Begging at the Dinner Table - Tamar

Q: Feeding dogs from the dinner table is often an issue. Dogs come to expect food and will bark, bite and scratch until they get it. How can pet owners prevent this?

You can feed your pets human food but not from the table! It's a popular misconception that a dog is "begging" for food. That's not the case at all! The dog is DEMANDING! Now this is obviously an unmannered dog, but it's not the dog's fault. I went to visit a friend in Malibu, and her cute Pomeranian was allowed on the dining table while all the guests were eating. That should never be acceptable.

Another misconception is that if you feed a dog human food he will start begging. Let's try to understand what is actually going on in the dog's mind at this point. We can do this by understanding a wolf's pack order rules. One of the most important ways to establish a leader's role as a pet owner is by eating first and keeping your food away from your pets.

By barking, yelping, scratching and generally making a nuisance out of himself, your dog is actually using instinctive wolf behavior. The whole idea of training a dog is to move them away from being wolf-like, and to move them towards being more mannered by human society standards, which he's now a part of. From the start, don't feed your dog from the table. If you would like to share your food with them, do so only after you are finished eating and make sure you place it in their bowl/designated eating area. Make mealtime a happy time for both you and your pet!

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