My wife and I took in a stray puppy a couple months ago (I can
hear the groans). He's certainly a sweet dog, and was already
housebroken, but he digs, and he will eat any food that isn't locked
up, including right out of my kids hands. I'm not sure how to correct
either one. Our other dog was a first child, so we were able to fully
dedicate ourselves to training, with fantastic results. We now have
two real children, including a very clingy 9-month-old, and the time
just isn't there to stand outside with him to admonish when he starts
to dig. Those with kids are well aware of the dinner habits of
toddlers, but it's to the point where we can't even put his food on the
counter without the dog getting up there to get it. I tried habanero
peppers for that one, but it failed miserably. I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders on
our golden. Any advice?

"Fly4CAP" wrote in message
oups.com...
My wife and I took in a stray puppy a couple months ago (I can
hear the groans). He's certainly a sweet dog, and was already
housebroken, but he digs, and he will eat any food that isn't locked
up, including right out of my kids hands. I'm not sure how to correct
either one. Our other dog was a first child, so we were able to fully
dedicate ourselves to training, with fantastic results. We now have
two real children, including a very clingy 9-month-old, and the time
just isn't there to stand outside with him to admonish when he starts
to dig. Those with kids are well aware of the dinner habits of
toddlers, but it's to the point where we can't even put his food on the
counter without the dog getting up there to get it. I tried habanero
peppers for that one, but it failed miserably. I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders on
our golden. Any advice?

I'll leave the training advice to others but in the meantime you can
certainly implement a management scheme.

Feed the puppy in a crate or laundry room. Don't free-feed but have
scheduled times he gets food.

Make the children sit at the table when they're eating instead of walking
around with snacks. If the kids are going to be eating somewhere other than
the table then put the puppy in a timeout with a treat of his own so that he
can't take food from the kids.

Teach the older of the two kids that giving the dog any people food is a
no-no. Kids often instigate, or egg-on, food-snatching dogs by both
offering the dog food and by dropping bits of food to the floor.

I've had foster dogs who were big-time table beggars. You could feel their
eyes boring right through you while eating and they'd get so close as to be
practically in your lap. Dogs like that were put in their crates when we
sat down to eat. It was purely management. I'd do trial runs letting them
out after a few days and the minute they began begging they went back into
the crate until we were finished with our dinner. One dog never did get the
message but the few others managed to learn from the repeated trials and can
now be counted on to lay down several feet from the table and not beg.

--
Tara

Fly4CAP wrote:

My wife and I took in a stray puppy a couple months ago (I can
hear the groans). He's certainly a sweet dog, and was already
housebroken, but he digs, and he will eat any food that isn't locked
up, including right out of my kids hands. I'm not sure how to correct
either one. Our other dog was a first child, so we were able to fully
dedicate ourselves to training, with fantastic results. We now have
two real children, including a very clingy 9-month-old, and the time
just isn't there to stand outside with him to admonish when he starts
to dig. Those with kids are well aware of the dinner habits of
toddlers, but it's to the point where we can't even put his food on the
counter without the dog getting up there to get it. I tried habanero
peppers for that one, but it failed miserably. I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders on
our golden. Any advice?

There is something to be said for making problems go
away rather than training out of them. For instance,
my dogs don't get in the trash because they *can't.*

Trying to train a new dog out of a lot of undesirable
behaviors, all at once, can make the job seem
overwhelming. Get a crate for this dog, and use it
correctly, as Tee says. She has other good advice, too.

flick 100785

I fully agree to keep the dog away from the dinner table altogether. He
definitely would benefit from crate training. You should get in the habit of
simply banishing him from the room where there is food, and scheduled
feeding times are in order.

As for going in the trash can...are you able to put it under the sink inside
the cabinet? Or in a closet/pantry? If you put it where he can't get to it,
he will forget about it.

Digging. Let's just say it's *usually* a sign of boredom. Some dogs just
will dig no matter what you do. Try letting him outside ONLY to do his
business and bringing him right back in. Only allow him to stay out there
when you have the time to watch him. If he still persists and you feel he'll
never stop, is it possible for you to give him his own little area where he
CAN dig? I know of a few people who simply bought their diggers a sandbox
and filled it with sand, and made a game out of it. The dog is happier as it
is also mentally stimulated by digging for whatever the owner hid in there.

~J

"Fly4CAP" wrote in message
oups.com...
My wife and I took in a stray puppy a couple months ago (I can
hear the groans). He's certainly a sweet dog, and was already
housebroken, but he digs, and he will eat any food that isn't locked
up, including right out of my kids hands. I'm not sure how to correct
either one. Our other dog was a first child, so we were able to fully
dedicate ourselves to training, with fantastic results. We now have
two real children, including a very clingy 9-month-old, and the time
just isn't there to stand outside with him to admonish when he starts
to dig. Those with kids are well aware of the dinner habits of
toddlers, but it's to the point where we can't even put his food on the
counter without the dog getting up there to get it. I tried habanero
peppers for that one, but it failed miserably. I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders on
our golden. Any advice?

a really old friend used the method of punishment by hitting the dog with a
rolled daily paper on the rear part of the body
the dog finds it a nuissance but you can not damage the dog physically

"Fly4CAP" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders on
our golden. Any advice?

"hotkey" top-posted in
:

"Fly4CAP" wrote in message
oups.com...
I'm not a kicking and
screaming dog trainer; gentle positive reinforcement worked wonders
on our golden. Any advice?

a really old friend used the method of punishment by hitting the dog
with a rolled daily paper on the rear part of the body
the dog finds it a nuissance but you can not damage the dog physically


A more well-thought-out use of a rolled newspaper is to whack yourself in
the head with it every time you forget to control the puppy and his
environment to prevent disasters.

OP, you *can* reconcile your desire for control over this pup with your
wish to avoid kicking and screaming. You will, however, find that very few
dogs respond to mere gentle persuasion as well as your Golden did.

Others in this NG have already posted more helpful advice than our super-
literate friend "hotkey."

Here are some articles on raising a puppy. You may enjoy wandering the
canismajor site: they have lots and lots of good articles.

http://www.canismajor.com/dog/frstyear.html
http://www.canismajor.com/dog/puptrain.html

--
Kate
and Storm the FCR

HJM writes:


E.g., a dog that's trained to sit or down can't be at the table
swiping food from your kids.


And let's mention that kids shouldn't be walking around the house with a cookie
in their hand. Eat at the table. Period.


However, until your TRAINING gets to that point, keep him confined to
his crate during meals. You don't want bad habits to get started.

One of the adults can also do a "sit on it". Sit on the leash and teach the
pup that their place at the table is close by, but in a down, not jumping up,
scavenging, etc.

We now have
two real children, including a very clingy 9-month-old, and the time
just isn't there to stand outside with him to admonish when he starts
to dig.


A puppy really needs someone outside with him so he can be praised for
eliminating outside. And definitely not out alone to get bored and dig.




Janet Boss
http://bestfriendsdogobedience.com/
http://photos.yahoo.com/bestfriendsobedience