Stop dog begging, be it for food or attention. It is time to realize that your dog acquires this behavior because someone taught it to become a beggar by rewarding it for begging; and it is presumed that you know who it is.
A dog that has never been fed from the table will not be mindful of what’s going on around on the table when people eat; and it doesn’t mess around begging for scraps that some generous soul would drop with intention.
Dogs don’t beg if they are not taught to do it. But if your dog has already developed this behavior because you or someone else taught it, you can still reverse the habit by observing certain rules.
Before you even start to train your dog not to beg, be sure that the entire household is aware of it, because chances are it could still learn to beg from someone else who kindly gives the dog a little something while he is eating. Prohibiting everyone from giving the dog anything from while he’s eating will surely help to keep the dog from begging. Everyone must be instructed to resist rewarding the dog every time it shows a begging face in order to stop dog begging.
By simply ignoring your dog’s begging for food or attention and by being consistent with it will stop your dog from associating its begging with any reward that it hopes to get. Your dog will eventually drop this behavior in time.
Stop Dog Begging for Food
As a rule, you should never give anything to your dog as you eat. Simply ignore it. When you stop giving it something to eat while you eat, it will lose interest in begging. Don’t ever give your dog anything from the table, even the smallest bit of scrap, as this will only reinforce the habit and you will find it difficult to detach from your pet.
Indulging our dog in an interesting activity while you eat is another way of preventing it from begging. Giving your dog a bone or feeding it while you’re on a meal works to curb its begging behavior. This will also eliminate any guilt feeling you may have for not giving your dog anything from your table.
Stop Dog Begging for Attention
Eliminate dog begging for attention by simply ignoring your dog no matter what it does to catch your attention. Whatever you do, wherever you may be in the house, do not pay attention to your dog no matter what it does to catch your eye. Never speak to it, avoid making eye contact with it, and don’t ever attempt to touch it whenever it begs for your attention because when you do you will again be reinforcing the behavior that you don’t want from your dog.
Being consistent with these practices, you will soon realize that your dog has started to pickup what you want it to learn. As you constantly ignore your pet every time it begs for food or attention, sooner or later, your dog will realize that its begging efforts are getting nowhere; and by avoiding to reward it as it begs, your dog will soon drop the relationship between its begging and the food or attention that you give.
Attention-begging in dogs can be tougher to deal with because of a certain feeling of guilt that ensues every time you ignore your pet. But being consistent(once again)with your own rules and spending time with your dog when it’s not seeking your attention will help the dog overcome its negative behavior as well as it eliminates your guilty feeling.