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  1. #1
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    Barking while I eat

    Hello,
    My dog keeps barking while me and my mother eat at the dinner table, she eats about 10-20 minutes before us and yet she still keeps coming next to our chairs and trying to jump on the chair. I'm worried that I might have caused this behavior by putting her on my table in my study, I had no food on the table, just so that she could see what it was like. I'd appreciate the help.

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  2. #2
    Senior Dog Doreen Davis's Avatar
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    I would correct the puppy firmly with a 'no' or saying 'uh-uh' or no bark. I've taught our dogs to 'go lie down' when we eat. Not sure how old your pup is but would work on distracting them with something to chew on in their crate while you eat if you are using a crate.

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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Also, be very careful putting a puppy on a table. A jump off, when you are distracted, can lead to serious injuries. The saying, "if you don't want them to do it when they are an adult don't allow it as a puppy" is very true. What is cute at 20 lbs often isn't at 70 + lbs! They tend to easily remember "allowed" bad behavior much longer than you would think.
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  5. #4
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
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    Hi,

    With labs, and probably many dogs, eating one meal does not mean they won't want to eat again even 5 minutes later if there is some tasty smelling food in their vicinity. It's not unusual for dogs to beg at the table and this is something you will want to train her not to do. There are a number of options, you should pick one that sounds like it will work for you and train her to do what you want her to do. And do not ever give her any food from the table or off your plate while you are eating. It will make it much harder to train her not to continue this naughty behavior. Some ideas include:

    1. If you are crate training her, you can put her in her crate while you eat. If she stands in her crate and barks, put a sheet or other cover over the crate so she's not staring at you and barking.

    2. You can get a small rug or a dog bed and start training her to go to her bed when you tell her to do so. This will involve training her to "sit" or "lie down" and "stay" and eventually "go to your bed" (or place or crate or whatever place name you want to use). You can lure her onto this bed or rug with a treat "go on your bed" and train her to understand the "stay" command. You do this by having her sit or lie down, then stay. Stand right in front of her for 30 seconds or so, then give a treat if she stays where she is. This takes lots of practice, moving back a step or 2 at a time, adding more time until you give her a treat if she stays on the bed where you told her to stay. I have a leash on the puppy so that if they try to run off the bed or rug, I can grab the leash and guide them back onto the bed. This is all part of general training of the puppy, learning to Sit, Down, and Stay. This is not something she will learn in one day or even in one week. This will take a lot of short (5 minute) training sessions, a couple sessions each day, and gradually she will learn what you want her to do. Once she learns to stay on her bed, you can have her go to her bed while you eat, in the room where you are or in an adjacent room.

    3. You could also try putting this bed or rug beside a chair that you sit on, put a leash on her, and sit on the leash, with her on the rug beside you. You don't have to tell her to sit or lie down or say anything to her, but if she jumps on your lap, just push her off. You want her to learn to stay quietly beside you on her rug. You could do this beside your study chair, for example. Start out with short periods of time, a few minutes, and gradually work up to 30 minutes or more with her staying quietly beside you. We did this in our obedience class and it did not take long for the puppy to learn to settle down and stay quietly on the rug or bed. We were not eating in the class, though, so there was not that distraction. If she learns to settle down and stay beside you, maybe you could have her stay on her rug beside you while you eat. This is a valuable skill for her to have anyway, in case you wanted to take her to the park and sit quietly on a bench, go to an outdoor restaurant and have her stay beside you while you eat, or take her almost anywhere in public.

    4. Some people train the dog or puppy to totally stay out of the room where they are cooking or eating. This again involves training them to sit or lie down and stay in one place while you move away and do something else.

    If there is someplace you can go to take obedience classes with your puppy, these commands will be taught and you will be helped to learn how to train your pup. I understand there might be a language barrier making it harder for you to find a class (you mentioned difficulty finding a veterinarian), but it would be a valuable thing for you to do. If there are no classes, perhaps you can find a book on training a puppy that will help you learn these techniques. You may be able to find information or videos online also that can take you through the steps of training your puppy to do various things. Training your puppy will be an ongoing process, not something that is finished in a few days. She will turn into a dog that is much easier to live with if you start her training now.

    I don't know if you can watch these, but these are the sorts of videos you may be able to find:

    DIY dog training: The best YouTube videos around

  6. #5
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    We've had beggers at the table but not a barker. Mardi and Archie are allowed in the kitchen while we eat as long as there is no staring, begging, etc. I started by putting on a leash and putting them in a down beside me while we ate. Mardi prefers now to lay on the rug in front of the sink and Archie will either lay on the other side of the kitchen or in the living room.

    I agree, if you are crate training, that's the place to start. Don't give an inch cause your pup will take advantage of it. Be firm, be consistent.
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  7. #6
    Senior Dog ZoeysMommy's Avatar
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    Zoey did this as a young pup, i put her in her crate. She stopped after a few meals

  8. #7
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    I would not bother correcting. Negative attention is still attention. Smartrock had some great advice. Crating is also an option. You may also want to start working on some basic manners. If she is doing this, I imagine she gets pushy in other ways? Requiring a sit before she is fed, goes in or out, is pet, has per collar and/or lead put on/off, before she is allowed in or our of the car or her crate, stuff like that. It makes a bit difference.

 



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