How can I get my 8 month old cocker to eat her dog food? She constantly begs for table scraps...HELP!!?

Question

Any tips, or info would be great
Thanks!!

Answer 1

Never ever ever give her any human food, this is the only way to truly stop a dog from begging. If you encourage the behavior by giving in, in any way the dog will respond by doing it repeatedly again because food is a wonderful tool for motivating and your actually teaching them to beg.

When you eat and the dog begs you ignore them, or I would even place their food bowl in another room and let them have free roam so they learn that when you are eating you will not give them food.

Eat a little something before you actually eat your main course and then feed the dog. like have one crackeror cookie and make sure the dog sees before you give them any food for the day. Why? this teaches dogs that you are the dominant member of your "pack" and that you decide who does the eating when. The dominant wolf always eats first, and dogs still follow this guideline as well.
Even put the cracker in the food bowl (without touching dog food or actually letting it rest in it, just enough so the dog thinks your taking the cracker out of the food bowl) and eat it right in front of them. It sounds weird but if you do this before you feed them your teaching the dog without yelling or scolding that you run the food schedule. The dogs usually notice and pay attention whenever your around their food bowl with food doing something.

If you give in once or even let guests slip and give the dog a scrap or two or human food for fun you have broke the rules. The only reason you should gie the dog human food is for training, like making the dog sit a couple of times and laying down to EARN the food but NOT beg for it. However to completely stop any confusion I would simply stick to dog treats as a snack and NEVER give them any human food. Dogs can recognize the difference from human and dog food.

The hard part is controling every one in your household that ever comes in contact with your dog to know not to give in to any begging or give them human food. Also it may take a while for the dog to stop because it has already got the idea that it might get food if it begs.

Feeding the dog on a regular feeding schedule might help as well. Feeding dogs on a schedule not only helps with housebreaking, but also helps the dog learn that it will eat ONLY at this, or these times if you want to feed twice a day. Just feed at about the same exact time either once or twice a day, and you can even add a little water, beef stock or chicken stock, and microwave the food so the smell and taste are more alluring for the dog to eat, (I add nutrical and mix it well into the food to encourage my dog to eat. Nutrical is a wonderful supplement that dogs go crazy for, but you cant use it everyday.) making the dog enjoy its food a little more than regularly, and hopefuly not think about your sandwich.

Just be patient and never give in to giving them human food and it should stop eventually.

Answer 2

I actually have the same problem with my 6 month terrier mix. My dad has this thing about how dogs have a tough stomach and are supposed to eat everything, I don't believe that fully though. My best bet would be, if you want to give a dog table scraps, gather them in a plate over a small period of time, making sure it doesn't spoil, and use that for rewards if she does something good, kind of like a treat. Also, just not letting her jump up while you are eating and directing her towards her food might work. Another way that sometimes tends to work would be to mix the table scraps, not too much though, along with the dog food, that way she might smell the table scraps and just eat everything in her bowl.

Answer 3

Our dog is 11 years old, and was always fed table scraps since he was a puppy. The begging makes me CRAZY. He has food allergies, so I put him on a strict diet for a few months and forbid anyone from giving him anything from the table. Even after 11 years, it only took a few weeks for him to learn that begging would not get him anywhere.

The trick is to completely ignore the dog while you are at the table. Even a negative response to the begging will still give her hope. And keep in mind that the second she gets anything from the table, she'll start begging again. If you want to give her the occasional treat, wait until you are finished eating and put it in her bowl. It's healthier for her if you don't give her anything, but if you must, always make her eat it out of her bowl, not from the table.

Answer 4

I'm afraid the best treatment is for you to be strong-willed!

Your dog will never eat dog food if she knows she'll get table scraps if she begs. You need to teach her that you are NOT going to give her anything from the table, no matter how hard she asks. She'll get the message eventually and give up, but you're going to have to be strong about it, I know how hard it is not to give in to those pleading brown eyes! It's called tough love. It will help if you're on a high-quality dog food that fills her up properly when given in the recommended amount (i.e nothing from a supermarket, nothing like Pedigree Chum, Bakers or Caesar. All delicious, and unhealthy)

Please get your dog onto proper dog food exclusively, for the sake of her health. Obesity is pretty common in cockers for this very reason.

Chalice

Answer 5

If your dog has ever had people food she'll always want it.
You need to break her of this habit - tell her to lie down while you sit down for dinner and don't let her get up. You need to be consistent so that this is the new habit she develops.

If she doesn't like the food you're feeding her - switch...
Find a food that has good nutritional value and good ingredients. It should be a food she likes, then she'll eat it. If you want her to eat all of it in one sitting, give her a half hour to eat her food and then take it away and don't feed her until her next feeding time. She'll quickly learn that if she wants to eat she'll have to do it on your schedule. This helps regulate when she has to go to the bathroom as well.

Answer 6

Maybe your pup isn't getting the nutrients it needs. Of course begging from the table is a training issue and beginning early will save you later. I was always one to believe NEVER give your dog human food/table scraps. Well...I've just made the switch to make homemade dog food due to the recent pet food recall. It's something to consider. If you research what actually goes into commerically prepared dog food it'll make you sick. What did people do before dog food became commerical/prepackaged? Dogs ate what we ate...real meat. There's alot of information out there about how to feed a balanced and nutrionally healthy diet without processed commercial dog food. Good Luck.

Answer 7

Well, what that tells me is the dog is now more used to eating table food than her food. Easy solution. First, stop feeding the dog any and all table food. Continue feeding the dog it's dog food. The dog, will get the hint it isn't going to get anymore table scraps and when it gets hungry enough, it will eat its own food. This may take a little time but it is reinforcing and retraining the dog. The key is to be disciplined enough yourself to stop feeding the dog table scraps.

Answer 8

Never give them anything from the table, ever. If you did in the past, it will be very hard to break the habit. Don't give the dog any table scraps, and when they beg, tell them no, and take them over to their own food. When they get hungry enough they will eat what they are supposed to.

Answer 9

During meal time, put her in a separate room with puppy food & fresh water. Do not let anyone feed it table scraps. I'm not saying you did. My dogs beg, but have never been given human food. Hope it works out!

Answer 10

We eat first, and do not allow our dog to beg...he usually lays by our feet now. But he used to beg but zero eye contact and a lot of patience worked wonders. Additionally, we don't ever give him scraps while we're sitting at the table or eating...so he does not associate our supper with getting a goodie.

Now, by the time we have finished supper, he's hungry from smelling what we've eaten and he goes for his food as soon as we feed him.

good luck, and remeber the patience ;)