How do I stop my dog from begging for food? A Complete Guide

How to Get Your Dog to Stop Begging With Simple Steps

Teaching a dog a new behavior is about giving positive verbal cues and rewards, consistency, and a lot of patience. It’s not an overnight matter, especially if your pet is used to eating scraps or gets table treats by begging for them. The first order of business is to stop feeding your dog from the table or kitchen.

Here are a few suggestions for curbing the begging.

  • Teach them the “place” command — This command teaches your pet to find their place, such as a cushion, spot on the floor, or dog bed. When you are preparing dinner or eating, tell them to find their spot or place. The first few times you teach this command, you will have to physically go with them on a leash to their spot. If they refuse to stay, take them to a separate room, then try again later. Tell them to find their place and give them a small treat (not a table scrap) when they go to it. You may need to crate your dog, if they can’t get the hang of staying in their spot as you gradually introduce the training.
  • Occupy your pet — If your dog has a favorite chew toy or a challenging game that takes them time to figure out, this is a good solution during dinner. A frozen Kong toy or something similar can be made low-calorie using mashed banana or sweet potato puree. Your dog will love to have their own special treat while everyone is eating.
  • Ignore the begging — It may be hard to do at first, to avoid those big, doleful eyes, but by paying attention to your dog, you are encouraging the begging behavior. If you look at your dog while you are eating, they will naturally expect to get something.
  • Use a tie-out or baby gate — If your pet is continuing to get up from their spot, use a tie-out to tether your dog to something they can’t move while everyone is eating. You can also set up a baby gate, so your pet can’t come over to the table. Afterward, spend some time with your dog doing something fun, or go for a quick walk as a reward.
  • Make sure everyone follows the rules — If you create the new rule of no begging or feeding from the table, make sure the rest of the family is on board. This ensures less confusion for your dog and helps reinforce the message that begging won’t be rewarded. Good behavior will be.
  • Just remember, as with any training, avoid punishing or scolding your dog. Just stop what you are doing, get them to settle down and become occupied with something else, then try again. Persistence and consistency are the keys to good training (and lots of rewards).

    Ignore and Redirect a Begging Dog

    The worst thing you can do when your dog begs for food is to give in to those adorable big puppy-dog eyes. You are essentially teaching your dog that if she asks you for food, you’ll give it to her. And, scolding pups simply gives them negative attention.

    “If the goal is no begging, then my suggestion would be to ignore this behavior,” says McGrath. “But also make sure there are other options available for alternative behaviors like having a frozen stuffed KONG around for your dog to chew on or your pup’s dinner to eat available in another room.”

    Giving pups an acceptable alternative like a toy or a delicious Purina® Beggin’ Strips® original with bacon dog treat also sets them up for success because they will still have something to occupy their time once they see begging isn’t going to get them attention or food.

    By teaching your dog basic obedience commands like “Sit,” “Stay,” and “Leave it,” you can then use these commands to discourage impulse-based behaviors like begging, recommends McGrath. For example, if your dog is always jumping up on your lap and begging for food while you eat, simply tell your dog to “Sit” and “Stay.” This stops the obnoxious behavior.

    If someone accidentally drops food on the ground and your dog attempts to get to it, give your dog the “Leave it” command to prevent that. “You want your dog to actively disengage and move away from the stimulus,” recommends McGrath.

    When training your dog, do so after a walk or other exercise so the pooch will be less energetic and better behaved, says McGrath.

    How do I stop my dog from begging for food?

    Send Your Dog to a Cozy Spot

    If your dog does come over to beg for food after she finishes her meal, the best way to get her to stop is to send her to a cozy spot near the dining area, recommends McGrath.

    “When I’m in a client’s home, and they want the dog to not beg, we would first break down what the dog could do instead, and train an alternative behavior while also managing the behavior I don’t like if necessary,” she says. One such alternative behavior is sending your dog to a designated spot like a bed, crate, or mat away from the table with a command like “Go to Your Spot.” This way, pups can still feel like they’re socializing with the family and they get a nice cozy spot to hang out.

    “If the dog already knows a solid ‘Stay’ command, I would use it — if not, we’d train that behavior first,” McGrath recommends. This ensures that your dog remains in the designated spot throughout the meal.

    How do I stop my dog from begging for food?

    How to Stop your Dog From Begging for Food?

    Begging comes naturally to our dog’s, and they’re so good at it that we often give in. I think we’ve all said things like “Oh, look he’s starving” and handed our dog a bite of our dinner. And without realizing it we’ve just reinforced their behavior even more.

    I’m not going to lie — I find it hard to resist those puppy dog eyes. But if you really want to teach your dog not to beg you’re going to have to learn to stop giving in.

    To put it simply dogs beg because they want food. Begging is a natural behavior to dogs, so it takes a lot of consistency to undo that behavior if you’ve been reinforcing it.

    Wolves began scavenging for human food many years ago. They started hanging around humans for scraps, and the tamer the wolf the more they were rewarded with extra bits of food. Begging isn’t rude or weird to your dog; it’s instinctive.

    Domesticated dogs are hard wired to seek out opportunities to obtain food from humans. And because they’re observant they quickly learn that begging produces results. It is one of the most common complaints of pet owners, but there is hope. You can keep your dog away from your food while your eating, you just have to be consistent.