How to stop dog begging for food

[Floofydawg]

Specifically, when we take him to the pub. He goes nuts if anyone has so much as a packet of crisps. We feed him before we go so he's not hungry. We also walk him before we go so he's had plenty of simulation. It's getting to the point where I feel like I'd rather leave him at home.

Can you take a bone or something for him to chomp on whilst your eating?

Take a small bagful of his treats.

How old is he? And how often have you/others given in and given him food in the past?
Ie how entrenched is the "if I beg, they will reward me with food"

You have to go complete cold Turkey. Only food at meal times, pats and strokes at other times as a reward (for lying down under the table). No eye contact and no attention for begging, if it gets too bad, take him out for a short walk round block but with no petting, back to table and sit down

Make sure no one else sneaks treats to your dog too!

Some dogs are permanently hungry so may be best/kinder to leave him home at times

This will just further reward the begging though?

Thanks for the advice so far, he's 18 months.

We took a chew stick for him yesterday to distract him which he loved but gobbled up super quick and then resumed begging.

is he rewarded at home for his begging?

We try not to. We need to cut it out completely, don't we.

Take something that will take longer to eat and tire him out eg a filled frozen Kong.

What does he do at home while you're eating meals? Have you ever trained him to settle or go to his bed while you eat?

If your dog won't settle and lie quietly under the table at home, there's very little chance of him doing it in a noisy, exciting environment like a pub. So you need to focus on his training at home first - then once he can reliably settle at home, you slowly introduce more distractions over time.

So once he's grasped it at home, you could maybe try a quiet corner of a beer garden, or a picnic table in a quiet area of a park. Then once he's mastered that, a quiet indoor space, with the pub as the "end goal" iyswim.

We take lamb muscle which we get from the market, it takes her about 20 minutes to chew through. The suggestion of a frozen kong is a good one too,

Definitely stop giving him human food at home and stop rewarding the begging

Yes he doesn't need whatever you have he won't starve if he doesn't get a bit of chicken or whatever, saying all that my 5 month old pup is a nightmare even though we don't give him anything.

It's smells that gets my dogs attention I think anyway because he's never been treated for begging.

His begging is sometimes rewarded if you give in to him at home. Dogs need firm boundaries, or they can't be expected to navigate when a behaviour is or isn't acceptable.

A rock solid 'place' command. He can't go begging for food if he is on his mat. We've got a small mat we take with us (shove it in a bag) that goes under the table or by our feet and the dog is on that mat all the time we're at the pub.

Another one with a small mat for the dog.
Mat goes under table, dog goes on mat.
Works in pubs, parks, cafes and other people's houses.

We have a mat at home (,blanket) it stupidly didn't occur to me to take something out with us for him.

It might be the rustly packet that's attracting him rather than the food inside. Could you work to distract with a different sound that he gets a pat and praise for? Starting with at home with different distractions and then gradually working up to a crisp packet at home?

Dogs learn by experience. He has learnt that begging is a rewarding experience. He has to now unlearn that and learn that begging gets him absolutely nowhere. And you have to be consistent. Don’t let anybody treat him at all, ever. He only eats his own food at his own mealtimes. It’s not cruel, it’s perfectly normal. Otherwise he’s going to be a pain in the arse for the reset of his life and you’ll resent taking him anywhere.