I currently have a 2-year-old dog; he's lovely but absolutely obsessed with food.
When he was a puppy, my mum got into the bad habit of teaching him to give his paw at the dinner table in exchange for a little scrap.
This hasn't happened (at least not when I'm around) for nearly a year now.
However, he now barks at almost every meal; he gives his paw and barks louder and louder. I give him a firm 'no' and try to ignore him, but nothing seems to work.
So I usually end up luring him away with a titbit and putting him in another room.
The thing is, I'm going away on holiday and staying in a hotel with him next week, and I'm really worried that I'll need to find a different solution...
Thanks for your help.
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I think that changing his environment is actually a good way to throw him off balance, and he might not bark. Our trainer says there’s no such thing as a good or bad habit; a dog will just do what it’s taught. Mine goes to his bed while we're eating. You have to stay firm, even if it’s exhausting, but it definitely pays off! :) Ignoring it and saying "no"—I don’t really see what else you can do (it obviously doesn't work if you give in). That’s the problem as soon as you start giving a dog anything other than his dry food, at least at the table anyway. You also have to warn people not to give the dog anything, because if you don't, you'll suddenly spot someone sneakily slipping something into his gob like it's nothing. So, in that case, it’s the guests who need a telling off lol!
Thanks for the support, Célino.
Yeah, I don't think one week is going to be enough for him to get the hang of staying quiet at the table... (it’s definitely better when everyone does their bit, of course).
I’m still hoping things go okay when we’re out at restaurants, though.
Unfortunately, training takes time Mvc1005. It’s better to keep them separate for the restaurant and work on it properly after your holidays, ready for next time :)
It’s already a great sign if you’re managing to get them to settle in a small group by ignoring them for long enough! You’re definitely on the right track!
Hi again,
I see we’ve got a bit side-tracked; my dog isn't aggressive at all, and there aren't any dominance issues.
I definitely have control over my dog (he generally follows commands well, he gets off the bed when I ask him to, but around other dogs... that’s a different story. Anyway...)
My dog always eats after us, and when he barks at the table it’s more of a high-pitched yap to beg for food (not like when he’s guarding the house or being territorial).
We tried ignoring him completely at lunch yesterday; it was tough but it worked, and after a few minutes he settled down.
In the evening, there were quite a few of us at the table and it was a bit of a nightmare because he was much more persistent, so I had to put him in another room... :(
My main concern is that I’m taking him on holiday with me, and a barking dog in a restaurant doesn't go down well at all...
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I reckon the reason these myths about hierarchy are still doing the rounds is because the dog world has taken much longer to catch up than the actual science. Let me explain: animal behaviour science is usually taught through ethology, and you need a PhD to really get to the end of those studies—it’s not exactly a common career path. I’m not sure how long this newer research has been part of the curriculum, but generally, to get an article published or land a spot on a TV documentary, you need loads of experience (or more likely, friends in high places, as a lot of people writing about dog behaviour don’t actually know the first thing about ethology and just rely on old theories; you rarely see articles written by actual ethologists).
A lot of dog trainers, and even the ones you see on the telly, have just learned on the job and picked up a few certificates along the way. So, you can see why we’re still going around in circles. If we look at what’s taught in ethology, veterinary behaviourists mostly focus on medical treatments. There’s a well-known TV vet I’ve followed who has loads of experience outside of just being a behaviourist, which makes him a bit of a jack-of-all-trades, I think. Then there’s the second route: you can study ethology, but very few people actually become behaviourists afterwards, or they do it as a second job if they have the time. Thirdly, there are now some government-recognised qualifications from specialised ethology centres specifically for becoming a dog and cat behaviourist.
Then you’ve got all the various training courses out there—some are brilliant and based on ethology, others less so; you just have to separate the wheat from the chaff. In any case, one thing is certain: if you look at the science and what’s currently being taught, there’s nothing to suggest that a hierarchy exists between two different species.
"In the future, I'll try to give him a time-out a bit sooner if I see things starting to get out of hand. Does the dog see this as a punishment?"
It can be viewed as negative punishment (withdrawing attention or human contact), which pairs perfectly with positive reinforcement training (every time you wait and don't give a treat, you're technically using negative punishment).
Luridia: Even your own puppy or dog can misinterpret one of your gestures. I’m going to be away for the next few days and won’t have any internet access — or perhaps just the odd evening like tonight — so I’ll leave you this link to one of my articles. Feel free to have a read if you have the time and the inclination: http://celine-comportementaliste.fr/signaux.php
@Celineo: I was talking about how you behave with your own puppy. Not with a dog you don't know, just to be clear. If a dog I don't know growls, I’ll back off and give them some space.
I’ll have a read of your article, but I’m absolutely knackered right now so I’ll go over your reply again later as well ;)
