Help! He keeps stealing my tea!
He is not allowed on the furniture, but jumps up when we have food or drink. We say 'off' and push him down, holding him back for a few seconds so he knows it's not play but he comes back straight away and tries to get his tounge into whatever we have. When he has done it twice he gets put in the room next door but is not learning it's wrong to do these things. We have been using 'off' and 'no' but it's not working- what are we doing wrong? We put him in the other room if we eat or drink but it's really sad that we have to do that, we want him to be with us! He is OK when we are at the table, he just goes and lies down but when there is food or drink he can reach, he thinks it is his 
Any help would be great! |
|
|
| A couple of things:
There is nothing wrong with having your dog go to another room, or another spot in the room when you are eating or drinking something. Same idea as having a designated spot for a dog to be when guests arrive, to keep them from jumping or being over-excited at visitors. It takes time and patience, and most of all, the conviction that you are not being mean or banishing your dog, but teaching your dog manners which will make them more enjoyable to be around for you and for all of your family and friends. That said, I knew from the beginnng that my OES would be large enough to eat off the table without jumping, so I decided that I would stop that early on. What I did was to place a tempting bit of something--cheese or chicken near the edge of the table, hanging off, actually. When Merlin reached for it, I'd say Leave it, go on with my meal, and repeat the process. After a few successful Leave It!s, I then gave him the treat from my hand. He had to sit politely first. Practiced this many times, lengthening the time that he had to wait for his reward until eventually, he would just leave any food on the table---as long as we were there, at least. I wouldn't have trusted him alone in the room with a table full of food. Note: My kids were small when we first got Merlin, and I did NOT discourage him from cleaning up bits and pieces of meals that were dropped on the floor or chairs. My son was showing off how well trained Merlin was and put a piece of cheese on a chair, which he promptly snatched. My son was outraged, and then I pointed out that I had never told Merlin he couldn't have food on a chair--only on the table. My dogs love the ice from my glass of ice water and will come and pester me for some--as long as I tolerate it. When I won't, they stop. Also, they NEVER get a treat unless they are sitting politely and waiting as long as I feel they should. This isn't mean--it's manners. You wouldn't expect even a close family member to let you grab off of their plates or take their drinks, without being offered a sample. Your dogs should have just as good manners. You will be happier and so will they. |
| they really need to be trained to never take food or drink without permission. As the leader it is up to you to tell them when they can eat and drink. One way to work on it is when you put their food down they have to "wait" until you tell them its okay to eat.
That and the leave it command are invaluable! And our dogs do stay in another room when we have things out - food, drinks, games etc. that we would rather they not get into. |
We only eat and drink at the table as we have dogs running around , it's a rule we established when the children were small as it stopped them getting hot drinks spilled onto them and stopped them spilling juice all over the place  It works well and you soon forget you ever used to lounge around with a mug of tea !
Julie X |
Dancer steals coffee, specifically tim horton's coffee so at least she has taste... but she always has and I've never tried to train her not to do it, just tried to train myself not to leave it where she can get it.  |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|