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Teach your teenager to be polite around food. Teach him that calm and polite behaviours will gain him access to food but excited and impolite behaviours will not.
When teaching food manners it is important to be clear in your mind what behaviours you will accept around food and what behaviours you will not accept. If you are not clear, you cannot expect your dog to understand!
Desirable behaviours around food that you could reinforce include: looking at you; sitting, standing or lying quietly; and maintaining distance from the food. Behaviours you might decide are not acceptable include barking, snatching, grabbing, staring at the food, and jumping towards the food.
Consistency is important and remember that your dog is learning even when you are not deliberately training him. Don't give him treats if he is engaging in a behaviour you don't like! Make sure all members of the family follow the same procedure.
Once you have decided what behaviours you want to reinforce, communicate that to your dog. Start by putting the food in a bag or bowl and holding it up high, out of reach of the dog. The height makes it easier for him to disengage from the food. Be careful not to spill or drop the food on the floor where your dog can take it because then he will learn that snatching the food does work!
As soon as you see a behaviour you have decided is on your "desirable" list, take a piece of food and give it to your dog. If you extend your arm out and give it to him at a distance, you are helping him to keep himself further away from the food.
As your dog gives you desirable behaviour, you can lower the food with the ultimate goal of being able to place the container and eventually the food, on the floor. If your dog lunges for the food, or barks, or otherwise does something from the "undesirable" list, simply move the food higher up and begin again.
Throughout this process, you don't need to say anything to your dog. He is learning through his own actions and the consequences of those actions what behaviours earn him access to the food and what behaviours do not.
Food manners wtih Remi
Watch Remi understand what gets her access to the kibble which is now on the floor. We started with the food up high, gradually moving it down for calm behaviour.
In this video I am able to take the food out of the container and put it on the floor.
Remi is successful at this step but you can see that she is still very focussed on the food. If I walked away, she would take it. So we need to keep working on this step.
I want you to notice that I don't say anything. This exercise is best done if you are quiet and let your dog think for herself. Let her figure out what behaviour will get her the food. Thinking for herself will make the behaviour stronger than if you are telling her what to do or not to do.
When teaching food manners it is important to be clear in your mind what behaviours you will accept around food and what behaviours you will not accept. If you are not clear, you cannot expect your dog to understand!
Desirable behaviours around food that you could reinforce include: looking at you; sitting, standing or lying quietly; and maintaining distance from the food. Behaviours you might decide are not acceptable include barking, snatching, grabbing, staring at the food, and jumping towards the food.
Consistency is important and remember that your dog is learning even when you are not deliberately training him. Don't give him treats if he is engaging in a behaviour you don't like! Make sure all members of the family follow the same procedure.
Once you have decided what behaviours you want to reinforce, communicate that to your dog. Start by putting the food in a bag or bowl and holding it up high, out of reach of the dog. The height makes it easier for him to disengage from the food. Be careful not to spill or drop the food on the floor where your dog can take it because then he will learn that snatching the food does work!
As soon as you see a behaviour you have decided is on your "desirable" list, take a piece of food and give it to your dog. If you extend your arm out and give it to him at a distance, you are helping him to keep himself further away from the food.
As your dog gives you desirable behaviour, you can lower the food with the ultimate goal of being able to place the container and eventually the food, on the floor. If your dog lunges for the food, or barks, or otherwise does something from the "undesirable" list, simply move the food higher up and begin again.
Throughout this process, you don't need to say anything to your dog. He is learning through his own actions and the consequences of those actions what behaviours earn him access to the food and what behaviours do not.
Food manners wtih Remi
Watch Remi understand what gets her access to the kibble which is now on the floor. We started with the food up high, gradually moving it down for calm behaviour.
In this video I am able to take the food out of the container and put it on the floor.
Remi is successful at this step but you can see that she is still very focussed on the food. If I walked away, she would take it. So we need to keep working on this step.
I want you to notice that I don't say anything. This exercise is best done if you are quiet and let your dog think for herself. Let her figure out what behaviour will get her the food. Thinking for herself will make the behaviour stronger than if you are telling her what to do or not to do.
