Begging For Food at the Table
 Most pet owners find it annoying when their dogs pester or beg for food
at the table. Dogs develop this behavior for one reason – when
owners offer them food while a meal at the table is in progress. Even
occasional treating from the table can result in begging, because intermittent
reinforcement on a random schedule is like being rewarded from a slot
machine – every now and then the payoff is big enough to make persistence
worthwhile. Curing a begging problem is not complicated, but it does
require a strong commitment from all family members. It means that from
now on, the dog is never, ever fed from the table. All family members
must consistently follow this rule. At first, expect the dog to respond
by showing other annoying behaviors. Hard-core beggars will become frustrated,
and likely start pawing or barking at family members.
These behaviors
must be ignored. If owners give in, the dog has then learned to be
even more obnoxious. The dog may also do other things to get the owner’s
attention, such as chewing on forbidden objects, stealing clothes, getting
into the trash, etc. These behaviors can either be prevented (don’t
allow the dog access to these rooms), or give the dog another, acceptable
behavior to perform. For example, the dog can be taught to lay down in
a particular location during meals, by giving him a special chew toy
and treats at that location, and for a while even leashing him to the
spot. Once the dog seems to have stopped begging, he may all of a sudden
start doing it again. This is a normal part of treatment, and it is extremely
important to continue to ignore the behavior. It will usually go away
much sooner than it did the first time. Slipping up and feeding the dog
from the table will almost surely cause a recurrence of the begging.
Just be sure that when you want to give your dog table scraps, put them
in his bowl, rather than feeding him from the table. Check with your
veterinarian about the types and quantities of scraps that are safe.
Article supplied by: Edited version first published in the
Rockky Mountain News, Denver, CO.
Any use of this article must cite the authors and the Rocky Mountain News
Daniel Estep, Ph.D. and Suzanne Hetts, Ph.D.
www.AnimalBehaviorAssociates.com
Copyright ABA, Inc.
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