So, how do I go about teaching a puppy to stop begging?

It might have been a piece of meat from the dinner table, or a piece of your biscuit as you were having a coffee. What's for sure is, someone gave her a tidbit when they were eating, and now she thinks she's entitled to eat when you eat.

Dog's are opportunists and they know how to bend you to their will. A small, plump, cute little Labrador puppy that you, or the kids, or your partner, fed from the table, will, within a few months, turn in to a large, persistent, crafty panhandler, who won't take no for an answer.

Some dogs can turn begging in to an art form. They can display a whole array of cunning routines to work on your emotions at the mere glimpse of a piece of chocolate.

So, the answer to how do you teach a puppy to stop begging is to not teach your dog to beg in the first place. Instead, teach your puppy to only eat from her bowl.

You're responsible for your dog and its behaviour. If you've allowed your dog to become such a scrounger that it's causing you problems then you have to be firm.

Never again do you feed her any tidbits. She only eats when you dish it up, preferably in the kitchen. Hopefully, you've taught your puppy to sit, so command her to sit, and to stay in that position until you've prepared her food.

Place it on the floor and then release her with the command "ok". If she tries begging in the future send her to her bed with the "go lie down" command, as discussed in the teaching a puppy to lie down page.

Upgrading from a dog that begs- to a food stealer.

However, when your dog is a persistent bin raider, and I had one who would have been welcomed with open arms by Bonnie and Clyde, you're going to have to be cleverer than your dog.

Set your bin up with a tasty, smelly morsel that will attract her to the bin. The really smart bin raider will wait till your not about, so go and hide. As soon as you hear her rifling the bin go to it immediately so that you catch her in the act.

She knows that she's in the wrong but you should still issue the no command or "leave" command which is discussed on the teaching a puppy no page. If she doesn't respond to the command give her a short, sharp squirt with your water pistol.

Don't let her leave the room. Now prior to this you should have bought a spray bottle of bitter apples. Spray the bin with it and urge your dog to inspect it. Few if any dogs like this smell; in fact they are repelled by it. However, the hardened criminal will ignore even this deterrent, and you're probably going to have to find a completely inaccessible home for your bin.