Begging

Did you take her with you on your trip? If not maybe the guys have feed her food you wouldnt allow her to have. 

That was my first thought as well... maybe I am being uncharitable but I can just see it happening, them feeding junk food off their plates the whole time.... or even (shudders) letting her lick the plates before putting them back in the cupboard....  

 Nope she stayed home. I've left her with them before and this has never happened. It's a new thing..

There really isn't anything we don't let her eat. And she has to wait nicely for her treat at the end. So with this behaviour she's not getting as many crumbs as usual. Lol. She knows she has to wait nice on the floor with no in your face actions so I'm not sure what's changed.

Chuffy

or even (shudders) letting her lick the plates before putting them back in the cupboard....  

And that's why I wash my plate first when I get home. Lol.

Also I was wondering if I should redo the measurements for her food? LIke you do with a puppy. Her food is only down for about 10 minutes even thou the kibble in the bowl doesn't last that long. Maybe it could be a growth spurt but she's 2 1/2 years old so I'm not sure..

 Hey, what's wrong with letting the dogs lick the plates clean for us before returning them to the cupboards?   

That reminds me of a friend who had someone over for dinner who was NOT a dog person (she very much is).  This person, after dinner, was obviously incredibly freaked out when my friend placed the plates on the floor for the dogs to "prewash."  When my friend noticed, she didn't say anything, and pretended not to notice, while she fixed coffee for them both.  When her dogs were done, she wordlessly walked over, picked up the plates and set them in the cupboard.  The guest set down the coffee and found an excuse to leave pretty soon afterwards. 

No, she never told her guest it was a joke, and of course that person never came back - not that my friend cared, she was pretty offended!

We have a "look but don't touch" rule.  Dogs here are not allowed to touch food, even set on the floor, unless they are called to it by name.  I have two chubby dogs who don't need fat, Ben who can't have - well, most things, Maggie who can't have grains, Gus whose insides explode if he gets too much meat in one day, and Lynn who is somewhat food possessive and learning to behave herself.

By training this ahead of time, starting at mealtime, simply by using the dog's name when I set the bowl down, the dogs seem to learn that no name equals "not invited."  They also have an "OFF" command if they start to crowd us (we eat at their eye level).

Dogs go through phases here - first they have a natural respect (well, most of them) for our space.  Then that wears out and they try to stick their noses in our plates.  Then when they start to understand the context under which they ARE allowed to eat, plus get the OFF correction a few times,  they lie down and wait for leftover/pan cleanup time.  Maggie finds the kids eternally fascinating and it's her job to dispose of crumbs that are flung wide of the table for various reasons (boys ).  Still, she has to wait even then for the command "Clean up!" 

 I'd be inclined to say that at some point, her behavior paid off for her, but for the fact that my dogs have just recently found the fun in begging as well.  They're 3 and 2.5 so maybe its a stage?  Testing boundries or something, like adolescense?  I dunno.

 Maze has to wait until she's called for the plate then she has to do a command before she gets the plate. Whether it be "Leave it" or Sit or what ever. She never gets a plate for free.

Like I said. I don't mind begging from a distance but it's the (almost) crawling in the lab behaviour that's getting on my nerves. She has a "Quit Begging" command that means she's to close and has to back off. 

huskymom

 I'd be inclined to say that at some point, her behavior paid off for her, but for the fact that my dogs have just recently found the fun in begging as well.  They're 3 and 2.5 so maybe its a stage?  Testing boundries or something, like adolescense?  I dunno.

I'm hoping it's just a phase! That would be great. Phases I can deal with. They're pretty easy to work through.

 I know what you mean.  Both of my dogs have a "Back Off" command, which means anything from quit begging, to leave the visitors alone.  But begging has never been an issue, ever, as I've never ever fed my dogs from something I'm eating.  But the other day, I was standing at the stove browning some ground beef or something, and all of a sudden I had a husky nose bumping my elbow.  I was shocked!  Never ever ever have I fed them food while I was preparing it, even their food, so I have no idea what got into him.  But since then, despite the fact that it didn't work that time, he, and Onyx have taken up honest begging as a hobby.

 Thankfully Maze isn't that tall so I just get a nose in thigh when I'm cooking. If she really gets under my feet then I tie her to my waist with the leash and she just trails behind me, staying out from under my feet! Go figure! So now when I'm cleaning and moving around, I tie her to me and she prances happily beside or behind me. Lol

Aww! husky begging face! Soo cute! Lol.

I'm with Candace, I think maybe once the begging paid off.  Dogs do what works.  Personally I see nothing wrong with letting dogs lick plates or eat table scraps within reason.  My SIL won't let her dog have ANY crumb of human food EVER which I think is a little odd.  My dogs lick our plates, but they are trained to lie down out of the way until we set the plate down and release them.  They are not grabby.  Just the other day I left a bowl of snack mix on the dock with Kenya free and I went to get something.  I remembered too late, turned and saw her walk past the bowl, sniff it, and leave it.  When I got back she seemed somewhat interested in the bowl and I gave her a few pieces for waiting.  I think using human food and plates can be a good training opportunity.  Since my dogs DO lick plates, I use this to train them they ONLY get the plate when offered on the ground, not putting paws up or licking a plate that's on the coffee table.  Maybe if they were really grabby and pushy with food I would think different, but I like to think the main reason they ARENT grabby with food is because I have trained them not to be.

With Maze getting more into begging I'd try something like a "mat" command where she has a special mat/rug and when you command, she goes to it and holds and down-stay until released.  At this point you can give her a plate or a treat.  Another thing I do is always give the plate to the dog, not invite the dog to jump up and lick the plate or take the food from me. 

 Update on the begging Thankfully it's good news.

I took Lies's idea of a mat and put a blanket on the floor behind the couch so she's out of the way and not in sight of the food.  After teaching her "Blanket" she now goes and lays down there and waits to be released when food is out. After being released, she has to do a command then wait patiently for the plate to be put on the floor. If she jumps up and makes a grab for the plate, she doesn't get it at all.

So far the begging as been reduced so now she only goes to the blanket when there's a full meal out not just for snacks.

Wow!!! Good job. I'm glad to see that you and Maze are doing well. ~bROCUDPOS~

 Daisy has become a big begger since loosing her eye sight, I mean I can sit on the couch and all of a sudden her nose is in my plate, also she's been trying to pick the garbage