Silly question maybe - about MY meals... :)

[coripc33]

Hi everyone, I have a 14 weeks old Westie, she is adorable. Everything is going great, she is being good about housebreaking, she eats, sleeps like a puppy, except... it's hard for me to have any meals without her just trying to jump on me and get some of what I'm eating. I don't want to give in and let her try some, even though I did give her a grape last night - hilarious moment, since she did not know what to do with it, but she finally ate it - , she ate 2-3 little bites of an apple once, she tried a piece of peach once (and ate it - I thought she was supposed to only eat meat LOL) and now I am ashamed to admit that I actually wait for her to take a nap in order for me to have dinner. How do I manage to have my normal meals with her awake - should I put her in her playpen while I'm eating? She will obviously have a problem with being in there while Mama is having dinner... Has it been a problem for any of you, and how did you manage it? Thanks in advance for any advice, I've never had a puppy before, and I don't know how to handle this problem.

Thanks,
Corina

 

[SHADOW_THE_STAFF]

Make sure you do NOT give your puppy any food while you are still eating. Only give her some when you have finished and only if she has been good, I put my scraps in shadows bowl when I have finished. If you do that your westie may wait at her bowl for you to finish your food, as she'll know that where you'll put it when you've finished. Eat where she cant get at you (if its possible) on a table where she cant reach. She will soon learn that she only gets some if she leaves you alone, and ONLY when you have finished. You decide when she gets fed, not her. You must NOT give her any if she begs or barks or whines, because you will only reinforce her thinking "oh when I bark, mother gives me food".....

Hope that helps. It works with my 7 month old staffy, she understands she gets something only when I have finished.

 

[bubbatd]

Never feed grapes or raisons !! Toxic.

 

[Doberluv]

I agree with the above posts. I just about freaked when I first read your post. Grapes! A-h-h-h....

The best way to get her to stop is to absolutely ignore her. If she doesn't stop, put her in a crate near by. Meanwhile, while you teach her her obedience and she gets better at a down/stay, you can do that during meals. Never ever give her food while you're eating if you want her to stop bothering you.

My dogs go into a down/stay while I eat if I'm at the table. At the very end of the meal when I'm doing dishes, they get some left overs. It took time to train them to stay for the entire meal. I had to keep getting up and replacing them on their rug in a down stay and show them that they were not going to get anywhere if they didn't comply. I'd practice that at other times besides meal time. They'd get rewarded often and not have to stay for very long at first and just gradually lengthened the time and distance between us.

 

[Dizzy]

Grapes and raisins are only toxic when fed in large quantities, so I really wouldn't worry about the odd one here or there. If you gave the dog a bunch of grapes, then maybe you might worry!

It is no different to humans eating apple pips. They contain small quantities of cyanide, but doesn't stop millions of people munching them every day (apparently one person has died after saving a bowlful and munching away on them!!).

Same goes for cabbage by the way, contains cyanide.

 

[Doberluv]

I think it's arsenec in apple seeds. (?) I've read some awful stories about grapes and it didn't always take a tremendous amount of them, especially in a puppy and especially in a small breed puppy. I sure wouldn't give any grapes at all, if a lot of grapes can cause the renal damage I've read about...horrendous. It's like chocolate. A fairly large dose can cause death, so why would you give a small amount? Just to see how much the dog can tolerate? Why? I would definitely recommend NO grapes or raisins in the future.

 

[showpug]

Hi everyone, I have a 14 weeks old Westie, she is adorable. Everything is going great, she is being good about housebreaking, she eats, sleeps like a puppy, except... it's hard for me to have any meals without her just trying to jump on me and get some of what I'm eating. I don't want to give in and let her try some, even though I did give her a grape last night - hilarious moment, since she did not know what to do with it, but she finally ate it - , she ate 2-3 little bites of an apple once, she tried a piece of peach once (and ate it - I thought she was supposed to only eat meat LOL) and now I am ashamed to admit that I actually wait for her to take a nap in order for me to have dinner. How do I manage to have my normal meals with her awake - should I put her in her playpen while I'm eating? She will obviously have a problem with being in there while Mama is having dinner... Has it been a problem for any of you, and how did you manage it? Thanks in advance for any advice, I've never had a puppy before, and I don't know how to handle this problem.

Thanks,
Corina

Wow, sounds like your puppy controls you instead of you controlling puppy! You need to stop that behavior right now or it will only cause other problems later. Why don't you eat in a different room than your puppy, or how about eating at a table where the puppy can't get the food Please don't tell me that you don't want to hear the puppy whine or cry!!! Pleeeeaaaaaaasssssssseeeeeee, that's part of having a puppy! It's your job to not reward bad behavior. It's simple, reward what you want and ignore what you don't want. Everytime you give your puppy a reward (food being fed while you are eating) you teach you puppy to repeat what it is doing. Invest in a crate or a puppy proof room so you can eat in peace and reclaim your place in the pack!!!!!!!!!!

Side note* Never feed grapes, raisins, onions or chocolate to dogs!!!

 

[Doberluv]

Absolutely. You decide what behaviors you want and don't want and then you go about teaching your pup. In teaching, you must be consistant and insistant. You need to recognize what is a reward and what isn't. If you reward or if the dog self rewards with a given behavior, it will be repeated and will escalate. Do not ever feed your dog at the table, not even once if you want him to have good manners. Begging is a pushy behavior. You don't want that out of a dog. Pushiness, unbridled can lead to aggression. If you allow your dog to decide how the household and you are going to be run, you are asking for possible aggression problems and chaos.

I encourage you to read as much as possible on canine behavior and operant conditioning training methods. You can do a search on this forum too. Try to read as much as you can in the behavior and puppy forums. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions. You'll do fine. Just stick to your guns, be confident around your pup and you make the rules....not he.

 

[coripc33]

Thank you all very much - I didn't know about the grapes. Fortunately she probably had one about 2 weeks ago, and one about 2 nights ago, so I hope nothing happened.

I did try letting her whine and cry last night, and it actually turned out very well (for me, I mean). I was able to finish my meal while she was in her playpen; she cried and whined for a few minutes, but then she started playing with something else and forgot about it. Of course, being in different rooms helped, but there's no door between the kitchen and living room, so she could still hear me. I can definitely keep this up, so thank you all for all your suggestions. Yes, I do have a hard time letting her cry, but only because she really doesn't cry much, unless she wants to go outside to potty - which I really appreciate, by the way. Otherwise she is very good, barely barks, barely cries, and she is starting to pick up on what NO means.

I will have to start her on training, but I don't know how to go about it. I will do some more research and then ask more questions here - I appreciate everyone's willingness to share their knowledge.

Thanks again,
Corina

 

[Doberluv]

Here are a few good links to behavior and training. Check 'em out! Good luck.

http://www.weimclubamerica.org/yourweim/development1.html


http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.html


http://www.clickerlessons.com/index.html