Training
Chin on Grandma's knee, a paw on the chair, the bread gone from the worktop. It is unlearned with one rule everyone keeps and a spot where he gets something better.
Sunday lunch, everyone round the table, and the dog has parked himself next to Grandma. Chin on her knee, eyes on her fork. After a minute he whines. A minute later a paw lands on the chair. Grandma lasts as long as she can, then says "oh, he's only little" and slips him a bit of roast under the table. Your dog may be past that stage already. He doesn't ask for anything any more; he just waits for you to leave the kitchen, stands up at the worktop and walks off with the bread. Both habits are learned at home, and both can be unlearned at home. What you need is one rule the whole family sticks to, and a place of his own where mealtimes bring him something better than crumbs under the table.
It helps to know where this comes from. A dog begs because now and then it works. It doesn't need to work at every meal. If it works one time in ten, he will try even harder, like someone feeding a slot machine and waiting for their turn. Worktop stealing runs the same way: at least once he found something very good up there, and every success sends him back for another look.
The dog gets nothing from the table and nothing off a plate. Not "just a tiny bit", not the leftovers at the end. The rule covers everyone, no exceptions, because one soft touch is enough. The dog finds that person straight away, moves next to their chair and pushes harder. Talk it through with the whole family, children and grandparents included. Guests hear the rule at the door, before they sit down.
If you still want to share something you cooked, say plain boiled lean meat or a carrot, put it in his own bowl after the meal and away from the table.
While you teach him something new, make sure he can't keep practising begging or stealing. A few small changes do most of the work:
Pick a blanket or bed a few metres from the table where he can still see you. Practise when nobody is eating:
Ask for it at mealtimes only once it works well with no food on the table.
As you sit down, he gets something on his blanket that will keep him busy. A frozen stuffed toy, a chew that suits his size, or part of his daily ration hidden in a snuffle mat all work. The family meal turns into the moment he gets the best thing of his day, just well away from the table.
Teach "leave it" on its own, at a different time. Hold a treat in a closed fist. He will nudge, lick, maybe paw at it. The second he backs off, he gets a different treat from your other hand. Then try it with an open palm, then with the treat on the floor, then on a low chair.
In the kitchen you work the other way round. Whenever he stands beside you with all four paws on the floor while you cook, let a treat drop from your hand to the floor. Within a few days he works out that food arrives on the floor and the worktop has nothing to offer.
Puppies. Easiest of all is to never let it start. From day one he gets nothing from the table, and at mealtimes he's busy with his stuffed toy or asleep in his pen. Puppies learn very fast where the good stuff happens.
Adolescents. He shoots up and finds he can reach the worktop. This is usually when stealing begins. How you've set up the house matters hugely now, along with plenty of exercise: a bored adolescent goes looking for entertainment, and the worktop is the nearest source.
Adults. A dog who has begged for years will beg harder for the first few days after the titbits stop. We're always glad to see that, because it means he's noticed the change. If the whole family holds firm, the begging drops after that peak.
Seniors. In older dogs, more begging can come from illness. Some hormonal conditions, diabetes and some medicines make dogs hungrier. It can also be boredom, as they have less to do. If his appetite has changed suddenly, take him to the vet. Otherwise it's the same plan, with a softer, warmer blanket.
"Just this once." To a dog, one time in ten is reason enough to try at every meal.
Giving him something to keep him quiet. You've just taught him that whining and barking open the plate. Next time he starts earlier and louder.
Telling him off. "No! Go away!" is attention too, and for some dogs that beats being ignored. With worktop stealing, telling him off afterwards achieves nothing. He links it to you walking into the kitchen, not to the bread he ate five minutes ago.
Booby traps on the worktop, such as trays that fall, sprays or loud noises. A sensitive dog can end up scared of the whole kitchen and still learn nothing about where he should be. We don't recommend them.
Scraps in his bowl during the meal. If his scraps go into a bowl beside the table, the begging stays beside the table too.
Food left on the worktop "just for a minute". For a dog who has stolen before, a minute is plenty.
If the whole family keeps the rule, begging drops noticeably within two or three weeks. The first few days can be worse than before, as he tries everything that used to work on each of you. Worktop stealing is more stubborn: one lucky find every now and then keeps him keen for weeks. That's why a clear worktop stays a house rule after the training is done.
You'll notice it in small things. When he sees the table being laid, he takes himself off to his blanket. He no longer turns up under the table at the end of the meal. In the kitchen he stands next to you, paws on the floor, watching you instead of the worktop. When someone gets up from the table, he stays where he is.
| Week | What you do |
|---|---|
| 1 | The whole family keeps the rule. Gate or short lead at mealtimes. Clear worktop. Blanket practice a few times a day, no meal involved. |
| 2 | At every meal he's on his blanket with a stuffed toy. "Leave it" practised separately. |
| 3 | Blanket without the gate, with someone keeping an eye on him. Treats in the kitchen for four paws on the floor. |
| 4 onwards | Guests arrive: the rule at the door, the dog on his blanket with his toy. |
A trainer who works with rewards can help you take "on your bed" all the way to the hardest version: a festive meal, guests and full plates.
What dog owners search for most often on the internet about this problem, with the short answer.
Because he has been given something, at least now and then. It doesn't have to work at every meal: one success in ten keeps him trying, and trying harder. Dogs are also quick to find the family member who gives in. Once nobody gives him anything, begging fades within a few weeks.
Start by taking away the chances: a clear worktop, bread in the bin, chairs pushed in, the dog in another room when you can't watch him. Then practise leave it with treats and drop him a treat in the kitchen when he stands by you with his paws on the floor. Every successful theft fires him up again, so a clear worktop stays a house rule.
Don't give him anything to quieten him, or he learns that noise brings food. Before you sit down, send him to his blanket with a stuffed toy or leave him in another room behind a gate, and praise him when he's calm there. The first days may be noisier than before. If the whole family holds firm, it passes.
From the table itself, better nothing, so he doesn't start begging. If you want to share, put it in his bowl after the meal: plain boiled lean meat without salt, or simple vegetables such as carrot. Onion, garlic, grapes, chocolate, cooked bones, fatty or spicy food and anything with sweeteners are dangerous for dogs.
It's a common habit, especially in young, tall dogs, and it starts with something good he once found up there. You stop it by removing the chances (chairs pushed in, table cleared, door shut) and giving him a spot of his own where good things happen. Punishments and booby traps on the table don't teach him what to do instead.
They often come together: the same causes, plans that complement each other.
You walk in and his paws are on your chest before the door has shut. Jumping up is a greeting, and he keeps doing it because it has worked every single time.
Half a bar of dark chocolate missing, the grape stalk bare, the sock gone. Gather the wrapper, work out how much he ate and call. Do not make him sick yourself.
You can no longer feel his ribs, the waist has gone, he pants after three flights of stairs. Fat creeps on and hides up close, but your hands find it in two minutes.
He freezes over the bowl, eats faster as you approach, growls over his bone. Resource guarding is natural behaviour that has become a problem, and you fix it by trading.
In Puppy Class and the basic obedience course these exercises are worked in a group, with real distractions and feedback at every step.