The thought of getting a dog home will always bring a smile to your face. It is indeed true that a dog is a man’s best friend. They bring in a world of happiness and joy to your life. Dog training is essential and will play a massive part in your training. The way your dog conducts itself socially and even daily has to do with the training that you provide it. And during this phase, you will come across several challenges. One such challenge is to tackle the begging habit of the dog. And it could be begging for attention, food, or both. It is something that you need to curb else it can make your dog appear irritating. That aside, begging doesn’t translate to good grooming and will make your furry friend seem annoying in front of others or even yourself.
The Psychology Of Dog Begging
Before you curb the habit of dog begging, you need to be aware of its psychology of it. The tendency for the dog to beg for food and, thereby, attention happens when it doesn’t differentiate that it has already consumed, and having more can prove detrimental. Also, they sometimes feel the need to have food whenever they see others around them eating food.
In most cases, they aren’t hungry, nor will they consume the food served. They will act on impulse and beg for food, thinking they are missing out on something. Hence, this behavior stems more from an emotion of lack that needs to get addressed. And since a dog doesn’t understand human language and codes of conduct, you need to treat them differently to curb this habit.
Why Is This Habit Irritating?
Constant begging will bother you no matter how much you love your furry friend. The phenomena of dog begging are not new, but not addressing it can make things worse for you and your pet. Here are some of the negative impacts of dog begging that both the pet and the pet owner face.
Overeating & Obesity
Not all pet owners are strict. Some of them give into the emotion of pampering their furry friend the moment they ask for food, with round, puppy eyes. While this is good once or twice, you will face a problem if you let this happen again and again. It will make your dog gain weight excessively, resulting in obesity.
When that happens, your dog might face other health issues, such as cholesterol and stomach problems. It can make it challenging for the dog to move around. And when your pup is lazy and can’t move around, it can get body aches and develop an irritating mood. This behavior trait will not promote anything positive to help your dog feel better. As a pet owner, you will soon get irritated by this habit and can end up scolding your dog, making your connection bitter and gradually worse.
It Can Cause Social Embarrassment
No one lives in isolation. It means that you will have guests visiting your house. It is only sometimes possible to tie your dog to one room, and you shouldn’t do that either. It will result in behavioral issues with the dog. Gradually, the dog will feel isolated and start showing other tantrums.
When you have guests around, and your dog begs for food at the table, your guests might feel irritated and embarrassed. Even though they might cordially welcome this behavior once or twice by providing them with bits and pieces of food, if the dog starts to repeat it, there will be social embarrassment. Some of your guests might feel completely upset at this behavior and choose to eat from another corner of the room.
As a host, it might make you feel embarrassed and fail at the desired hospitality that your guests expect out of you. You may think that you have entirely lost your face and can do nothing to recover from that. No one wants to feel this way. Therefore, it is necessary to curb this behavior to maintain proper decorum whenever someone visits your house.
Your Dog Might Become Obstinate
Exercising control at the correct time is essential. If you have allowed the dog to beg for a while, chances are it is developing the habit of praying as a behavior pattern. Once the design solidifies, it becomes challenging to change it. Else, it may become difficult for your dog to imbibe the change. Though it is possible, it will require more work than usual.
How To Put An End To Dog Beg?
There is nothing that dog training can’t do. Dog trainers know that pups will develop this habit of begging sooner or later. And for that, they continually urge the owners to be watchful of how the dogs spot the practice early so they can work on the same. When you catch them before, you can work on them better, and the method can get curbed easily. But once you let the pattern prolong, the chances of change are less. Here’s what you can do:
Know That You Can Exert Control, & It’s Ok To Do So
Most pet owners feel that they are scolding their dogs by exerting control. That is far from the truth. Dogs aren’t humans and need special training and command to ensure they are on the right track. When you exert control, you are not scolding or being unkind to them. You must be stern so that they know what benefits them and what is not. So go ahead and exert the required control and command, so your dog stays healthy and doesn’t beg for food.
Use Commands With Confidence
Dogs are intelligent beings. They understand the strength and respond to it accordingly. Therefore, when you use command statements, like “Stay there” or “Get back to your place,” with a sense of rage, they will not respond. They will sense the hostility, pounce with anger, or recline back, and will not respond to anything you say. Chances are that they will also stop eating their daily share of food.
It would help if you exercised confidence as you stated a command here. When you are confident, you aren’t shouting at your furry friend. Your tone will have a concern that will get communicated well, and your pup will start to listen to it and stop begging. It would help if you got practical about it. Don’t expect this to work on the first go. It would help if you practiced it for a while, and then you will find that your pup has started to listen to you. At every point of the command, ensure that the dog listens to you and acts upon it.
Give Your Dog Something To Chew
Here you need to understand the psychology of begging. Your pup is not hungry. Instead, it wants food because it doesn’t want to miss out on your food. In most cases, the dog merely intends to replicate the owner’s behavior. The moment it gets something to chew, the dog’s brain starts to think that it also has something to eat and gradually gets busy with it. Therefore, get a chewable treat or a chewable toy to divert its attention from your food, which will stop its habit of begging.
Direct Them To Another Room
One of the easiest ways to stop the dog from begging is to command them to move to another room. Ideally, it should be a room where the dog wants to stay, which will divert its attention from begging for food. Ensure that you create a cozy corner for the dog in the room so it can stay comfortable and not move from there. You might have to ask the dog with a firm command to get to this room to see a change in the behavior.
Finally, there may be a time that you find it challenging to stop the begging habit in your dog. During such times you must get in touch with a dog trainer with the necessary expertise and experience to help you. Either they will take specialized training for your dog or provide you with the tactics needed to bring about the change.
Follow as the trainer says, and share the changes you see in your furry friend. Once you start updating and acting on the suggestions provided, you will see positive outcomes. Gradually, you will find that your dog has stopped begging and is consuming the right food that is apt for them.
It is possible to change your dog’s habits. You need to be consistent and persistent in your approach. It will automatically change when your pet notices that you are not going to budge. When you can train your dog to sit, fetch and roll over, you can also train your dog to stop begging for food every time someone sits down to eat. It is just a matter of time before your dog stops doing it for good. Follow the steps mentioned above to get the desired results.
