5021 N. State Rd. 26
Janesville, WI 53546
608-868-1761
A newsletter dedicated to preserving the human-animal bond through behavior counseling.
January 2010
Volume 3, Issue 1
You
Little Beggar!
I don’t know about you, but I hate it when a dog begs for food. I deal with this personally, and it has gotten worse with a toddler running around the house dropping food wherever he goes or teasing the dog with whatever he happens to be eating at the time. Begging is a very hard habit to break and requires much consistency and dedication. Unfortunately during training, the begging will generally get worse before it gets better.
There are many things that can cause a pet to beg for food. Inadvertent reinforcement is when we drop food on the floor and the pet gets it before we get a chance to pick it up or we call them over to “clean” up the mess. This is generally what happens when there is a young child in the home. I know the dogs at my house love to sit by the highchair at meal time!! This also leads to increased begging during food preparation in the hopes a tasty morsel will be dropped.
Inconsistent meal times for your pet can lead to increased begging. If they have a consistent meal time they can anticipate when they are going to be fed, whereas if they are fed randomly, they may beg thinking it’s supposed to be time to eat. Your personal eating situation can lead to begging. More begging occurs while eating at the couch versus sitting at the table. You are more likely to “share” while eating at the couch. Giving left overs or allowing your pet to lick the dishes will increase begging behavior as well. When an animal is ignored, this can escalate the begging behavior, which will make you give in and give them something just to get them to leave you alone. This just reinforced the behavior and now they’ll beg even longer next time, until they get what they want.
The best and most practical way to disrupt this annoying behavior is to separate your pet from the rest of the family during the times your pet begs. Either putting them in a different room or in their kennel is ideal. Also, eating all meals at the table rather than in the living room will decrease the likelihood of offering a tasty morsel to your furry friend.
Begging is a very difficult behavior to stop. We as humans have to be very consistent in not giving in to the pet, which is so very difficult. When a dog is begging they get absolutely no food or attention, and must be completely ignored. You will most likely notice an increase in the begging behavior as well as a change in the behavior patterns your dog exhibits, but if you are persistent it will eventually get better.
Some things you can do as distractions for begging would include offering a long lasting food treat (Kong with peanut butter, for example) or a food puzzle toy (available at most pet stores) given to them in a different room. Another thing is to teach a “go to” command, which then can be used when begging is likely. Please feel free to contact me if there are any questions on how to do this. You can also work on your pet’s down-stays. Increasing exercise prior to a begging episode could also help. A tired dog is much less likely to beg. Feeding your pet his own meal while you are eating your own is an option as well.
Persistence and consistency are the main ingredients in successfully teaching a dog not to beg. If you are starting out new with a puppy it is very important to follow the above guidelines, so that hopefully your dog will not learn how to beg. And remember, giving your dog scraps at the end of the meal is still reinforcing the begging behavior and will increase your dog’s anticipation for getting food at the next meal.
Night Time Crazies
Tips on Surviving Feline Nocturnal Behavior
Does
your cat get into trouble at night or in the early morning? Is it getting into
things he or she shouldn’t, or keeping you awake at night? Cats are a
crepuscular animal, which means that their activity level is high at night and
in the early morning hours, usually at dusk and dawn. Unfortunately, there
isn’t anything you can do to change this behavior, but there are a couple of
things that you can do throughout the day to maybe help you get a full nights
sleep.
A cat that is running all through the house at night, pouncing or swatting at you, or play biting can lead to a very restless night. You must resist scolding your cat when it is doing all of these crazy actions, since that will only reinforce the behavior. Even though it wasn’t a positive interaction, the cat still received a response, which was all it was looking for. You can prevent access to your cat’s favorite sleeping area during the day. If this is done, then maybe your cat will really cherish his time in his preferred spot. Booby traps can be set up in areas the cat isn’t supposed to be at night. A booby trap can be an upside down mousetrap or a motion sensor sprayer. Another thing you can try and do is increase the interactive playtime during the day between you and your cat. Having a final play session about an hour before bedtime would be very beneficial. You don’t want to do this right before it’s time to go to sleep because you want to make sure the kitty has ample time to wind down before going to sleep.
One final thing you can do is split up your cat’s feedings so that he gets fed right before bedtime. This may help curb his appetite a little bit, and hopefully he won’t feel the need to wake you for his breakfast so early in the morning. Or, another option is to hide food around the house at night time. This will give your cat a “job” to do while you are sleeping, and he will feel like he’s hunting for his food.
You won’t be able to stop this night time craziness, but hopefully you can make it manageable. If your relationship with your kitty has been damaged due to his nocturnal nature, hopefully some of these suggestions can help restore that precious bond.
Pet Peeves Periodical is written by Amanda Henry, CVT.
E-mail: amandacvt@centurytel.net
RESOURCES
Overall, Karen L. Clinical Behavioral Medicine for Small Animals. Mosby, Inc, 1997
Landsberg, G., W. Hunthausen, and L. Ackerman. Handbook of Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. 2nd ed. Elsevier Science Limited, 2003
Horwitz, Debra F. and Jacqueline C. Neilson. Blackwell’s Five Minute Veterinary Consult Canine & Feline Behavior. Blackwell Publishing, 2007
Click the link below to access more issues of Pet Peeves Periodical!