Begging – Should dogs be allowed to beg for food?
By Scotty Valadao – Accredited Behaviour Consultant (ABC of SA™); TTouch Practitioner
Should we allow our dogs to beg? Personally, it is not a habit I would encourage as it can get out of control with the dog getting really pushy and nudging you, barking or whining etc, when food is around and becoming a total nuisance at the dinner table and demanding food and not leaving you alone – especially when you have guests that detest the habit or don’t like dogs! What also happens is that if the dog does not get the desired result the nudging, pawing etc can escalate and a gentle paw placed on your leg can become a paw digging painfully into you or scratching your leg for the expected food. Let’s look at it from the dogs point of view – the behaviour worked in the past so why not now? – a bit like a child having a temper tantrum, the behaviour escalates if the owner does not give in. From my own point of view I also don’t like to feel guilty when those beautiful brown eyes are staring at me appealing and the dog is drooling!
I really do prefer any treats that are forthcoming to be used as training aids rather than given at random. Using food in this manner rather than giving random titbits makes it much easier to change and teach new behaviours, as well as serving to raise the owner higher in the combined human/canine hierarchy. Think about it, we control virtually all our dogs’ resources, so why not take advantage of food to get our dogs to do things for us?
This really is a personal choice and many owners often reinforce the habit of begging unintentionally and without realizing what they are doing. In dog training reinforcing behaviours on a random basis is very powerful to get a dog to keep on performing a particular behaviour, and will definitely not cause the behaviour to stop – think of us humans at a casino using a one-armed-bandit – because we occasionally get reinforced by some winnings, we continue playing! A rather extreme example of this is with a Rotti I worked with many years ago. As a pup the Rotti had figured out that if it pawed the fridge, its obliging humans then opened a door and gave him a treat. However, it is one thing for this to occur when the Rotti is a cute few kilo’s and totally another scenario when the Rotti weight 58kg and has gouged a hole in the fridge!
If your dog begging doesn’t bother you, then live with it unless you feel it is getting out of control. Begging can be taught as a cute trick, but only performed on cue and I have seen many cases where the relationship between the owner and the dog actually seems to be improved with interaction such as begging – mind you that is usually with the small breeds only!
So let’s presume that the begging has become a problem, how then do you go about rectifying this habit?
· Never, ever give the dog food at the table. If you really want to keep your leftovers to give your dog a treat, rather put them aside and feed in the dog’s dish, or use them in addition to regular dog food/cubes for training.
· If the dog comes to you and begs for something in your hand when you are not at the table, again don’t give into the dog, ignore him and walk away. By doing this you are not reinforcing the behaviour and are acting like a pack leader. If a treat is to be given from the hand, then it is on your terms and not the dogs. In other words, call the dog, ask for a behaviour, such as a sit, then reward with the food.
· Dogs like structure and routine and if you give the dog his dog food at two meals daily (adult dogs) at regular times, he will know exactly what to expect and be less likely to scrounge for extra as his needs are being met and he knows that the food will be forthcoming.
· If the begging at the table has really become a problem, simply use management and have the dog in a separate area while eating at the table. If the dog is whining/ crying etc when this happens, then rather go the route of keeping a favourite chewy bone or rawhide and offering this to the dog in a separate area while you are eating. Whatever you do, don’t give into the dog barking/whining/scratching by way of letting the dog in. If you do, you are just starting another behavioural concern and the dog has found a new way of getting you to obey him!
Here are the things NOT to do:-
· Be consistent, don’t give in – you will only reinforce the behaviour. Dogs are opportunists and will always look for the gap.
· One thing you never do with this type of behaviour is to reinforce it by shouting or screaming at the dog – attention is attention to a dog, whether it is positive or negative and will only strengthen the begging behaviour.
· Never use punishment by way of hitting the dog. The only thing that physical punishment serves to achieve is to damage or destroy the human bond and that aggression breeds aggression. So in addition you may find that you have a dog that will retaliate to being smacked by way of growling or snapping at you.
What you may find also happens is that the behaviour initially improves and then after a few days will again worsen. Don’t worry, this is what we term an ‘extinction burst’ and if ignored will quickly stop. Realize that from now on ‘no’ means no and don’t give into your dog.
I really do prefer any treats that are forthcoming to be used as training aids rather than given at random. Using food in this manner rather than giving random titbits makes it much easier to change and teach new behaviours, as well as serving to raise the owner higher in the combined human/canine hierarchy. Think about it, we control virtually all our dogs’ resources, so why not take advantage of food to get our dogs to do things for us?
This really is a personal choice and many owners often reinforce the habit of begging unintentionally and without realizing what they are doing. In dog training reinforcing behaviours on a random basis is very powerful to get a dog to keep on performing a particular behaviour, and will definitely not cause the behaviour to stop – think of us humans at a casino using a one-armed-bandit – because we occasionally get reinforced by some winnings, we continue playing! A rather extreme example of this is with a Rotti I worked with many years ago. As a pup the Rotti had figured out that if it pawed the fridge, its obliging humans then opened a door and gave him a treat. However, it is one thing for this to occur when the Rotti is a cute few kilo’s and totally another scenario when the Rotti weight 58kg and has gouged a hole in the fridge!
If your dog begging doesn’t bother you, then live with it unless you feel it is getting out of control. Begging can be taught as a cute trick, but only performed on cue and I have seen many cases where the relationship between the owner and the dog actually seems to be improved with interaction such as begging – mind you that is usually with the small breeds only!
So let’s presume that the begging has become a problem, how then do you go about rectifying this habit?
· Never, ever give the dog food at the table. If you really want to keep your leftovers to give your dog a treat, rather put them aside and feed in the dog’s dish, or use them in addition to regular dog food/cubes for training.
· If the dog comes to you and begs for something in your hand when you are not at the table, again don’t give into the dog, ignore him and walk away. By doing this you are not reinforcing the behaviour and are acting like a pack leader. If a treat is to be given from the hand, then it is on your terms and not the dogs. In other words, call the dog, ask for a behaviour, such as a sit, then reward with the food.
· Dogs like structure and routine and if you give the dog his dog food at two meals daily (adult dogs) at regular times, he will know exactly what to expect and be less likely to scrounge for extra as his needs are being met and he knows that the food will be forthcoming.
· If the begging at the table has really become a problem, simply use management and have the dog in a separate area while eating at the table. If the dog is whining/ crying etc when this happens, then rather go the route of keeping a favourite chewy bone or rawhide and offering this to the dog in a separate area while you are eating. Whatever you do, don’t give into the dog barking/whining/scratching by way of letting the dog in. If you do, you are just starting another behavioural concern and the dog has found a new way of getting you to obey him!
Here are the things NOT to do:-
· Be consistent, don’t give in – you will only reinforce the behaviour. Dogs are opportunists and will always look for the gap.
· One thing you never do with this type of behaviour is to reinforce it by shouting or screaming at the dog – attention is attention to a dog, whether it is positive or negative and will only strengthen the begging behaviour.
· Never use punishment by way of hitting the dog. The only thing that physical punishment serves to achieve is to damage or destroy the human bond and that aggression breeds aggression. So in addition you may find that you have a dog that will retaliate to being smacked by way of growling or snapping at you.
What you may find also happens is that the behaviour initially improves and then after a few days will again worsen. Don’t worry, this is what we term an ‘extinction burst’ and if ignored will quickly stop. Realize that from now on ‘no’ means no and don’t give into your dog.
This article is copyrighted and remains the property of the author. Individuals are welcome to print or copy same for their own use in furthering their knowledge of dogs. However, no reproductions or alterations/variations are allowed without the express written consent of the author.