# Behavior during human dinner time



## lizard (Sep 8, 2021)

We have a puppy (16 weeks) and also children (ages 4-13). The puppy has gotten better about not trying to jump on us or the table during dinner, but she still seems a little agitated and on edge, walking around/under the table while we eat. It doesn't help that the kids will sometimes talk to her etc (working on that with the kids... But they are so much harder to train than a dog!). Anyway I'm looking for ideas on training so that the dog can learn to relax and chill out while we eat.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

The easiest solution is to crate or pen or tether your dog, or put her behind a baby gate while you are eating. Give her a comfy place to rest and a stuffed kong or a licky mat or something to amuse her while she waits.

Ideally, you will want to train a "mat" behavior, which will be handy in a variety of situations (e.g., send her to the mat when guests arrive so she doesn't slip out the door). There are lots of videos and other resources on line which give various ways to train this. Personally, I like Susan Garrett's "Hot Zone" training. Here's a good video that explains how to train it (the meat of the video starts around minute 10).









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## FurdogDad (Mar 30, 2021)

We've always trained our dogs to lay under the table or beside one of our chairs during meals. I like Lisa's suggestions of crating or gating for a pup to begin with and the stuffed Kong to keep her busy is also good. Everybody has to be on board and consistent with not giving her attention during that time so yeah, some kid training might be needed as well. Noses and tongues on the table are never allowed and get the "scary" trainer voice.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

lizard said:


> she still seems a little agitated and on edge, walking around/under the table while we eat.


She should not be there at all.


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## nolefan (Nov 6, 2009)

Raised multiple Golden puppies with multiple children and the rules that have worked well for us are:

Puppy is crated during sit down meals. We follow this until the dog is trained to go lay on his bed or a throw rug reliably. (search kikopup on you tube for videos teaching "go to Place" this is an invaluable skill)

Children are not allowed to walk around with food at our house or eat in the family room. You only eat while seated at the kitchen table or at the bar on a barstool. 

It's a pain to start enforcing these rules but after a few days of living this way, if you are consistent everyone adjusts and it makes things SO much easier.


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

If my grands or other company are here, I just send both dogs to their crates while eating. My grands are small and eat at a children's height table. If it's just us, my dogs don't beg and I have Logan lay on the floor beside me while I eat at the dining table. Abby is six and long been trained not to bother us while we are eating. She plops down wherever she likes.


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## lizard (Sep 8, 2021)

It never even occurred to me to crate her during meals! Right now we crate only at bedtime and when we are all out of the house. So should I crate her when I start cooking, or right before we sit down? I'm assuming this arrangement doesn't last forever? Her crate is in a basement bedroom, not near the kitchen, but I guess that's fine?


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## diane0905 (Aug 20, 2010)

lizard said:


> It never even occurred to me to crate her during meals! Right now we crate only at bedtime and when we are all out of the house. So should I crate her when I start cooking, or right before we sit down? I'm assuming this arrangement doesn't last forever?


It's up to you really. Mine don't bother me/misbehave in the kitchen or jump up or anything. I teach that early on. I usually just crate before we sit down to eat, if I'm crating. If she's crate trained, she should be fine with it and feel secure in her crate. I let mine watch cartoons. 😆

If she misbehaves when you're cooking, you could crate sooner.

You will also benefit greatly from teaching the place command and extending duration. Patience is key and your pup is young. I taught Logan (my Golden) the concept of place early on and he also understood the down command. We added duration over time. It's a great skill for your dog to have to avoid overexcited greetings, transfers well to eating out with your dog, is helpful for breaks if you ever get involved in agility, obedience, etc.

Place Command


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

lizard said:


> It never even occurred to me to crate her during meals! Right now we crate only at bedtime and when we are all out of the house. So should I crate her when I start cooking, or right before we sit down? I'm assuming this arrangement doesn't last forever?


Though our children are in their 30's, we have 2 baby gates at each entrance to the kitchen. They are the kind with the swing gate, so if I can't/don't want Archie underfoot while I'm cooking, I just close the baby gates. Conversely, when my husband and I sit down to dinner, Archie goes into the kitchen with a couple of his favorite chewing toys and relaxes there while we eat. Just so you know the relaxing part didn't happen overnight. We started this routine right when we brought him home because, for us, we didn't want him near the table while we ate. Initially, we had to bite the bullet and listen to him bark and whine, but we stayed the course. We live in a duplex, so we told our neighbors what we were doing and why, so they were on board with the dinnertime symphony. I had read before bringing Archie home that dogs will do what works for them, so during this time, we didn't get up and soothe him, or shush him or even look at him, as you know from raising kids even negative attention is attention! I'd say that it took about a week and then because he's smart, he realized that all that noise and effort on his part was getting him nowhere and he settled down and relaxed. He now goes willingly right into the kitchen at dinnertime!
Good Luck!


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

P.S. Archie is now 9-months old and we are still working on his mat command, which we call "settle". He's still not at the place where he can lounge in a relaxed manner in the corner of the dining room for the length of dinner, but we are definitely able to go out for coffee, or an outdoor dining experience, with him on his leash and he will lay on his mat, with a toy and an occasional kibble thrown his way!


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## lizard (Sep 8, 2021)

What do you think about this arrangement? I can contain her in the pantry while we eat nearby.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

I think that would work just fine...


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## Riley's Mom (Jul 6, 2008)

As a puppy my dog was crated at meal time. When I removed her crate I put a crate mat there. My dog automatically puts herself on the mat when we sit down to eat. I also taught her an "out of the kitchen" command for when I'm cooking or just want space. 
Here she is the other night completely ignoring me while I sat on the couch next to her and ate my dinner.


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

lizard said:


> What do you think about this arrangement? I can contain her in the pantry while we eat nearby.
> View attachment 886927


For me, that would be PERFECT!!!!!! Just make sure she can't get into anything on the shelves!


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

P.S. Remember, she is only 4-months old and you have to start somewhere with training and advance from there. I think your solution is a super start and then you can continue to train from there! 
#goals


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

JulieCA said:


> you have to start somewhere with training


And the sooner you start the easier it will be.


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## JulieCAinMA (Jun 19, 2020)

SRW said:


> And the sooner you start the easier it will be.


Absolutely!


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## Brian de Llorente (Jan 9, 2021)

It took time with Fido, but was just a matter of firmly giving a stay command about ten feet away from the table. He now knows where to go when we start setting the table.


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## Aeacus (Sep 1, 2021)

With our pup (4 months), we never-ever have given him pieces of our food or his own treats during the time when we eat. Sure, our pup comes and sits and looks us for a while but then moves away, usually going to his laydown spot and lays down.

It may be tough not to give food/treats to your dog when you're eating but doing so doesn't teach the dog to "beg for food" either. Since dog knows, he doesn't get anything when humans are eating. At best, dog can smell the smells but that's it. 😄


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