Puppy Training Guide

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Stop Your Puppy from Begging

By nature, dogs are scavengers, which means that they will eat absolutely anything and that they will quickly develop the habit of begging for food and often, also for attention. Begging is an extremely bad habit for your puppy to form, and that's why it's important to train your puppy not to beg.

One of the primary reasons to train your puppy not to beg is so that you can maintain a healthy and balanced diet for your dog. Many people see a begging puppy with longing eyes to be 'irresistable' and so will offer scraps of food which often isn't in line with the dog's diet and can quickly change a happy and healthy puppy to being overweight.

The first step in training your puppy to not beg is to understand a little about the world of dogs. Throughout evolution, dogs have become pack animals, with a leader, or alpha dog at the head of each pack. It's this alpha dog that they others must abide by and follow. In your household, you need to be the alpha dog, the one that sets the rules.

When you are sitting down to dinner, take your dog to a specific spot and tell them to stay. It may take some time to achieve this, but eventually they will stay when you tell them. It's okay that your puppy watches you having dinner, but don't be tempted to give them anything from your plate. After you have finished, you should praise your puppy and reward them with their own delicious dinner. This is exactly what happens in the dog world.

Remain consistent with this process every time you have dinner. Don't waver, as otherwise you will quickly undo all the hard work you have already put in.

Your puppy has a very powerful nose and so they will naturally follow pleasant smells in the hope of finding food. However, human food is not good for dogs and there are many things that your dog should not eat that are common in your diet. For this reason, discourage your dog from begging in the kitchen.

When training your puppy not to beg, you can use the 'sit', 'stay' and 'down' commands. These are all great ways to reinforce your authority and prevent your puppy from starting to beg.

One very important thing to note when training your puppy not to beg, is that this is one time that you should not use food treats as a reward for good behavior, as this goes against what you are trying to enforce.

Voice commands are also very effective to stop begging behaviors, and often a strong 'no', will cause the dog to go down into a sitting position.

Be extremely persistent and patient when training your puppy not to beg. As long as you maintain the stance that your puppy receives nothing when they beg, they will soon realize that this behavior brings no rewards. Don't give in and you won't have to deal with this difficult problem.