Train dog to be polite during meals?

Thursday March 31st, 2011

Question:

How do I train my dog to be polite and well behaved while the rest of us are eating dinner?

Answer:

Behind every dog who begs at the table is (usually) a human who's given in to those pleading canine looks. That said, it's important to reiterate the age-old rule: "Never feed your dog from the table so he won't learn to beg!"

For those of you who've already succumbed and have a drooling dinner partner at your side, I suggest teaching the "Go to your bed" command. Taught correctly, your dog will learn to stay in a designated area while you enjoy your dinner. I can already hear it--"The poor dog will have to WATCH me eat??"--but that's the mindset that got you this problem in the first place. Fear not, he'll be happy there if he's got an extra special toy or two (especially one with a treat stuffed in).

That said, there are dogs - you know who you are - who cannot tolerate the sight of their family eating. I owned a Doberman like this, and no matter what amazing toy or chewy I gave him on his mat in the kitchen, he would pine for our dinner. His tactics included hard staring, low moaning, and rivers of drool that would slowly drip from his jowls. It was evident after a few meals like this that he would be much happier with his eyes off the prize, and our very successful solution was to sequester him in another room with a few special dog toys he only saw during our dinner time.

The moral of the story? Know thy dog. Understand which toys will entertain him even through the most delectable-smelling dinner--and know whether he's able to tolerate the family eating in front of him (and not sharing!). It will ensure a peaceful meal-time experience for your human and canine family.

Kathy Santo is the founder of Everyday Pets, frequent dog behaviorist for the Martha Stewart Show, and House Beautiful's Ask the Dog Shrink columnist.

Tags Bringing Home Your Dog, Dog Behavior

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	Hello, my family and I adopted a 4 month old basset hound mix from our local shelter a few weeks ago. for the first couple of weeks, we let him sit under the table and didn't think that much of it. But recently we have started to think about what the consequences of that might be. And so we have started telling him to "go lay down" right before we sit down to eat dinner. he has a few toys to chew on and he does good for the most part but after he has sat in his area for a few minutes and just as I relax and stop looking over to make sure he isn't inching his way towards the table he is at my feet gobbling everything he can before I realize he is there..... when we catch him my husband and I tell him to go lay down again and usually have to carry him back to his spot. so the question is what should I do about him sneaking back to the table. my other question is should I let him eat the crumbs that fall on the floor after we have all left the table. ( i have a 20 month old daughter who gets very creative at dinner time) It would be awesome for Nixon to help out, as long as that doesn't hinder his progress. ( I don't want him to be staring at us just waiting for the second that he can dart over and clean up. over 1 year ago by Anonymous
	our family recently adopted a puppy for our local shelter and I have a question about dinner time behavior. when we first got Nixon we didn't think it was that big of a deal that he sat under the table while we ate. and it is especially nice that he cleans up after out 21 month old daughter. But we started to think about what we were teaching him. So We started putting him in his own space while we eat with a few toys just like you said and he does better with every meal. but my question is this; He likes to eat the crumbs that fall on the floor, and so would it be bad to let him do that after we have all left the table? over 1 year ago by Anonymous
	Feed dog first. about 4 years ago by Anonymous

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