How can I train my dog to not eat food given by strangers?

Question

I have a French bulldog who LOVES to eat. I live in Europe, so I can take her just about anywhere with me (restaurants, bars, coffee shops, etc.) and she's very well socialized. The problem when we're out is that she stares at people eating until they feel guilty/sorry for her and then they end up throwing her a piece of something to eat. She's definitely not a starved dog, but she acts that way! What can I do to try and control/manage her voracity for food? And how can I get her to not accept food from strangers? Other than this "nuance" re: food she's a very well behaved dog.

Answer 1

You could start off by teaching your dog the command "leave it", which is very useful if your dog frequently comes across tasty things on the ground... and maybe other things you don't want them to get into, either.

This site has a good article on teaching "leave it" -
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/leaveit.htm

Personally, I would also approach the problem from a people point of view. I'm sure the strangers are trying to be nice by handing or throwing food from their plates to your dog, but people need to be told that it's not okay to give a strange dog food without the owner's permission. Especially since many people don't know that foods people commonly eat, such as onions or grapes, can actually be very dangerous to dogs.

Since you know people are offering this behavior when you're out with your dog, make sure that you can keep an eye on the people around you. If they throw food at your dog, tell your dog to "leave it", then pick it up and put it on a napkin or into the trash. Inform the person trying to feed your dog that she is well fed and that you don't appreciate them throwing table scraps to her.

Answer 2

Hi there,

It can depend on how old she is as to how well she will take up this new technique that i'm about to tell you. We started with our border collie right from the day we got her but i also know of other people that have started teaching it to a dog later in life.

They key is to EVERY time that you feed her or give her any food you have to make them sit and not eat it untill you say a certain term. For our dog it's eat in german. If you do thes EVERY time you feed her anything at all they'll soon learn that they aren't allowed to eat untill they are told. The main reason we did this was because in my home town there was a case where people were dropping poisened food over fences to dogs.

With a bit of commitment this can be trained in easily, we can put a juicy bone down and walk away for 15 mins and she'll be sitting there drooling but not have touched it.

Just remember for this to work it has to be EVERY time and then you have to get other people, family, friends and strangers to do it with them as well so they know they have to do it for everyone.

I hope this helps you out...............

Cheers, ToNy!

Answer 3

Note that is just a dog not a human being,you can train the dog in a hard way if you want to stop such act of your dog.
you can also limit the rate at which you walk or travel with the dog so as to control it and dont allow people to be giving her food at alltime.
finally,dont over bet your dog because it could lead to such act of your dog as one proverb says"too much of every thing is sin"goodday

Answer 4

I treach the leave it command to all of my dogs and each one has a specific word that they are told before they are allowed to eat anything from anyone.
We start when they are puppys and they are not allowed to eat even from their bowls until you tell them their word. Each dog has his own word and mine are very good about it.
The vet tlod me there is something wrong with your dog he won't take the dog treat from me. I explained about why the dog would not take it and then had him hold out the treat and told him to say that dogs word and the dog tokk the treat. He was impressed that they were so good about it.
Consistancy will get your dog to learn this behavior.
I think this is one of the better things people could teach their dogs.

Answer 5

teach the leave it command and say it before your pup scarfs up the treats. Also ask peoplle not to feed your bully without your permission . I like the bandana idea myself.

Answer 6

I know someone who trained their dog so that it would not accept food from the right hand. They told me they did this by offering it food from either had, and if it ate from the right the would smack its nose ( I'm pretty sure they didnt hurt it, only a light touch lol) So I guess you could get one of your friends to offer food to your dog and if it took it, you would have to tell it off, withought smacking its nose lol.

Answer 7

I do not know you should take your dog to a psychiatrist

Answer 8

put a bandana on her neck that reads NO FOOD PLEASE!! this is the only way i can think of,... well meaning people will always want to treat your dog..........