How to Handle Dog Begging for Food

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Avoid attracting your dog’s attention.

   When you are eating or cooking food, don’t do anything to draw your dog’s attention to what you are doing.
   
   If your dog has exhibited begging behaviors, make sure you ignore the dog while you are cooking.Additionally, don’t call your dog to come to you while you are eating.
   
   You don’t want to encourage it to beg for the food.
2. 2

   Step 2: Refrain from touching your dog.

   While you’re eating, try to avoid touching your dog in any way.
   
   This will encourage your dog to interact with you while you are eating and to get closer to you and your food.Don’t pet your dog, play with your dog, or let your dog snuggle next to you while you are eating your food. , If your dog is begging, don’t make eye contact with it.
   
   The dog will interpret this as a sign to continue doing with its current behavior since you have obviously noticed it and have not discouraged its behavior.Continue eating your meal, but do not look at your dog directly. , But if your dog is clearly begging, you should tell it “no” firmly.
   
   Try to give the command loudly in a strong voice so your dog will take you seriously.If your dog continues to beg, send it out of the room until you have finished eating. , A good way to prevent your dog from begging for food is to feed the dog before you begin eating.
   
   This will distract the dog from the fact that there is human food to beg for.
   
   It will also make your dog less hungry, so it will not be as tempted to beg for your food.This can also help establish a clear routine for your dog so that it knows what to expect and what you expect from it. , Before you begin eating, give your dog something to play with or chew on to distract it from begging for your food.
   
   You can give your dog a food puzzle to keep it occupied while you are eating, or another type of toy.A rawhide bone or other hard chew toy would also work well for this type of distraction. , If your dog needs some distractions from the fact that you are eating, you may need to send it to another part of the house.
   
   This will eliminate the temptation for the dog and help it get out of the habit of begging.Consider putting your dog in the back yard (if your yard is fenced), or put it in another room with a doggy gate during meal times. , As soon as your dog comes home with you, you should begin making your expectations clear through consistent training repeated over time.
   
   It will be much easier to break a dog of a begging habit if you have never given it human food.
   
   A dog who has come to expect that begging sometimes works is much more likely to continue begging.When you bring your dog home, provide it with its own food and treats.
   
   Never give it any of your food. , If you want to keep your dog from begging, it’s a good idea to teach it to do something else during meal times.
   
   Consider teaching your dog to lie down on its dog bed while you are eating, or to remain seated on a mat in the corner.This will help your dog to learn your expectations and to know how it should behave.
   
   Be sure to use positive reinforcement when teaching your dog new behaviors.
   
   This means that you should praise your dog (and on occasion reward it with treats) when it performs the new behavior correctly.
   
   Don’t yell at or hit your dog.
   
   This will just teach your dog to fear you. , If you expect your dog to learn a new behavior, you have to give it clear guidelines to follow.
   
   You can’t allow your dog to eat some human food on special occasions and expect your dog to avoid begging all the other times.
   
   Dogs can’t distinguish between special occasions and regular ones, so that will just teach your dog that if it keeps begging you will eventually give it something off your plate.The more consistent you are with your rules, the easier it will be for your dog to learn what you expect from it. , Remember that it will take some time and practice for your dog to learn a new behavior.
   
   In order to meet your expectations, your dog has to run some trial and error tests that will take a bit of time for it to figure out.
   
   Be patient during this process.Being patient means not giving up when your dog doesn’t understand right away.
   
   But it also means allowing your dog some time to learn the new behavioral patterns.
3. 3

   Step 3: Avoid eye contact.

4. 4

   Step 4: Tell your dog “no.” Avoid talking too much to your dog while you are eating.

5. 5

   Step 5: Feed your dog before you eat.

6. 6

   Step 6: Give your dog a toy.

7. 7

   Step 7: Send your dog out of the room.

8. 8

   Step 8: Start early.

9. 9

   Step 9: Teach your dog to do something else.

10. 10

    Step 10: Maintain consistency.

11. 11

    Step 11: Be patient.

Detailed Guide

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