If your dog stares at you while you are eating, you might want to know why and what you can do about it. This post will show you common causes and what you can do about them.
So, why does my dog stare at me when I’m eating? The most likely reason your dog stares at you while you eat is that it wants some of your food especially if you have given it some of your food in the past. It would help to avoid giving it your food, to train it to sit elsewhere while you’re eating and to feed it at around the same time that you normally eat.
There are a number of things you can consider when figuring out the main reason why it has been doing it and there are a number of things you can do to get it to stop.
Why your dog stares at you when you eat
Below are some common reasons why dogs do it and what would make them more likely to be the main reason why your dog has been doing it.
It wants your food
The most likely reason why it does it is that it wants some of your food especially if it starts drooling and if it sits very close to you while you’re eating. To prevent this, it would help to train it to sit somewhere else when you’re eating, to feed it at around the same time that you normally eat or to distract it with something such as a bone while you are eating.
It is hungry
The reason why it does it could be that the site of you eating causes it to feel hungry. This would be more likely if it tends to do it more when it has not been able to eat for a long time itself.
You or someone else has been rewarding the behavior
It could also be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards for staring at you when you are eating. If you have given it some of your food while eating in the past, it will likely have learned that it can get some of your food if it stares at you when you are eating. It would help to avoid giving it your food in order to help prevent it from bothering you while you are eating.
It wants attention
Another possible reason is that it wants attention. This would be more likely if it only does it when you are eating with other people and not giving it much attention and if it also does it when you are not eating but you are still with other people. In this case, it would help to give it attention throughout the day by playing with it, giving it training and giving it exercise so that it does not feel left out.
What to do about your dog staring at you when you’re eating
Below are some options you have when getting your dog to stop staring at you when you are eating.
Feed it at around the same time that you eat
One option would be to feed it just before you start eating. By doing so, you should be able to keep it occupied while you are eating and reduce how hungry it gets when it sees you eating.
Avoid rewarding the behavior
As mentioned above, it might be the case that it has learned that it gets rewards for watching you while you eat. It would help to avoid giving it your food and to reward it when it behaves the way you want it to.
Make sure that no one else has been giving it their food
It could be the case that someone else has been feeding it their food and it has been causing it to stare at you hoping that you will give it some of your food as well. It would help to make sure that no one else has been feeding it.
Give it distractions
Another option would be to give it things to be distracted with while you are eating. Things you could give it could include a bone or a toy.