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AIBU?

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Original poster

Dogs who beg for food when you eat

100 replies

How999 · 09/04/2019 08:19

My lodger feeds her dog from her own plate, so when the rest of us eat, the dog (naturally I suppose) also begs us for food.

Which I find completely off putting and irritating.

But I have never had a dog, so I don’t know if this is something most dog owners do and don’t mind. Maybe I should chill out?

OP posts:
GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 09:34

Dogs licking plates? Just no!! 🤢🤮🤮

They get stabilized when washed so really dont see the problem. Saves us the hassle of scrubbing off dried food 😂

They definitely don’t lick the clean ones
Where did i say he licks the clean plates?! Of course, mine doesnt do that!

jessnoah · 09/04/2019 09:35

You're not being unreasonable but you are being a bit dramatic about it, it's her dog and as long as the dog is friendly who cares!? if the dog is jumping up at you she should stop that from happening but if not just ignore the dog? I'd find it cute myself Smile

Tolleshunt · 09/04/2019 09:39

This is natural behaviour for a dog, though as others have said, you can train them out of it.

I agree that if it bothers you, you can ask that the dog is not in the room with you when you eat. I wouldn't personally want to do that to a dog of mine, but each to their own, and as a lodger she should abide by your rules.

longwayoff · 09/04/2019 09:42

Beagles will take a flying leap, mouth agape, ears aflap, across a dining table and suck up whatever they sense. Put them out when you're eating. It's torment for the dogs to watch you.

recrudescence · 09/04/2019 09:43

Dogs being fed from the table is a total no-no for me. I suppose some (pathetically indulgent) doggy types don’t mind a snout in their laps every mealtime but it’s not popular with most sensible people and there’s no reason at all why you should put up with it.

SpamChaudFroid · 09/04/2019 09:51

My puppy will look hopeful when food appears, but quickly settle. I've been really strict with myself about giving him stuff from my plate though. It wouldn't bother me so much, but I don't want him annoying other people by scrounging. He'll just sit under the table if we're eating in a pub. He really is a bloody good boy.

You sound a very tolerant LL allowing pets!

Grumpasaurous · 09/04/2019 09:52

@greyt I was just saying dirty plates are fair game.

No one suggested yours licked clean ones.

Mine don’t like the smell of the dishwasher when clean so steer clear.

GunpowderGelatine · 09/04/2019 09:53

I stopped going to a friends house for takeaways for this very reason. Disgusting

IHateUncleJamie · 09/04/2019 09:59

Most times, we will give him a bite or two but only after he has patiently waited. Sometimes if we feel like spoiling him, we let him lick the plate after.

Horses for courses etc but EWWWW at the plates.

My dog is fed food from his bowl; treats in the “sit” position. That’s it. I never feed from the table. As a result, none of my dogs have ever been overweight or hung around the table.

OP the lodger’s dog should be trained to go to it’s bed/mat or in another room while people eat at the table. YANBU.

GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 10:12

@IHateUncleJamie judgmental munch? Ours doesn't beg for food at the table, he quietly lays down and does not bother us. We give him a treat only if he is calm and quiet while we eat.

As I've said licking is occasional and the dishes are sterilized afterwards. Also, ours isn't overweight from getting the occasional treat after we have finished our dinner, he is an ex-racer so his weight is healthier than most pet dogs.

thenightsky · 09/04/2019 10:25

My exceptionally greedy Labrador never even glanced in our direction when we were eating. I could even put my plate down on a low coffee table and she would turn he nose away deliberately. This was because she was only ever fed at her own bowl at set times and never from our plates. I wouldn't let visitors give her tit bits either.

Didn't stop her hurling herself at discarded apple cores in the gutter when out though! Grin

GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 10:38

Thats hilarious thenightsky ours doesnt really go for food on our plates either but thats mainly as we have trained him not to unless we give it to him. I suspect most of it is laziness 😂

Chloemol · 09/04/2019 10:38

My dog sits in the same room as we eat, but comes nowhere near us and has been taught she doesn’t beg for food. In your case I would ask the lodger to stop this ( there’s lots of human food dogs should not eat anyway) and to feed the dog elsewhere

gamerchick · 09/04/2019 10:41

It's right up there with crotch sniffers really isn't it? Then there's the gross owners who let their dogs lick the plates and put the plates back in the cupboard without washing them.

Put the dog out of the room when you eat.

BrokenWing · 09/04/2019 10:48

Our labrador, a breed notourously known for its unending greediness, never begs at the table or if anyone is eating something because has never been giving anything. Since he was a pup if he did get anything it is only after the plate is taken to the kitchen, then handfed or put in his bowl. He jumps and follows us to the kitchen when we take plates through.

Dogs are unwittingly trained to beg for food at the table.

GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 10:53

Then there's the gross owners who let their dogs lick the plates and put the plates back in the cupboard without washing them.

Who the fuck does this?!?! I've never for the life of me heard of anyone putting dishes back in the cupboard after a dog licks them?!

CapeDaisy5 · 09/04/2019 10:53

And she even expects a biscuit just for going out in the garden

Grandma's dog gets a little dog treat after her toilets outside. She's not overweight though.

CapeDaisy5 · 09/04/2019 10:54

It's right up there with crotch sniffers really isn't it? Confused what's this? Does that majorly bother people?

AryaStarkWolf · 09/04/2019 10:57

Yeah our dog isn't in the room with us when we're eating, begging while you eat is really annoying, also giving them human food isn't great for them either (especially our dog as she is tiny but so greedy, we need to watch what she eats she doesn't end up really over weight

GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 11:02

The thing is, if your dog is trained well then you shouldn't need to banish them from the room. Ours is happier being in the same room as us when we are home so we let him in the kitchen while we eat and cook. He doesn't beg, he doesn't bark, drool, jump up or sniff near us. He quietly lays on the floor and patiently waits for us to finish eating. If at any point he gets too close and sharp and firm "No!" and he knows to leave us alone.

Banishing a dog from the room doesn't really solve the problem, it just avoids it.

LittleMissHappy19 · 09/04/2019 11:11

This training business is a load of rubbish!!

I worked with a dog behavioural specialist when we got our little Jack Russell, and then again when we got our Bassett Hound. Our JR will go straight onto his bed and lay down while we eat..the BH on the other hand, just can not help herself! She is absolutely obsessed by food! No amount of working with the behavioural specialist has helped her obsession with food Grin

So while we eat our dinner now, she knows she has to go into the utility to wait..otherwise an extremely long nose and mouth, manages to get closer and closer to the table GrinIn her head the positives of food dropping from my toddlers plate, far outway the negatives for her!

AryaStarkWolf · 09/04/2019 11:15

LittleMissHappy19

Exactly, this isn't my first dog but she's the first that's been such a food driven tyrant.

Also GreytExpectations

You make it sound like we put her in jail because she's not in the kitchen, she's usually either in another room eating her own dinner or outside eating her own dinner..........it's not a big deal

Knowivedonewrong · 09/04/2019 11:15

No, No, and No. Our two dogs are put away when we eat. Cant stand begging dogs, when we eat.

GreytExpectations · 09/04/2019 11:24

You make it sound like we put her in jail because she's not in the kitchen

No, not at all. My point is that by keeping her in a different room it just avoids the problem. If you can train her to wait nicely than there is no need to keep them out.

AryaStarkWolf · 09/04/2019 11:30

No, not at all. My point is that by keeping her in a different room it just avoids the problem. If you can train her to wait nicely than there is no need to keep them out.

I mean she does do what she's told for a little while but then she will sneak again haha Anyway it's not an issue putting her in another room, she sleeps in that room anyway so is in and out of there all the time