How to train my German Shepherd to leave food alone at low table?

It's a natural behavior for your dog to want to be a part of the action (especially when food is involved). To keep your dog away from the dining area it would be a good idea to crate train him so he is not around at meal time. Also, giving him his own snack that will occupy him (like a Kong stuffed with frozen peanut butter) while you are having dinner should help. This article on crate training should be of help to you: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-crate-train-your-puppy-or-older-dog/ Thanks for using PetCoach!

You have a few different options to help keep this behavior from happening. You could give Pilot a special chew treat, such as a bully stick or a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, to keep him busy while you're eating. You could also use a baby gate to block him out of the dining room while you're eating, or put him in his crate if he is crate-trained. If you want a training solution for this problem, you can teach him to lay quietly on a designated mat or dog bed during dinner time - to do this, you would need to reward him very frequently at first for staying on his mat, so that this is more rewarding for him than trying to jump on the table while you're eating. Over time, you will be able to reward him less and less frequently, until eventually he can stay quietly on his mat during the entire meal for a single reward at the end.

It's very normal for dogs to be interested in what you're eating, and most dogs will happily try to snatch food from tables or trays if they have never been taught what you want them to do during mealtime. In the short term, I would recommend using a baby gate or other barrier to keep Diesel out of the room while you're eating. You could also put her in her crate, if she's crate-trained. This will prevent her from being able to practice the unwanted behavior of trying to take your food, and allow you to eat in peace. Another option would be to give her something to chew on, such as a bully stick or a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter, to keep her busy during mealtimes. As a longer-term solution, you can work on teaching her to stay on a special mat or dog bed while you eat - this gives her something specific to focus on, and a more polite way of earning a treat. You can start by encouraging her to lay on her bed, and rewarding her immediately with a treat when she lays down on it. Reward her frequently at first for staying put, then gradually work up to longer and longer periods without a reward as she gets better at this. Eventually, you can ask her to lay on her bed during the entire meal, in exchange for a single treat at the end.

This is not unusual and it is VERY important to NEVER give him anything from the table or this will encourage the behavior. It will be easiest to train Papu to go to his crate when it's time for you to eat and leave him there until dinner is over. Here are some other suggestions: https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-prevent-and-stop-begging/ Best of luck.

Make him "work" for everything (going out, eating, playing, etc.). This can be as simple as making him sit or wait before getting what he wants. As cute as he must be, do not allow him to initiate contact or play. Ignore him until you are ready, then make him sit/stay/wait before proceeding. Do not allow him on furniture or beds. He should have his own bed on the floor. Better yet, use a crate. When you reprimand him, be firm and be consistent.

Hello, silly Chloe! She now knows that there is food on the table. When eating, I would distract her with an extra activity and maybe remove her from the dining room to keep her from getting into food or developing a begging behavior. Its really hard to resist delicious pizza, but begging behavior in dogs takes time and patience to control. You may feed her at the same time in a separate room as well. Ive found, that removing them from the environment that elicits unwanted behavior works best. Hope this helps.

Startle him in the act. Set up cans filled with loud objects precariously positioned so when he jumps up it all crashes around and startled him. Set this up time and time again. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.