I have a chihuahua/minpin who is the whiniest dog I've ever heard. My biggest problem with him is that he whines and begs while we're eating. I've told people not to feed the dog, but no one listens to me and keep "accidentally" dropping food. He begs and begs and whines and whines and acts like he's starving and it really annoys me. Does anyone know how I can train the dog not to beg and whine while we're eating?

This question best goes in the "pets" section where more "doggy" kind of people will see it. Zoology is more a science kind of thing.

First of all, the "accidental" hand-offs are going to have to stop completely. As long as he's getting what he wants, he's not going to stop begging. His negative behavior is being reinforced with every little morsel! You should ignore any whining or crying he may throw at you. No matter how pathetic the little deary may sound, remember YOU are the boss. Once he realizes that whining gets him absolutely nothing, no treats, no pets, no attention what's so ever, he will eventually give up trying. It may even be for the best if he gets removed from the room completely at meal times, especially if others still refuse to stop reinforcing the whining.

You have to stop these people from going against what you've said to begin with. It is NOT the dogs fault that he is whiny one bit! He knows if he whines long enough, someone is going to give him something to shut him up. You are teaching him to whine. He should never be feed food from your bowl. That means he is the packleader of the house, and his behaviour is only going to get worse with other things, and you will end up with an unruly and disobedient dog.

You can start by putting his leash before you sit down to eat. Lead him to another spot in your house before you sit down, and tell him very calmly to stay. If he starts to follow you, turn around calmly, and take him right back. You may have to do this many times over in a row the first couple of times to teach him. Maybe even an entire 20 minutes or a half hr. But, you can either do that, or be prepared to put up with the whining. It's all about repitition.

Don't let him wander either. He needs to know he has to stay in one spot, idealy where he can't see you. If you sit down to eat and he leaves his spot, get up from eating very calmly (this MUST be done calmly, not in an angry voice or angry energy) and give him a command, and take him right back to his spot.

If you stay calm and assertive, this really shouldn't take you very long to do. You might have two meals totally interupted because you will have to lead him back many times, for him to learn what you want him to do. Don't give him any of his treats (NOT people food) until you are done your meal.

I know what you mean, I use to have the same problem.. I don't think removing the dog from the room will help, it won't teacher him/her anything. My friends mom use to feed my Chu pop sicles, taco bell, pan cakes, etc.. And now she is really sick. So u should talk to your parents, family or who ever else is feeding your Chu and be serious about them stopping because if you don't it might be too late and it will start puking and having bad Diarreah. So don't wait too long to take care of it.

Still freaks me out when this happens:(

Clarification: When an answer pops up and you don't have to look at the date to realize it's a older thread that some one brought back to life.