Dog puts his front paws in the table

Hi, Dee,

Well, it sounds like your pooch has been doing this for awhile now and this one knows that he WILL eventually get some kind of reward for trying. That’s probably why he is still doing it and he probably thinks you are not really serious about it.

Hmmm…

This might help. So, if you have two dogs (or more) they should all follow the same rule. I feed the people first at my house. Then the dogs get fed. They don’t beg and they sit away from the table area when we are eating and they don’t pester folks at the table when we have company. Yeah, it’s hard in the beginning… because everyone wants to pet the puppy! Just tell the folks your dog is in training.

When dinner time comes, they must have a boundary set. So, they either must lay down somewhere, like a rug or their dog bed, go to their crate, or where ever you choose, just so they get to know that when people are eating at the table – you get the drift. Make it the same place all the time. If you need a boundary for them, let’s say the treshhold from the hallway or living room to the eating area, you can use a simple kitchen broom to act as their boundary- just lay it on the floor. When they get good at this, you can remove the broom. If they regress, put the broom back. Eventually, you will be able to tell them to “go to their spot” and stay there until you say “okay”. Practice with a fake dinner time so they know what’s up. And, then start right away, the same day, with the real thing. It will probably be alot of getting up and down to put them back in the right spot. But they will get it. DON’T give in!

You must never feed your dog anything from the table and must tell others, including company not to as well. When you are not eating, you also must tell the dog(s) that a nose or paw is not appropriate here at any time. If your dog(s) is/are sneaky, and does this when you are not around, you can set them up. That’s absentee behavior. You don’t want to associate yourself with the consequence. You can take newspapers and spread them out over the table and then place empty aluminum cans atop the paper. The newspaper should hang over the table. If a paw should come up onto the table, the sliding paper should knock all the cans over and some should spill on the floor and surprise the dog.

It only took 2 times for my one Collie, she was still young though, but could now reach the counter… this is where she enjoyed a tasty stick of butter or entire carton of icecream that was thawing – cardboard container and all!

Well, you can try it! Just so your pooch doesn’t get a kick out of the cans and then thinks this is a real fun game! What is suppose to do is startle them and shows them there is really nothing good up here and then will choose to ignore this area.

And in the mean time, don’t leave anything on the table that might harm your dog. And if you are let’s say, setting the table and bringing in food, you can also say “out” or “get” – getting them used to not being so nosy about what’s going on at the table.

Good Luck! and Bon Appetite!

hi,,

for him to learn what is and isn’t appropriate in the world you share, you must act as the benevolent leader of your household,,,

communicate to your dog what you like and dislike..

reinforce good behavior by giving him treats, toys and attention..

most important is do not punish your dog it will make the situation worst…

for more info regarding setting a good behavior… try this…

http://dogtime.com/behavior.html