Dogs are naturally food lovers. Dog owners all know that dogs will accept any food offered, regardless of who gives it to them. This makes pet owners worried—what if the food is unhealthy and harmful to the dog? Therefore, we need to train dogs to refuse food, rejecting all food given by anyone other than the owner. Let’s look at the specific methods below.

In daily life, you should cultivate the habit in your dog not to eat food fed by strangers casually. The method is to find a stranger to naturally approach the dog and offer food. When the dog shows signs of wanting to eat, you must immediately give the command “No.” Then let the stranger feed the dog again. If the dog shows an intention to accept, you must strongly scold it and tap the dog’s mouth until it naturally refuses the food.

After repeated training several times, you can remove the leash and training rope. If the dog stops picking up food whenever it hears your command or sees your stop gesture, the refusal training is a success. However, refusal training is difficult and requires a long time to consolidate the effect. Otherwise, the dog will not remember and will continue to do as it pleases next time, so safety and health cannot be guaranteed. As the owner, you need to have a "marathon-style" training spirit!

Choose a wide and flat place, and pre-place the dog’s favorite food in a conspicuous spot. Then take the dog for a walk there. During the walk, put a leash on the dog and slowly approach the food. When the dog sees the food and shows excitement, immediately give the threatening command “No” and sharply pull the leash to forcibly stop the dog from moving forward to pick up the food. When the dog stops picking up, you can reward it with small treats or toys you carry with you.

Next, conduct remote control training. Change the leash to a training line and repeat the above scenario. Let the dog lead in front and maintain a certain distance. Observe the dog’s reaction to the food: if it drools excessively, immediately approach the dog, gently tap its mouth, give the “No” command, and firmly pull the training line to forcibly take it away; if the dog stops moving on its own, offer it some reward.

Through this article, everyone should now understand the methods of dog refusal training, because dogs have simple minds and instinctively want to eat when they see food. So the initial training may be difficult, and owners must be patient.