[fusarium]

I had a plate of meat on the couch, went to the other room for awhile, then heard the pup (14 wks) start snacking. She was paws-up on the couch, eating it.

I took it away, put it on the table (where it should have been in the first place), and said sternly to her "No. Bad dog. No." Shook my finger, then walked away. No attention.

Was that the right response?

Aside from keeping food out of the puppy's reachable area, how can I work with her not to get it?


She is pretty good at "Leave It", but I didn't think of using it.


Thanks for the help!

- Casey

 

[Willowy]

I don't think it's realistic to expect any dog to ignore a plate of meat left at nose level, especially if it was left "for awhile". Especially if you didn't tell her not to touch it (and at her age you won't have had time to properly train that command anyway). You can work on a "don't touch that" command, but I still think there's a certain time period after which the dog will have every right to assume you've forfeited the food .

I can leave food on the coffee table for a short time, if I tell the dogs not to touch it. If I forget to tell them, or leave it for too long, oops.

 

[Shell]

A plate of meat within reach with no one around is basically irresistible to 99 % of dogs
So... you already have your answer

keeping food out of the puppy's reachable area,

"Leave it" is good if you are there to tell her to leave it, once you are not there it doesn't do much; you can teach a really solid "Stay" and if you HAVE to leave something within reach, then back the dog away from it and place her in a stay.

Set the dog up to win by not leaving things available to her that she shouldn't have, especially as a puppy. Simple "ah ah" or "No" and taking the food away is a good response but remember that it is your fault she was eating the food to begin with.

Heck, if you left a plate of meat in front of me and left the room for "awhile", I'd start eating on it too

 

[JackKnife]

Percy stole my sandwich once which gained him a few sharp slaps to his behind and a loud stern "No". I showed him that I was alpha and that the food was not his unless I offered it to him. He hasn't do it again since but I usually keep my food away from him so he can't be tempted to do it again.

 

[zeronightfarm]

Percy stole my sandwich once which gained him a few sharp slaps to his behind and a loud stern "No". I showed him that I was alpha and that the food was not his unless I offered it to him. He hasn't do it again since but I usually keep my food away from him so he can't be tempted to do it again.

Is Percy a dog or a child? I garuntee you he will do it again. He might bite you while he's at it.

To the OP Saying "No" is only good while they are doing bad. Other wise their brain is on to the next thing.

 

[Shell]

Percy stole my sandwich once which gained him a few sharp slaps to his behind and a loud stern "No". I showed him that I was alpha and that the food was not his unless I offered it to him. He hasn't do it again since but I usually keep my food away from him so he can't be tempted to do it again.

So if you were at work and someone left a tin of chocolates out in a common room area with no note or anything that indicated that you shouldn't take one and you took one, do they have permission to slap you? Because as far as your dog knows, that is just what happened...

If you did not specifically put the dog into a "Stay" or give a "Leave it" command AND he has been clearly trained to understand those commands, then the dog doesn't know any better and food is food. A VERBAL reprimand IF you catch the dog in the act is sufficient. If you don't catch the dog in the act, then he has absolutely no idea what he is being reprimanded for.

 

[LittleFr0g]

Percy stole my sandwich once which gained him a few sharp slaps to his behind and a loud stern "No". I showed him that I was alpha and that the food was not his unless I offered it to him. He hasn't do it again since but I usually keep my food away from him so he can't be tempted to do it again.

And here you have the perfect example of what NOT to do. Ever.

 

[PatchworkRobot]

Percy stole my sandwich once which gained him a few sharp slaps to his behind and a loud stern "No". I showed him that I was alpha and that the food was not his unless I offered it to him. He hasn't do it again since but I usually keep my food away from him so he can't be tempted to do it again.

So many things wrong with this... this is not any advice that I would take.

Definitely keep the food out of reach and work on a "leave it" command.

 

[jenz]

Yeah, dogs are opportunistic. Once when I was eating while driving, Jack --standing behind me-- ripped a fry right out of my hand as I was putting it into my mouth. No shame whatsoever!

Off topic but... Patchwork Robot, is that an Icelandic Sheepdog in your siggie?

Jen