Once a begger always a begger?
 

Before I got Bailey, I said NO Feeding him people food! But the day I brought him home he was already a begger. I don't know if it was born into him, or if the breeder made him that way?? My question is.. Can he change?? I am guilty of giving him a scrap here and there,and my boyfriend is worse,, But in the last month I have demanded NO MORE, yet he is still there waiting, whining, BARKING. Can it every stop? Will he ever get the drift that he is getting NO more people food? Or will he always want it??
Any suggestions, from you guys would help. :(

i made the same darn mistake also.... i guess if you just ignore them, eventually they will stop,, i tried that, but couldnt bare to see her little face looking up at me..so i gave in...its all my fault...i cant be strick enough with her.

I know, it's SO HARD! The other day I was eating chips in the chair,and he jumps up and gets beside me and lays his chin on my chest and is staring me in the face! HOW can you resist that?? But I did.. as hard as it was... :rolleyes:

i cant believe you didnt give him any . awwww...
when im in the kitchen preparing something for me to eat she is in there with me and when im done i go to the living room to eat... as soon as i take the food and proceed to walk out of the kitchen, lexi, gets into the living room before me, she just tearasses in there and jumps on the couch and wags her tail.. how can i resist.. i just cant.. she is all i have, no children, no husband yet, so i spoil her....

All of my gang (10) came through rescue (so who knows what was going on in their 1st home) and they are all ages and sex's and no one begs from me. I am sure this is because I will not feed them humane food. I can actually sit on the couch eating my dinner and have them on the couch with me and they will all lay down and sleep. It didn't take long for the new ones to learn I will just ignore them no matter what. I also feed them dinner before I eat. You just have to be stronger willed then them. It also helps me know that many things we eat are just not good for them and I could be causing them more harm than good.

Trixie used to do this really bad, but when she did, we started giving her a bite of something we knew she wouldn't eat...like okra or a green been or a pepper and eventually she got fed up with it and stopped. She only does it now when we're eating something like hamburgers or bacon.

dont get me wrong, i give her hard dog food, she doesnt know the difference cause i dip it into whatever im eating..just a little..

They are so smart, they know you can't say no to them. But if you don't want a begger (and I don't recommend feeding them human junk food - if it's not good for us it certainly isn't good for them! They don't need their teeny arteries clogged.)

Do let your pup have healthy veggies or some fruits. Some would say even meat. But don't feed them while you're at the table or every time you sit down to eat the begger will be at your feet. (At Christmas my mom had fed my dogs a bit of meat while she was cooking, and guess whose feet my dogs set at and begged to while we tried to eat. Those smart little dogs of mine never asked me for food - only continuously begged at my mom. Once she left, the begging stopped. They know who will give into them!!!)

If your going to feed them extras, that are people food, I say do it near their food dishes only. Especially, if you want to wean them off the begging and change their behavior gradually. This is behavioral psychology at work - if you had psych 101 remember that you have now conditioned your pet and need to change the conditions for a reward.

If your eating chips with a begger :animal36 in your face, maybe the conditioning is you instead give them a carrot (they'll love it.) I know it's hard to do anything cold-turkey, so you might only begin to stop the begging by giving in every third time, then every sixth time, etc. until you wean them off the begging.

Or the other way to think about it, is if you took a human child to the store would you buy them something everytime they asked ?? :eek: NO - you don't want to create a monster, so maybe cold-turkey is best.

BEST WISHES, getting out this one! :)

:thumbs up :thumbs up :thumbs up

Thanks for all the advise, I know it is all logical, answers, and the problem is ME not him. I guess the best thing to do is SAY NO, and stick with it. ;)
No exceptions.

Yes, they will stop but you have to ignore them and that is the hard part!!

We have yet to find anything Tucker and Rusty won't eat! Rusty even eats cucumbers! We try to ignore it and eventually they give up, but not before trying REALLY hard.