Little Beggars!
 

I have found a great technique that works on little beggars who beg at the table! My mom was telling me she seen this technique on Martha Stewart so I thought I would give it a try today. I brought Lillie to work with me today and I take care of 2 elderly ladies, they were eating breakfast at the table and there went Lillie, begging! I got a small tin bowl and tossed it at her back end (not hitting her, just getting close enough to scare her) and she went running, I said to her in a firm voice as I showed her the bowl "No Begging" I only had to do this 2 times and now the ladies are at the table for lunch and she just walked by them and looked, and then looked at me and I said " No Begging!" and she went and layed down!!

So if you have a beggar, give this a try!

Great I think I will give this a try tonight.

THANKS!!

I have serious beggars, but it doesn't help I have a toddler either! I'll try this and see if it helps, I sure hope so. They are SOMEWHAT trained not to take food unless we say ok, but that's only when we put a treat in front of their face and am training them on purpose.. So, maybe the bowl technique will help.

Teaching them to do a "down-stay" during meals also works. Joey has a special bed that we use at mealtimes. The command he has learned is "Where are you supposed to be?". He's quite good at it.

Cash is good at staying down longer.. but Parker is ADD and his attention span is next to nil. He begs wayyyyy more than Cash... most of time we kennel our boys during meal time.

Good going! I have 7 furbabies and since day one..... when we eat.... we do not give them any munchies. We are also careful not to drop food cause once it happens.... it'll be forever to correct it. So now.... I can watch TV on the sofa.... with pizza in hand and dogs sleeping all over and they won't even look up to see the food! The trick is.... never give in..... it's all over once you do! I had a house guest stay over and I told the idiot he CANNOT feed the dogs when he is eating. He told me he would not but ofcourse he LIED and my dogs ALL started begging..... I had my hubby have a nice STERN talk with him and now he doesn't live here anymore. :D

If I'm eating in my chair or the sofa, normally Lillie is right on my lap, but she is laying there and not begging, but as soon as were at the table, she is begging, so I hope this technique worked!

p.s. It's great to see you back on the forum Judy! I have missed you!

Did you see Lillie and her sisters B-Day pictures? We had so much fun and it was great getting back together with everyone! Wish you could have been there!

Seriously? Martha Stewart suggested throwing something at your dog? She should stick to crafts and cooking.

The first step is never giving them anything. We give them our leftovers (potatoes, rice, chicken, eggs, etc.) all the time, but we give it to them away from the table or in their own bowls. (Loki can eat from a fork and drink from a bottle but I realize he is gifted. Sammy gets food in her bowl.) We got Loki as a puppy and never allowed him to beg (as in, we IGNORED him) and so he just lies on the kitchen floor while we eat. Of course he needs to be there in case someone drops something, but he knows all begging is going to get him is a request to go to his spot or to get "off" And of course he was obnoxious as a puppy but we just ignored him and he figured it out.

Sammy, on the other hand, came from a family with kids and she was probably allowed to beg (or at least she wasn't taught NOT to beg) She stands up and scratches at my legs. We've only had her a couple weeks so she doesn't know down and stay yet, but she is already learning that begging gets her nowhere. Loki isn't even concerned by her little dance because he knows it's not going to get her anything. I swear he rolled his eyes at her today while he was lying on his rug during breakfast. I bet in a month or so she will figure out that quiet dogs get a taste of whatever we are eating. :D

The other method is teaching them the "leave it" command. That works in a lot of situations. They learn it super fast too. You hold a treat out to them in the palm of your hand and when they try to take it, you close your hand and say "leave it" in a very commanding tone. You only have to practice this a few times in a row and they get it.

Then you teach them to "take it" by doing the above and then holding your hand open again with the treat and say "take it" and let them have the treat. They learn this just as quickly.

Once they have the "leave it" command down, you can say this when they beg and you will be surprised that they just walk away. I've done this outside because my baby girl will try to eat bark and sticks and such. If I say "leave it," she walks away.

:thumbup: Ha Ha! So right.

Erin, I missed that you have gotten a new little one. Congratulations! How old is she? How are she and Loki getting along?

They beat up on each other - in a good way ;). She's had no training, potty or otherwise, so Loki does the dog equivalent of an eye roll often.

Loki knows "leave it" too. It needs more practice but I LOVE that I can drop something on the floor, like a raw potato, without him thinking it is a treat and taking off with it (and leaving it half-chewed somewhere!) The trick is making them WAIT but then ALWAYS, ALWAYS giving them a treat. Loki thinks "leave it" means "If I don't eat THAT mom will give me something better - cool!"

I simply just suggested a method anyone can try, it's a very good method at that!

And I enjoy watching Martha Stewart! and you dont throw the bowl AT them! I simply said you throw it at the back of them NOT HITTING THEM! The sound makes a noise that scares them and they take off running away from the table. Some of us it not so lucky, they beg no matter if you ignore them or not, so I wanted to share this technique with anyone who was interested.

Yes! Joey is the same with "leave it". "Drop it" is also treated that way in our house - Joey knows dropping it will get him something better than what he has in his mouth! And good things come to dogs in a down/stay.

It's all about making it worth their while, don't you think?