How To Wean A Dog From Begging And Stealing

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 12:41

Some dogs, seeing that you sit down at the table, tend to take a seat next to you and by annoying begging do not allow you to eat peacefully

It is not so difficult to wean from this - you just need constancy. The first condition for the dog to be full is to be fed before your lunch. Then insist that the dog, while you sit at the table, does not leave the designated place and does not rotate around the chairs. Also, never feed her during this time, giving chunks from her plate. If there are tasty pieces left and you want to treat your pet, treat him after dinner, but not otherwise than at the very place where he is usually fed. Of course, relatives and children should be prohibited from violating this order. Exceptions are unacceptable, as the dog very quickly gets used to begging again.

It is also necessary to combat the tendency to steal, found in some dogs. Everything edible that lies badly is stolen by such dogs and devoured by them. To eradicate this deficiency and prevent it from developing at a young age, use the method of temptation.

Having laid out baits (pieces of meat, for example) on chairs, on tables or in other easily visible places, pretend that you are not looking at the dog, but are busy with business. The tempting pieces must be of such size that the dog cannot immediately grab them and swallow them; put these baits in the presence of the dog and in full view of it without any prohibitions or warnings. The dog itself must understand that it receives the food intended for it unhindered, left on the tables or shelves not for it, and therefore makes up the forbidden fruit, which should not be touched. As soon as you notice that she reached for the decomposed pieces, pluck what she had already seized from her mouth swiftly and punish immediately, explaining her act in words.

By accustoming the dog to abstinence in the presence of his own and strangers, where the dog is placed, something seductive for its appetite (so that it does not take it for food for itself).

All these tests can have favorable results, of course, only on the condition that the daily food is quite abundant and good quality. It is cruel to demand abstinence from a hungry or emaciated dog.

Another condition: never reward the dog with the same piece with which you tested his patience, but reward in another way.

If all efforts have failed and the dog's thieving tendencies have not been eradicated, try your first experiment, but only dipping the tidbits into something sour or bitter will probably be more effective. Having grabbed such a bait, the dog will spit it out with disgust and will remember this lesson in the future.

When raising a watchdog, demand that it does not take food from strangers, but only from you or those closest to you

Have an outsider offer the dog a piece of meat or bone; at this time, you must forbid her to take with your voice, and if she does not obey, hit her with a whip or a vine. Repeat these experiments, gradually complicating them until the dog learns to withstand temptation - even in your absence.

Some trainers are of the opinion that an outsider who tempts a dog with food must hit it himself if it succumbs to the temptation in order to intimidate it in this way against all strangers. This is not entirely correct: the dog needs to be instilled with the notion that the prohibition to take food from strangers comes from its owner and that, in violation of this requirement, it acts against his will, and therefore deserves punishment from him, and not beating from a stranger.

Our dogs. A handbook for everyone with a dog. (Reprint edition)