Teaching old dogs bad tricks

Your husband reminds me of my Mom. We had two Rottweilers and of course they were spayed and neutered. Since my dog, the female, was spayed she gained a LOT of weight. I put both dogs on a "strict" diet with no bites from our plates. Mom would sneak bites to both of them behind my back...and I would admonish her about the fact that they were on a diet. She would look at me an innocently state that one little bite wouldn't make any difference. Unfortunately it wasn't just one little bite though, I could see her out of the corner of my eye sneaking bite after bite to the dogs. One day Mom decided that she wanted a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She got it made and put it on a plate and set it on the TV table by her chair. She went down the hall to the bathroom, leaving her sandwich on the tray. We trained our dogs from the day that they entered our home that they were not to steal from the table or anywhere else. Rocky, the male of the pair, sniffed the air and caught a good snoot full of that yummy sandwich. He sat in front of the table, thinking over whether he should wait for Mom to come back and eat the sandwich and hope that she gives him a bite, or to sneak the sandwich and have it all for himself. He sat drooling and licking his lips, debating the sandwich. It seemed like an eternity for him to make the decision until we heard the toilet flush! He suddenly jumped to his four paws and carefully leaned forward and gently picked up the sandwich from the plate. He slipped behind the couch and munched his purloined treat, smacking loudly as he finished each bite. Of course I sat in my chair and laughed like an idiot!!! Mom came back to the living room and sat down in her chair, reaching for her sandwich as she sat. Of course her hand grabbed nothing but air! She looked puzzled and announced "I was sure that I had made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I think I set it here..." Of course by then I was rolling on the floor laughing. Rocky, who had finished his snack, came out from behind the couch and went to Mom for some loving. He acted like nothing had happened, until, he belched! The aroma of peanut butter filled the room, it was unmistakeable who had consumed the sandwich! We were laughing so hard that we couldn't admonish Rocky for stealing, and Mom went into the kitchen and fixed herself another sandwich. If your husband tries to sneak treats to the dog at the table, admonish him. If you have guests to your house for a meal it will make things very tough both on the guests and the dog. Treats or samples of the meals should only be offered after the meal is finished. If the dog is going to be allowed to lick the dishes, have them given to the dog only at the place where the dog's dinner dish is located. You can change things, you can retrain dogs. I can prove it with Abby, the pit/lab mix that I rescued. The husband of the pair that had her hates cats, he taught the dog to hate cats and to chase them and whatever. I have four cats and was a bit concerned when I first brought her home. It took patience and firmness, but I broke her of her chasing cats for the pure sake of someone else's hatred. Now Abby's best buddies are cats. One in particular, Willy, is very close to her. He will sleep with her, play with her, eat out of her dinner dish, and shares his toys with her. Don't give up on the situation with your dog without trying. Manners are very important with our critters, and begging is one habit that shouldn't be tolerated.

I must admit I do the same when my wife is not home. It seems we, men, have something in common, right? Yes, my wife told me (and she keeps telling me) that I shouldn't feed our dog during mealtimes. But I can't resist those beggar eyes! I suppose your husband has his reason for teaching your inside dog bad habits. What's his reason? Have you asked him?

Even how much I adore my dogs I always draw a line between dogs and humans. I have six dogs under my care and I always make sure that they live in their dog world and not to mingle in mine. But when it comes to socializing with my dogs I become one of them.

I know it's not the best thing for my dog, but I agree with Yoyo, a dog has so few real pleasures that it gives them something to look forward to when they get table scraps. I make sure to only give my dogs meat and vegetables, not junk. They don't lick my plate but they know they will get the last bite. A very TINY bite! Speaking of licking plates, my ex had a friend who I absolutely despised--he set a bad example for our kids and he'd immediately head to our private bathroom in our room when he came over and smoke some weed--he knew my husband had a problem and some week would set him off to go on a binge, yet they were "best friends". I actually hated that man because of that. I remember ordering pizza once when I was ill and he said, when it came, that we'd have to order something else because he didn't like that kind. Needless to say, he was picking off what he didn't like! Anyway, you can see what sort of person he was and I'm being kind here...I let my dog lick by plate after I'd cooked dinner once and he was so grossed out that every time he ate a meal with us I'd let the dog lick the plates. The dog started to actually like the guy because he knew when that person came through the door he'd get to lick something! It was a mean and petty thing to do but it was therapeutic to me and absolute heaven for the dog!

Unfortunately, my dogs have really bad manners. They are constantly begging us for food and they will get into the trash if we aren't watching them. I've tried to teach them otherwise, but it has never been to any avail. I suppose that a big part of the reason that I've had such a tough time with it is because of the fact that we do have two small children and they are constantly feeding the dogs behind our backs. If it wasn't for the children, I think that the dogs would have really good manners.

My two dogs are pretty well mannered. If we catch them watching us eating all we have to say is "Are you watching me eat" and they will put their head down and look away. They also do know that once I am done eating then it's their turn to get some, so once I am done they get all excited and if I don't move right away they will bark at me like they are saying "Hey lets go, it's my turn."

That's one of the few pleasures in a dog's life; getting to lick the plates. Poor old doggie. Cut her some slack.

Our dog Cody is pretty well mannered. He is old and grateful that he can get to his food bowl. However, I feed him at a certain time of day everyday and we sometimes give him scraps from the table but it all goes into his bowl. I can't imagine letting my dog lick my plate. That is just so gross to me. Sorry that your hubby has started this because it won't stop now.