Barking when human eating.........

[CaliMomma]

I've put Darla up, kept her at my side, placed in the bathroom even in the hallway out do site. However when we eat she will bark at us non stop until we share or are finished. I have great patience however 15 mins of non stopping barking is ridiculous. I cannot handle it.

A colliege recommended a bark colar only when we are eating. It helped with her mini weenies. What are your thoughts? I can't take much more of this.

[Maximo]

Skip the collar, especially if it is a shock collar.

First, never share any food from the table ever again. She knows she has succeeded in barking her way to the treats, so it is going to be a hard habit to break.

Work with her on training outside of meal time to. Does she know sit and quiet? When you sit down to eat, and she starts barking, give the quiet and sit commands. If she doesn't listen, ignore her. If she thinks she is getting to you, she will keep it up. You are going to have to put up with some noisy meals, but the training will pay off. It's a test of willpower.

Do things to tire her out before mealtime, like a walk or vigorous game of fetch.

My boys know not to disturb me while I'm eating, but lately we have been naughty and giving them little bits of food while we are cooking and right when we sit down at the table. Now they are starting to beg a little. I'm inadvertently training them to do this. I need to stop before it gets worse.

[CaliMomma]

It was a spray collar. We do ignore her to the best even try laughing but 15mins of barking is the worst. Training is not going well with me and Darla. I work full time leave at 6:30 am-6pm so honestly here she's kept company with the bird while I'm gone and my turtles. I'm going to try doggy daycare a couple days a week to see if maybe that helps with training, manners and socializing. I love my Darla she just drives my nerves and patience out the door, down the driveway and around the block.

[Maximo]

Your problem is that she is likely sleeping most of the day (a lot of doggies do this when no humans are around), and the she is ready to go, go, go when you arrive home and want to eat.

A daycare would be great to give her some activity and to burn off some energy.

The more activity, the more trainable and better behaved doggy.

[Maximo]

More . . . if you can spend 15 minutes playing fetch or whatever she likes when you get home, and then have activity later after dinner, she will fall into the routine and be more likely to let you enjoy dinner.

Dogs learn to anticipate things at certain times of the day.

[yorkietalkjilly]

If you don't have time to train her and get her under control and used to behaving so that a simple "uh oh" or "no" or simply a look would stop her - which is entirely possible and what training can achieve - you might try this.

ClickerSolutions Training Articles -- "You Won the Prize!"

By working with a dog teaching it obedience, it learns impulse control and to work for you for praise and treats, learns how great it is to make you happy because it wants to be your team member and that its best life comes when it doesn't misbehave, you can totally modify your dog's behaviors and wind up very quickly with a well-behaved little companion who is a joy to live with. Playing challenging games, lots of exercise and a good home training program for 5 minutes a day 2 or 3 times a day will make for a happy, well-behaved pet who loves you and would NEVER interfere with your dinner by barking. My Tibbe sometimes will come and stand in front of me when I'm eating and all I have to do is look soberly at him or at most point to the couch and he blithely goes over and jumps up on the couch, I smile and thank him and he waits until dinner is over, knowing I'm proud of him for controlling himself and behaving. After something like that, after dinner is done, I will go into the kitchen and bring him a treat, give him a little rub on his rump for being such a sweetie and he's a happy camper - feeling he got his due.

You do kind of have to understand sometimes our food just smells sooooo great they get carried away - they are dogs with impressively talented noses at picking up all the wonderful smells down to the molecules and I'll bet sometimes it's very hard to have to stand and watch and get NONE of that great-smelling food we get all the time. So, I give him his treat and a rub and let him know he's a great boy for being so good about it all. He puts his ears back and kind of squints his eyes in pleasure to be acknowledged for being so good. That comes from working with a dog and helping it learn how to control its impulses, want to please and know you'll repay him in kind. But until you can do that, try the "You Won A Prize" game and see if it works! But then work with your dog and train him.