How to Train Your Dog to Not Beg

Hello Kien, First, put a bed like a Primopad from primopad.com or a cot type bed that is more durable, outside the kitchen, in a spot that is out of the way, where he can see what people are doing when the kitchen door is open, without being in the kitchen or in front of the kitchen door. Start by putting pieces of his own dog food on that bed. When he finds the food and eats it, then replace the treats when he is not looking. The idea is for the bed to become a very pleasant place that he wants to be. Whenever you catch him laying on the bed, go over to him and drop treat in front of him onto the bed. You want him to start wanting to be on the bed even when he is not told to. Next, teach him a "Place" command. Attach a leash to him, and hurry him over to the bed. Lead him onto the bed using his momentum from hurrying over that way. Right before he gets on the bed tell him "Place". As soon as all four of his paws hit the bed, praise him enthusiastically and drop treats onto the bed. He does not have to lay down or sit, simply have all four paws on it. If he chooses to lay down or sit, give him extra treats though to encourage him to stay there. Once he is on the bed, if he tries to get off block his way until he stops trying to leave or lead him right back onto the bed with the leash if he manages to slip by you. Every two minutes that he remains on the bed, give him another treat. Tell him "Okay" when you are ready for him to get off the bed after a few minutes, and encourage him to get off but do not give him a treat for getting off. Now, practice sending him to his "Place", rewarding him when he steps onto it and stays on it for a couple of minutes, and giving him permission to get off again. As he improves, practice sending him to him to his bed from a bit further away. Only add about a foot at a time though. Also, as he improves space the treats further apart, so that he is only getting a treat for staying on the bed for five minutes, then ten minutes, then fifteen, and so forth. Also, practice having him stay on his bed while you do things to distract him. Start with small distractions like walking a few feet away. As he improves, add harder distractions like jumping up and down, making noise, and dropping food in the kitchen. Whenever he tries to get off the bed quickly run toward him, blocking his way, and lead him back onto the bed. Tell him "Ah Ah" when he start to get off. Once he knows how to stay on his "Place", then when you are in the kitchen or he is trying to sneak in, open the door, send him to his "Place", and give him food stuffed chew toys on the bed to keep him from getting into mischief. For the counter jumping, you can set up a booby trap on the kitchen counter to teach him not to jump. Tie some thin but strong string through some metal pots and metal pot lids. Stack them precariously on each other on a metal sheet pan or something else that's flat and metal. Tie one string connecting all of them to something secure on the counter and tie another string from them to a piece of tempting food, like a chicken breast in an open zip-lock bag or a bagel with some peanut butter between the two pieces to add smell. Set the piece of food on the edge of the counter with the pots behind it. Let Lucky see you put it there, and then leave with the door to the kitchen open. Go into a nearby room and listen for him to trigger the trap. Be ready to rush in there to catch him when you hear the pots. What should happen when he grabs the food is that he will pull on the string attached to the pots to make them crash together and startle him. This should cause him to flee the room and drop the food that is attached to the noise makers. When he does this you want to catch him and pick up the food before be gains enough courage to come back to eat the food again now that things are quiet. The string that anchors the pots to something secure should be loose enough to let them all fall onto the counter but it should still keep them from falling all the way to the floor and potentially hitting Lucky. Set up this trap regularly until Lucky stops jumping on the counters. Also be sure to keep the counters cleaned off whenever you are not present and cooking, to prevent his theft and send him to his "Place". Once he learns that the counters are not fun you don't want food to tempt him to try jumping again without a booby trap set to enforce your training. To get your dog to stop yelling, your best option is to teach Lucky to stay on his place, so that your dad sees that Lucky can be obedient when told what to do, then your dad can send Lucky to his Place too when he is feeling frustrated and wants him out of the kitchen. Also, if you struggle to consistently enforce the Place command, then you can bolt an eye-hook into the baseboard by Lucky's Place and purchase a chew proof leash like VirChewLy. When you cannot enforce the Place command while Lucky is still learning it at times, then you can attach him to the eye-hook with the chew-proof leash and give him chew toys on his Place to focus on, to keep him out of the way. Ultimately, teaching him a firm "Place" command will be the most helpful in the long run but the eye-hook can maintain sanity when you do not have time to work on the training in the meantime. Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden

Hello, At this age you need to confine Merlo in a crate or exercise pen at night for at least the next six months, until she forms a habit of sleeping there. You will not be able to be consistent about keeping her off of the bed at night unless you stay up all night, and she knows this. Therefore, you need to confine her until she accepts that that is where she sleeps at night. If you wish for her to sleep in your room, then confine her in there and expect her to protest for the first week. Stay strong, that's a big indication that she needs to learn a bit of independence and boundaries. You can also confine her in another room. It might seem cruel when she protests being alone, but it can actually prepare her for handling being alone later on, which can help to prevent Separation Anxiety. Something that English Spring Spaniels can struggle with. If you have never crate trained her before and wish to use the crate, then check out this article on how to introduce it: https://wagwalking.com/training/like-a-crate Best of luck training, Caitlin Crittenden