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Your puppy is a
treasure, a blessing, and a cherished member of you family. She is also a born
con artist, so skillful that she can scam you even when you know you are being
scammed. It takes an iron will to resist her big, sad eyes and pathetic
whimper---the tools of her nefarious trade. To help stiffen your resolve,
remember: The "cute" behaviors you reinforce in puppy-hood can become
obnoxious habits your adult dog will have for the rest of her life.
Nowhere is this more
true than in begging for table scraps. What begins innocently with a chunk of
meatloaf under the table can end up as an ingrained behavior---and an awful
nuisance. It can also harm your dog's health and temperament.
Consider:
A steady
diet of table scraps can create a serious nutritional imbalance.
The good you do by feeding premium puppy food is undone by supplementing it with
pizza crusts and fried chicken.
The canine
stomach was not built for "people" food.
Spices that we take for granted in our favorite dishes can cause
gastrointestinal upset in some puppies. Some foods, especially chocolate, are
actually toxic to dogs.
A puppy
regularly fed table food is more likely to become overweight.
Obesity in dogs, as in humans, is a contributing factor in a long list of
diseases and orthopedic problems.
Dogs are
pack animals, and a pack can have only one leader.
The question is, Will it be you or her? When you give in to your pup and feed
her at the table, you seriously undermine your "top dog" status. This
may make training difficult and lead to a range of inappropriate canine
behaviors.
So, what to do when
Minnie goes into her whimper-wheedle-and-whine routine? According to animal
behaviorists, the answer is to simply ignore her. Don't even look at her. It
will take self-control and patience on your part, but eventually she will get
the message.
A dog will consistently
repeat a learned behavior only when it is reinforced by rewards. Cut off the
rewards, and you cut off the behavior.
Even if Minnie is
already an experienced moocher. she can be broken of the habit if you hold firm.
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