Aj has always been greedy but he seemed to calm down for a while and do what we told him to do but the past 3-4 weeks he has got more greedy than normal and has even taken to snatching things out of peoples hands and when he gets it he gulps it down so we can't take it off of him he also jumps up at the kitchen sides constantly looking for food even though there is nothing up on the sides he can get. We were advised by our vet to give him 2 meals a day which we do and yet he is starting to look like he has gained a little bit of weight he weighs 39 kg and he is quite a large dog (tall). Does anyone have an idea to why he has suddenly got so greedy?

Not to sound mean, but this is due to a lack of training, not because the dog is really hungry. It's caused by not setting boundaries and limitations on the dog and consistently reinforcing commands. It's like when you have to teach a pup to take something nicely from your hand. You do this over and over and over, and then when they have learned it, so still go through the effort over and over, to reinforce that's the way it's done.

If that photo in your signature is up to date, he looks like he's near a year, and probably just testing you and trying to take control by snatching and grabbing.

Thank you for your reply. I totally agree with you this is our first dog and wasn't quite sure where to start with training but learnt things from other people and he was very good with training like sit, lay, stay. We have also got him to walk 2 heel now. He is good when he is eating his own food we get him to sit at the back door and wait while we are filling his bowl up then when we walk up 2 him we say round and he will walk round on the spot and he will sit back down and then we will say look at me and he will look you in the eyes and then we give him his food. It just seems to be when other people are eating me and my boyfriend set a certain distance that he can come 2 us when we are eating and if he comes within that distance we push him back and say no and eventually he takes the hint. It just seems 2 be other people he does it 2. The previous signature picture was taken when he was about 6-7 months old but i have now updated it 2 a more recent one where he is now 1yr and 2 months old.

Have you taught him the command "place?" Place is Ben's command that sends him to a designated spot and he has to stay there until we say "ok." Start by making him stay there for a minute and then release him and reward, and just make the times longer. But when he gets up before you release him you have to lead him back and say "place" again. Do not let him get up unless you tell him, even if you think, "well he did a pretty good job." He must learn that command is for him to stay until released. Ben goes to his place when we need him out of the way for any reason, especially if we have company. We say "place" and he stays there so long he just eventually curls up and goes to sleep. (His "place" is a cushy bed in a corner of our family room) He knows the drill so well that now when he hears us fixing our meals, he automatically goes to his "place" without being asked. I always say, "good boy" and then he knows when we take the dishes to the sink, he is going to be released, but he waits until I come back and say "ok." He learned this at 6 months when we started training with a trainer. He back-slid a bit at one year, but we persisted. You have to because they will learn quickly what you will "allow." Ben will be 2 next month and after the Super Bowl party on Sunday, EVERYONE wanted to take him home! Be persistent.

Thank you for your reply. I hope my dog is as well trained as yours one day i am trying so hard with his training at the moment and i have got so far with many things and most the time he is good as gold. He usually goes in his cage when the whole family eats. We do have a nice bed for him but he doesnt seem to like it he always wants to jump up on sofa and snuggle up to us when we watch tv, me and my boyfriend did start to take him off of the sofa and put him on his bed to get him used to it but he would rather lay on the floor than his bed. So we dont really have anywhere where we can tell him to go. We are trying to get him used to his bed so when we have dinner we can tell him to go to his bed instead of putting him in his cage because i hate putting him in his cage.

Sorry for the signature picture being so big but it won't let me resize it.

You don't have to make a bed for him to go to "place". Just send him to a specific spot. Maybe over on the floor next to a certain chair. It is usually easier if you have maybe an inexpensive door mat or something like that just to designate that spot. For instance if Ben goes over and lays NEXT TO his bed when we say place, it isn't correct unless he actually is ON his "place" (the bed). You have to establish leadership on this. If they are smart enough to try to "cheat," they are smart enough to know the right spot. It's a test.

I have been following this thread because my lab is a little pushy, similar to being "greedy". We got her at 9 months and she is only 10 months now. No real training before we got her. Anyways, Barbara (you seem to have a well trained dog) I was just wondering if you suggest doing all the training at home or do you see benefit in a beginner obedience class? I would really like Stella to be well trained and I think a class lays the foundation for the rest of this trainig. What do you think? I think I know the answer but I just wanted to hear other perspectives.

Thanks!

Thank you barbara i will try getting him to stay on his favorite bit of floor he seems to like one patch so i will try it

I recommend training help. I had the luxury when Ben was 6 months of having one-on-one training available with a guy who's been training animals for 40 years. I learned a lot about animal behavior, how to treat him animal to animal, and not try to humanize him. I had never been in a class situation until Ben was 18 months and we started training to be a Pet Therapy team. I found that to be somewhat distracting, BUT I do think the dogs need to learn how to respond to you within an atmosphere of distractions. My feeling is however you get your information, if you do not practice with your dog for at least 20 minutes a day, it will be difficult at best. Even at almost 2, as a well-behaved dog, Ben and I do 10 minutes twice a day to keep him sharp and to reinforce the pack-leader relationship. I think the trick is to live your dog - incorporate him into your life. Take your dog with you out to where dogs are allowed (most large pet stores, Lowes, Home Depot) to de-sensitize him to new surroundings, smells, sights, people, other dogs, etc. I have had some great dogs, but this one is the first one I've had training help and he is our best behaved dog yet.