# other ideas for keeping dog off dinner table / coffee table



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Hi,
I have a 1 year old collie/shepherd mix. He's pretty new to the home (almost 3 months now). He's a very velco dog, and mostly stays with one of us when we're home. And he's doing well with his training (sit on command, waits for dinner, walks ok on leash). We've really fallen in love with him, he's a sweetie.

Now that he's more comfortable with us, he seems to be exhibiting more bold behavior. When my girlfriend was in the bathroom, he got on the dinner table (back leg on chair, front paw on table), and started snacking on breakfast. Between bites, he was barking (he rarely barks).

I've read some ideas online for training them to not get on the table (double sided tape, aluminum foil, balloons on edge of table, hot pepper on table, practicing off command...).

What has worked for you guys?

We don't let him loose when we're at work, but if we're home and just going to the bathroom or going to get the mail, we let him loose.

I know you're not suppose to project human traits onto dogs, but it really seems like he knows that if we're not physically present, he can get away with things like eating off the table. He doesn't ever get on the table when we're in the room.

I'm also baffled by the barking things. He's such a silent dog, we have no idea why he would bark while eating off the dinner table.


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## jesirose (Mar 27, 2008)

First of all, since you know this behavior exists, don't leave things on the table or counters when you leave the room (or crate the dog first). We always crate during meals, it's just easier. 

To teach him to ignore the food when you're gone, start by leaving some food on the table, and having him lie down near the table. When he can ignore the food and lie down, then start practicing walking away. Just one step at first, then come back and reward, release. Increase to 2, 3, 4 steps etc. When you get to the point you are at the door to leave, just pop out and right back in again. If he ever gets up on the table, start over at an earlier point. Then increase how long you're out of the room. (You could try attaching a jingle bell to his collar so if he jumps up you hear it while you're practicing). 
Eventually you'll have a nice long time you can leave. You need to keep up the practice though, without occasional rewards for ignoring the food, they'll unlearn the behavior.


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## Labmom4 (Feb 1, 2011)

He's barking because he knows he's in trouble  When my 8 mth old puppy gets ahold of somethings she's not supposed to have, like a sock or something, she whines while she's got it in her mouth. Her ears go back, tail between her legs and she comes up to me with the forbidden object, whining, like 'Oh I'm so rotten but I cant help myself!' HAHAHA!

And I do believe that they fully know that they can get away with things when you're not there. Projecting or not, they know. 

I've never had a dog get onto the table, so I'm not too sure what to do about that. I'm sure somebody else has experienced it and can tell you how they handled it.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

I don't think it's that "they know they can get away with things" when we're not home. It's just that dogs live in the moment. If something seems fun or interesting, or is a "self-rewarding" behavior, they'll probably do it, and keep doing it, because we're not home to "redirect" them, or "manage" the issue.

A self-rewarding behavior is any behavior where the dog perceives getting a reward. Eating breakfast off the table is a self-rewarding behavior; the reward is the food. 

The easiest way to correct any issue is to manage it. Don't leave food out. If you have food on the table, and need to leave the room, crate the dog really quickly. If you want, you can work on the type of training jesirose mentions, but, IMO, it's no guarantee. If a dog is a chow hound, and loves food, and there's food out, they can't always resist temptation.

But, just like with any behavior, it depends on your dog. My dogs never had a problem with taking food. Now, if I left a shoe or slipper out, they'd be all over it! Not every dog has a problem with a certain behavior.....


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## ZeeDoggy (Jul 16, 2010)

Have you tried mat training? Designate an area where the dog should be while you enjoy a meal. Throw a treat on the area and give a command (whatever word you choose) and praise. Teach him to sit/stay and down/stay on the mat and repeat until he gets it. Once the dog understands where his area is and that he can't leave until you tell him, start sending him there before you eat. My dog would sit right next to me and stare while I ate before I started the mat training. When the food comes out, he's already on the mat laying down without me having to give the command.


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## qingcong (Oct 26, 2009)

How would an animal even be capable of knowing it's somehow "wrong" to eat off the table? Food is food, it's not as if they understand there's human food and dog food. All food is food, some food is more delicious than others, sometimes it's on the table, sometimes it's in a bowl on the ground. Sometimes interesting foods are found on the sidewalk. Dogs are completely amoral. They do not live in a world of human values and do not have the mental capacity to feel bad for something they've done. They show signs of appeasement, but it's not guilt, it's a learned response to appease the angry human. 

If you want to work on it, you have to be 100% vigilant. There are many methods, but none will work if you allow the dog to practice getting on the table even once.


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## TxRider (Apr 22, 2009)

dogclass said:


> Hi,
> I have a 1 year old collie/shepherd mix. He's pretty new to the home (almost 3 months now). He's a very velco dog, and mostly stays with one of us when we're home. And he's doing well with his training (sit on command, waits for dinner, walks ok on leash). We've really fallen in love with him, he's a sweetie.
> 
> Now that he's more comfortable with us, he seems to be exhibiting more bold behavior. When my girlfriend was in the bathroom, he got on the dinner table (back leg on chair, front paw on table), and started snacking on breakfast. Between bites, he was barking (he rarely barks).
> ...


The best and easiest thing to do is to train yourself to never leave anything that would reward the behavior on the table or counter. No food on the table, no table surfing. Or if he does, he gets nothing and is less likely to repeat it.



> I know you're not suppose to project human traits onto dogs, but it really seems like he knows that if we're not physically present, he can get away with things like eating off the table. He doesn't ever get on the table when we're in the room.
> 
> I'm also baffled by the barking things. He's such a silent dog, we have no idea why he would bark while eating off the dinner table.


Of course he knows.. Dogs are very good ooportunists. And punishing him after the fact is not a good thing to do, as dogs generally associate a punishment with what they were doing at the time of the punishment.

You could get sneaky, leave something on the table, watch from a webcam from the other room, and trick him into thinking you can see what he's doing even if you aren't there.. Or have something you can control remotely like an e-collar that would startle him when he gets up there without you in the room but watching remotely with a wireless web cam. Or use some means of discouragement or counter conditioning as you listed or others posted..

But really the easiest thing is just to clear the decks so to speak and never leave anything out in reach. Worked for me. Kinda like you put cabinet locks on cabinets and cover electrical outlets for kids...

Or think of it like a slot machine getting up on the table or counter is pulling the handle, taking a risk... If the slot machine pays off with a jackpot often enough, you'll keep playing for that reward... If you pull it enough times with no jackpot given you'll learn it's not worth the trouble and risk and stop playing the slot machine altogether... If he gets up and look around, knowing he'll be punished if caught, and gets no reward of food enough times, most dogs will just give the behavior up.

Worked with Hope, took about a year.. Now I can leave food on the table and counter and she doesn't surf for it, but I still try to keep it all up out of reach. One instance, one reward, could set me back to the beginning.


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## petpeeve (Jun 10, 2010)

I think management is the first, and easiest option. Simply crate the dog, or remove food, etc as others have mentioned.

Training to ignore is also a viable option, as jesirose stated, but will take some effort of course. As a prelude to this, basic impulse control excercises may help.



Perhaps the 'not-so-obvious' solution would be to take the dog with you, .. especially since he's 'mostly a velcro dog', it shouldn't be too difficult to ensure that he comes with you for those times when you occassionally leave the room.

If you briefly leave a roast out while you go to check for mail, have the dog heel with you to the door and back. ... then, reward him with a small piece of roast beef !
If your wife leaves a plate of crackers out while she goes to the bathroom, have her take the dog along to do a down-stay on the bath mat, while she does her hair. ... then, they can run back to the kitchen for a cracker !

Dogs aren't the ONLY ones who can be 'opportunistic' ..


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