Bon Appétit, Let ME Eat!

This gorgeous gal is Layla, the friendliest yellow Lab you could ever meet.  Don't be suckered by her adorable-ness — this girl's a beggar... at the dinner table, that is.

Mealtimes can be challenging for dogs, especially those who've made a hobby of scooping up tidbits food they've found under the table.  Layla's "dad" just needed her to relax in her pen while he prepped and ate his dinner.

Our goal was to teach Layla that when her dad was eating, she not only had to behave, she had to entertain himself.  If your dog is a beggar, let him know that whining and pawing at you at the table isn’t the way to get attention!  Teach him that he's being rather rude. Show your dog that the only mealtime behavior you respect is politely waiting for you to finish eating.

With Layla, we first tried to outsmart her by using a tether.  A tether is an indoor leash that you clip to your dog’s collar with one end and attach the other to something solid and heavy that your dog can’t move, like your living room sofa.  At mealtimes, it’s best to tether your dog to something far from wherever you’re eating.  In other words, we weren't going to tether Layla to the coffee table when her owner's friends came over with a pizza to watch the game.

Another technique we discussed for Layla is using a crate to contain her or a baby gate to separate her from where her dad eats.  No matter what you works for you — crating, separating or tethering — give your dog something to do while you eat.  Bully sticks and other long-lasting chew toys are great things to give your dog.  Sweeten the deal by trying a few things out, identifying your dog’s favorite and using that exclusively at mealtimes.  This way, your dog will be excited when it’s time for you to eat!

Something else to consider is scheduling your dog’s mealtimes at the same time as yours.  If you do this, just remember 99% of dogs eat faster than most people do. Food acquisition devices (like the Busy Buddies made by Premier) are fantastic since your dog has to nose, paw and move these toys around in order for kibble and treats to fall out.  A huge extra bonus of using food acquisition devices is that playing with these toys is mentally stimulating to dogs — wouldn't it be incredible if your dog got tired just from eating dinner?

If your dog finds using a food acquisition device to be confusing, teach him how it works.  Get down on the floor together, bat the toy around and let your dog see (and lick up) all the delicious morsels that fly out of it.  He’ll get the hang of it, and soon you’ll have a dog who loves it when you eat!

For more information on dining around your dog, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Recalcitrant Waiter.

Meet Ollie!

This sturdy and dapper yellow Lab is just about a year old, which is entirely to old to be climbing on top of the dinning room table! But that's exactly what he did at Grandma's house. He also thinks the trash can is more like a treasure chest full of delectable treats just for him but then again, why wouldn't he think that? After all it is at his level and teeming with discarded food. His owners have yet to address these issues because, well, it happens when they are not at home.

Dogs are binary creatures, so in their world things either get better or worse. In order for them to learn that the trash can is not a buffet, there has to be a consequence attached to the act... which is impossible if you are not at home! Ollie was in the habit of doing whatever he wanted when no one was around.

As you can imagine this kind of behavior led to a prompt visit from Zen Dog. One of the ways we got Ollie to understand that his owners were in charge was to insist that he do thing their way. He can't simply help himself to whatever he wants whenever he wants! A good way to show your dog that compliance reaps great benefits is to practice eliciting appropriate behavior, such as laying down calmly while you partially fill his food bowl, in order to receive the reward. This is what we like to call Recalcitrant Waiter. At feeding time you can make it clear that helping yourself and being pushy just won't fly. Ollie had to learn that food came from his owners when he was being polite.

For more information on techniques like Recalcitrant Waiter, visit Zen Dog Training Online.