Begging

Look what mama is teaching me! This is a picture of me sitting pretty, staring at grandpa while he eats. My tendency when people are eating in the living room instead of the dining room is to dive-bomb them in an effort to get their food! Mama used to put me in my crate if they were going to eat in front of tv (usually during football games), but she realized that wasn't teaching me anything; it was just a cop-out.

She started to teach me to be nice when others are eating by attaching my leash to me and putting me in a "sit-stay" when she or grandpa would sit down to eat. She'd then step on my leash to keep it taut as I sat. If I started to dive-bomb, I'd get tugged by my leash and I'd be forced back into a "sit". If I sat for a few minutes, she'd give me a treat ball.

The above picture is of me showing off my new behavior by sitting and watching grandpa eat, without the leash attached to me.

I think it's much more fun to dive-bomb. And I still do it more to mama than to grandpa (because mama eats on the couch and there's more room for me to maneuver; grandpa sits in a recliner and he takes up the whole thing!). But I am enjoying the treat balls I get when I don't dive-bomb, so maybe I'll keep working on it.