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My dog keeps jumping on the table while we eat. What can I do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 4 months and 14 days old | 104 lbs

How can I get Pilot to stop jumping onto the table when we're trying to eat??

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on May 28th, 2017

You have a few different options to help keep this behavior from happening. You could give Pilot a special chew treat, such as a bully stick or a Kong stuffed with peanut butter, to keep him busy while you're eating. You could also use a baby gate to block him out of the dining room while you're eating, or put him in his crate if he is crate-trained.

If you want a training solution for this problem, you can teach him to lay quietly on a designated mat or dog bed during dinner time - to do this, you would need to reward him very frequently at first for staying on his mat, so that this is more rewarding for him than trying to jump on the table while you're eating. Over time, you will be able to reward him less and less frequently, until eventually he can stay quietly on his mat during the entire meal for a single reward at the end.
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