Jasper the boxer is a beggar. Whenever his owners, the Larsens, have dinner, Jasper parks right by the table and sits like a statue.
After a few minutes, Jasper gets impatient. He moves from person to person, nudging them with his nose. If nosing them doesn`t work, Jasper starts to bark piteously at first, then insistently.
If barking fails to get the Larsens` attention, Jasper pulls out all the stops-he puts his front paws on the table, stands on his hind legs and grabs what he wants.
Heaven help the fool who attempts to rescue a rib eye from Jasper. If approached while guarding a tidbit, he pulls back his lips in a hideous grin and proves that boxers have just as many teeth as any other dog. A deep rumbling starts in his chest as a warning that while the Larsens may allow food stealing, Jasper does not.
The Larsens have accidentally created every pet owner`s nightmare. Imagine having a 90-pound animal in control of your life. They picked Jasper because he was the most docile of the litter. They have no idea how this Jekyll-and-Hyde routine started. One minute Jasper is a friendly, lovable dog, the next he is willing to take your arm off.
His owners have a vague notion that he wasn`t always like this, but they have difficulty realizing that their behavior shaped that of their dog. To refresh their memory may be the fastest way to enlightenment.
When the Larsens bought him, Jasper was 7 weeks old. Because he was so small, the easiest way to cuddle with him was to pick him up and hold him close to their faces. This created a desire for Jasper to get closer to people`s faces as a means of greeting. As he grew, it became impossible to pick him up. Jasper reacted by learning to stand on his hind feet and prance in front of the Larsens to get attention. It was an easy step for him to learn to stand on his hind legs when greeting strangers or to grab something appetizing from the table.
As Jasper grew, Jeff, the Larsens` 9-year-old, liked to share his snacks with him. The Larsens thought this behavior was cute. Jasper thought it was a lazy dog`s way of getting a handout. Jeff would ask Jasper to sit, then give him a treat. Soon Jasper realized that sitting raised the chances of getting a treat. He tried it at the dinner table and got lots of praise, affection and treats for sitting. The Larsens liked having a dog that could sit quietly during dinner.
Over the months, Jasper`s behavior changed. Instead of waiting patiently during dinner, he would whine insistently while he sat. Mr. and Mrs. Larsen were mystified about this change in behavior. Jeff didn`t bother to explain that he never asked Jasper to sit for more that a couple seconds. Jeff liked watching Jasper drool and would pump treats into the dog as fast as possible. Often he gave the treats even if Jasper didn`t sit at all.
Mr. Larsen tried to solve the whining problem by giving Jasper treats for sitting quietly at the table. He had read that you can use positive reinforcement to modify this kind of behavior. Rather than solving the problem, it made Jasper worse. Jasper would only sit still for a few seconds and would then whine louder than before. At least one of the family members had to provide an almost constant stream of treats to the dog or he would start nudging or nosing them while whining and barking. Mrs. Larsen realized that Jasper`s behavior was becoming uncontrollable. She suggested that they cut him off, cold turkey.
The first evening of Mrs. Larsen`s plan went poorly. The family resolved to not give Jasper a treat no matter what he did. Jasper started at his normal pace of insistent begging, but within a few minutes, he was wild. Once he sensed that the treats were not forthcoming, he decided to take a more direct approach. He grabbed the whole chicken from the serving platter and ran with it. Jasper held the Larsens at bay until he ate the whole chicken, bones and all. The Larsens decided that Jasper had a genetic problem and started leaving him outside during dinner.
Despite the Larsens` verdict, Jasper was a very normal dog. In the wild, it is perfectly natural for dogs to scramble and fight over food. To prevent this type of problem, never feed your animal from the table.
Give your pet treats only in exchange for good work, such as sitting quietly or lying down for extended periods. Especially avoid giving an animal gratuitous treats simply for existing. If you have already created a begging monster like Jasper, you should consult your veterinarian to find a good behaviorist to help you solve the problem. If you try the Larsens` method, you may find that your dog prefers warm chicken to cold turkey.
