No mysteries here, your dog begging for food is because our food is tasty and they want it. That’s it. Everyone has their own preferences and expectations of how dogs should behave when humans are eating. Hand feeding your dog your leftovers and letting them lick your plate clean is absolutely if you’re ok with it! Conversely, some people don’t want their dog anywhere near when they’re eating. Both are fine and everyone has a right to their personal preference. As long as you’re setting your dog up for success, whatever your preference, everyone can enjoy happy mealtimes.
If you’re reading this post, you’re probably not happy with your dog’s behaviour at your mealtimes. Maybe they’re jumping up at you, whining or barking or just being a bit of a pest whilst you’re trying to eat. Firstly, consider whether your dog is genuinely hungry and the smells are driving them a bit crazy. There’s an old school myth that dogs should eat after you so they know you’re the alpha… This is absolute BS! There’s no reason why your dog should eat after you unless it works better for all of your routines.
Begging for food solutions
Next, let’s look at management. It’s often easier for everyone if your dog is in their crate or in another room with the door shut or a gate separating them from you whilst you eat. Management is especially important for puppies, who are going to really struggle to resist your pizza!
Whilst separated, you can give your dog their own breakfast/lunch/dinner in a puzzle or other food toy. This is what we do when Dan, Baby M & I are eating. Duke has his dinner in some kind of food toy or puzzle. He then settles under the table whilst we finish our meal. This set up works well for us and Duke has a strong history of being rewarded for lying down calmly under the table.
Teach your dog what you want them to do
Avoid shouting or using other forms of punishment to stop your dog begging for food. This doesn’t change their motivation to beg-they still want the food! Get them to do something they can do instead. Cue your dog to go to their own bed or mat and reward them with praise and food rewards for doing so. You can have a pot of dog treats on the table with you and toss them onto your dog’s bed every so often. Find our guide to mat training here. You could also cue your dog to sit or lie down if you are happy with where they are. Remember, you’ll need to reward your dog for the behaviour you’re asking them to do until it’s reliable. You can fade out the treats once they understand what’s being expected of them.
Will sharing my food make my dogs begging for food worse?
There’s nothing inherently wrong about feeding your dog table scraps. As long as they’re safe for dogs to eat and they’re not getting too many additional calories. Whether it encourages begging depends on how you go about it. If your dog jumps up on your lap and you give them some of your food, you’ve reinforced the behaviour of jumping on your lap. If that’s ok with you, then that’s fine. If your dog is lying calmly next to you and you give them a piece of food then, you’re reinforcing the behaviour of lying down calmly next to you. Remember, your dog doesn’t have any understanding that some food is ‘human food’ whilst other food is ‘dog food’. It’s all just food to them, and often the human food is tastier than their own.
What next?
- Looking for help with your dog? Contact us to arrange in person or online training.
- Read more blog posts here.
- Perfect Recall: Teaching your dog to come back when called every time. Our guide is free to download when you join our email list- sign up here.