now 16 years later the same dog drools and will sit at your side waiting for a piece of tidbit. Some may find it cute but truthfully most dinner guest would get turned off. I learned not to do that with the other two dogs and as a result they will not try to come near the table while the people are eating. With three big dogs in my household I knew there was no way anyone would ever come over, nor would I ever be able to eat a single meal without getting bothered. Old Blue is now 17 and while he's learned from the others not to bother us for food he still comes close to the table. If I only knew then what I know now...this has continued for all those years. I wish we hadn't started. Unless you are going to live the life of a hermit and never have a single dinner guest over you are setting yourself up for trouble. Granted all the people that come to my place are animal people anyhow , having a dog jump on the table at 100 pounds is asking for trouble. Remember your pup is going to continue to grow! You are also allowing Simon to view he has alpha status in your home which is a huge no no as he will see himself as the boss in the household and that causes all sorts of problems. He needs to be told to "leave it" and not touch your food. It's going to be tough on you but please be firm. What would happen if you were at a park or public place and Simon jumped on someone to snatch their food. Not a good thing to even think about. Teach him proper manners now and whatever work you put into him now will pay you back for years to come. Good Luck! Marianne and the boys This brings up a totally different problem. Simon is starting to show alpha characteristics. How can I change this. He's only four months old and he is getting hard to control. |
Asreial wrote: !
This brings up a totally different problem. Simon is starting to show alpha characteristics. How can I change this. He's only four months old and he is getting hard to control. If you haven't yet signed up for basic obedience classes, you should do so. Even if you know basic training very well yourself, classes help get you to practice because you don't want to look bad in front of the other people and their dogs. Also, you will have access to a trainer who is skilled enough to be able to assess Simon's behavior and to help you see how to correct unwanted behavior quickly. Actually, training him to leave your food, shoes, socks, bed, other belongings alone is realy in part dominance training. You are teaching him that all good things come when you say they do. This puts you in the alpha position. |
| We are also working in this. From the table, Annie only gets the occasional Cheerio from me when they fall on the floor . She will beg with he big beautiful eyes, but lays down when told. 9 out of 10 times Fozzie copied her behavior. However, now that his head can reach the edge of the counter and table, he sniffs and licks. "Leave it" seems to work most of the time or telling him to lay down more than once. |
Asreial wrote: This brings up a totally different problem. Simon is starting to show alpha characteristics. How can I change this. He's only four months old and he is getting hard to control.
Maybe start with stopping calling him Prince? Perhaps subconciously, giving him the title reinforces a perception in your house that Simon is royalty and you are his subjects. . .
I am a huge fan of the Nothing In Life Is Free approach. Here's a good overview of strategies you can use to help make sure your puppy knows you are the boss. I love the book and highly recommend it: http://www.mysmartpuppy.com/ask-us/arti ... unded.html Or the book and DVD together: My Smart Puppy: Fun, Effective, and Easy Puppy Training (Book & 60min DVD) (Hardcover), by Brian Kilcommons, Sarah Wilson I make sure my dogs stay away from the table. I do it by standing up and walking towards them to make them back away. If they try again, I back them up again. Third try and the dog is tethered away from the table. They got the idea very quickly and now they don't bother me anymore. Sometimes they come sniff but a brief getting up motion from me and they back up. It also helps to give them a long-lasting chew treat while you are having dinner. Good luck! |
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