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Dog Training: How To Stop Your Dog From Begging & Stealing Food

Learning to beg or steal food is the easiest of all life's lessons for a puppy.

The art is most often taught by the pup's owners. In some cases, it is learned when food is accidentally dropped on the floor, or left unattended where the puppy can get at it.

Human taste discrimination is so crude when compared to the dog's that many owners fail to appreciate the mistake of giving their pups little treats of the family food fare. Many times it only takes one taste of highly spiced table food to ruin a puppy's appreciation for its less-seasoned commercial diet. The result can be a pup that turns up its nose at dog food and becomes a roaring menace around the dinner table.

The training method of extinguishing begging takes time. The time it takes depends on the duration of the habit, the pup's tenacity, and the consistency of its owners in carrying out corrective procedures. It requires that absolutely no attention be given the begging pup, regardless of its antics in trying to gain tidbits.

In the case of food stealing, the training method of extinguishing the behavior requires even more careful control of the environment, especially when young children are involved. They usually love to share their goodies with their pets, but it is impractical to explain the cause-effect relationship to such youngsters when they complain that "Sparky jumped up and stole my ice cream cone!" Children also tend to leave articles of food around on low tables and chairs, an irresistible temptation for most puppies.

To eliminate stealing, whether it is overt (taking food from children) or covert (pilfering the thawing dinner steak), it is necessary to initiate a program of at least 4 weeks, during which no food is ever placed within the pup's reach. It goes without saying that no tidbits should be given during this period.

Remedies that often fail include lacing some food with pepper or ammonia, saying "No-no" while tempting the pup, and physically punishing the animal when it approaches the family's food.

These fail because they require the presence of some agent other than the food, either the aversive-tasting element or the owner.

When these elements are not present, the pup is rarely discouraged from stealing the food. It learns to discriminate between treated and untreated morsels, and to avoid food in the owner's presence.

In The News

GIRL'S BEST FRIEND

SICK TEEN GETS BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HER DOG

By JULIA SZABO

April 29, 2007 -- Nobody knows exactly why 15-year-old May Mancuso’s central nervous system stopped working properly after she turned 2, permanently weakening some of her body’s key muscle groups. But one thing is certain: The best help for what ails her is a dog named O’Brien.

The 4-year-old Labrador retriever is more than a family dog: He’s a pet with benefits. Sporting a blue vest with the Canine Companions for Independence logo on it - the organization that trained him - O’Brien is an assistance dog with a repertoire of 40 different commands that enable May to do things most of us who don’t rely on wheelchairs for assistance take for granted.

One of O’Brien’s many talents includes picking up May’s iPod, which makes sense since Labs were originally bred to retrieve hunters’ quarry, carrying shot birds in their mouths gently, without crushing them. In an update of the Lab’s traditional job, O’Brien retrieves whatever May happens to drop. “I say ‘Get,’ and he’s so happy when he does it,” May says. “He picked up a paper clip with his tongue and his teeth. It took him a while, but he did it.”

All dogs love a good game of tug, and O’Brien is no exception. This playful canine trait comes in handy when it’s time for May to get undressed. “He tugs off her shoes and her orthotics,” explains May’s mom, Karla. “He’s working hard, but his tail is wagging the whole time.”

In addition to the commands he learned from CCI, O’Brien mastered a special trick that May taught the dog herself: snuggling up to sleep. “He lies next to me, on my left side, and I blow him a kiss so he knows to put his head on my chest,” May explains. Not surprisingly, when asked what she loves most about her canine companion, May replies, “That he’s so smart!”

(Taken from nypost.com)

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