Wedged between two dogs and listening to four of them snoring, I suddenly remembered something I needed to do. Despite it being midnight I sprang from bed and went downstairs. Chloe, our border terrier who a half hour earlier was totally asleep and refusing to budge suddenly woke to follow me. I sent my e-mail and told Chloe I was going back to bed. She stared at me in disbelief, "What, no treat?"
Chloe and I have established a little ritual; I forget to do something, we both go downstairs and every once in a while I give her a treat. Chloe is a gambler, and while she doesn't always receive a payout, it has happened enough times that she's always hopeful.
Dogs, especially food motivated dogs like my old girl, are imprinted by those moments we share food. If something worked once, they'll try it again. If it works a second time you can bet there will be a third and fourth time.
The most often repeated phrase in our house is, "Dogs, out of the kitchen." It's completely my fault our dogs mill around in the kitchen, and it's not just because I'm the best canine chef in the country. When I drop something on the floor, one out of four times I tap my foot and call one of the dogs in to clean up my mess. This sets a double standard that the dogs continually test. Much to their credit, they immediately retreat to the safety of our kitchen nook when asked. The reason why our requests are so quickly filled is that we often shoo the dogs out of the cooking area and provide them a carrot or string of grated cheese when they're sitting in the nook, out of the kitchen area. Over time, our dogs have learned that the nook is more successful than the kitchen when it comes to getting a treat. It doesn't mean they have abandoned their kitchen raids because they know when I chop carrots, something is going to fall on the floor and they are all lined up at the starting line for when that foot taps.
We've been much more successful in keeping the dogs out of the dining room by applying the same logic. Raleigh grew up with the no begging at the table rule, but it took a few lessons for the other dogs to catch on. We trained them to stay in the living room and any dog that refrains from roaming receives a treat right after we're done with our meal. Our dogs have learned that not begging actually has better odds. Only through rigidly training ourselves have we been able to train the dogs.
Your dog can learn the same lessons. It's not people food that teaches dogs to beg, it's the people giving the food. Next time you find yourself giving your dog a treat, a scrap or a piece of food, ask yourself if you want this situation to be a daily occurrence. Try feeding your best friend away from the areas you eat and prepare food and establish new rituals for handing over the goods.
I enjoy Chloe's companionship on my middle of the night runs downstairs. She got a cookie.
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