Donna Green, pet behaviour expert: Training dogs to behave in cafes and restaurants

Donna Green is an East Devon based, professionally qualified pet behaviour expert. She offers dog training and animal behaviour advice to help owners understand their pets better and tackle behavioural problems.

In her latest column, she advises on how to train dogs to behave themselves at cafes and restaurants..

As the rules of lockdown are reducing, we may be thinking of taking our dogs out for the day, or even on holiday. With this comes the possibility of sitting in a café for a cream tea or going out for a meal. If we have not socialised our dogs and have not taught them how to respond in these environments, we cannot expect it to be a perfect first experience for everyone.

Nobody likes a dog that is not going to settle, or lunges at tables of food or other dogs. Of course, we want to take them with us and have them share the experience, but we need to prepare them and help them to cope in these situations.

If you have attended any form of puppy training this may have been taught in the sessions as it is invaluable.

However, as for all cues taught to your dog it is essential that you continue to use them and reward to ensure they are reliable in their execution.

As mentioned in the article on recall, when teaching a new behaviour always start small so you and your dog are more likely to attain a positive outcome.

You will need:

• A lightweight blanket or pet bed

• Some treats

Lure them to the bed with a treat and when they are on the bed, either place the loaded Kong with them or drop a few treats on the bed to encourage them to stay here. Reward for staying on the bed. Once they are happy with this, take a step away and reward them for staying on the bed. Practice this over many sessions, making sure the sessions are short and finish them before they move off the bed. It is recommended to use a 'finish' cue when any training session has ended so they know they can now relax.

Once the behaviour is reliable, and they are happy to perform without constantly following you, add a cue word. This can be any word you choose, 'settle' or something similar is easily remembered. Gradually reduce the number of rewards. If they get off the bed at any point, ignore it, and stop the session at that point, without a release cue or reward. They will learn that moving ends the session and therefore their chances of earning any more rewards.

Once you have the cue reliable you can start testing the behaviour in different situations. Remember to start small, do not expect them to be able to cope with a busy café or restaurant on their first outing.

This is also a good behaviour to teach so they settle around mealtimes and do not beg for food whilst you are eating.

Disclaimer: if your pet is experiencing problems contact a qualified behaviour counsellor so they can design a programme suitable for you and your pet and work closely with you.

For more information, visit Donna's website.

You can contact Donna on 07523 202913, or by emailing [email protected]