How To Training Your Dog to Behave in Restaurants and Cafes (With Tips and Tricks)

How do you train a dog in a restaurant, at the bar, or at the table? The moment of our meal, whether at home, at the café or in a restaurant, is always inspiring for our four-legged friend. The general rule at mealtimes would be not to give the dog anything to eat and to get him used to the fact that he has his food and we have ours. To make the task easier, many prefer to have the dog eat first so that, on a full stomach, he is less tempted to beg. As you can imagine, however, this practical does not always yield positive results.

If this hard line is too difficult for you to maintain and you cannot help but share something with your friend, or if, as is often the case, despite your steadfastness, you always find your dog begging for something from the table, we propose an alternative that is not intended to replace the main rule. It is undoubtedly more correct, but it comes a little closer to a modern relationship with a dog.

When you sit down to eat, your dog (stomach full or stomach empty) is likely to be intrigued and attracted by smells, which are certainly more interesting than what he is used to.
Without prejudice to the rule of not ‘giving’ anything away, waiting for the right moment to give him something could even be productive.

How to act at home?

• While eating, try to ignore the dog’s requests.
• Pushing him away often has the opposite effect. Instead, make an annoying noise to drive him away.
• Please do not give in to his pleading gaze.
• Sooner or later, he will tire. He will resign himself and move away or lie down.
• At this exact moment, the possible reward should start as soon as the dog lies down. The dog will get up and try again to ask for an encore, but do not worry about this; wait until it returns to its relaxed position before giving another reward.

How do you act at the café?

If you are bringing your dog to a restaurant that does not allow dogs, call ahead and ask about their policy. Some restaurants may be willing to make an exception for well-behaved dogs. If you are unsure whether a restaurant is dog-friendly, avoiding caution and leaving your dog at home is always best.

In addition to ignoring your dog’s begging, patience and consistency with your training are essential. Your dog may take time to learn what is expected of him in a restaurant. Be sure to reward your dog for good behaviour, and do not give up if he makes a mistake.

You can do the first tests outside once you have achieved a good balance and good results at home and at your table.

Start with the BAR TRIAL.
If your dog is already used to this kind of place, you will have no problem performing this exercise. It may be challenging if not, but we encourage you to try it. Choose a small table and a chair that allow you to watch the area with the most passage. Before you sit down, place the dog next to you in the SIDE SIT.

From this moment on, you should no longer give any commands. If the dog gets up or every time he does so, sit him down again with the help of your hand and push the dog’s hindquarters slightly.
Enjoy your cappuccino and brioche, and then return to your walk. It is essential to control the dog's position, which should never be under the table or behind the chair, as proper control would be necessary.

Through play, you can entertain your dog and find lots of fun games on ETSY that are made entirely by hand for your four-legged friend.

Should another customer arrive with a dog, you will have your work cut out to get yours back in position, but if you have a little patience, you will eventually succeed.
It happens that the dog, after a series of attempts to get up, resignedly decides to lie down. At this time, he must receive an immediate reward (just as you did at home).

As you have seen, the ideal would be NOT to give commands to make the dog lie down (such as EARTH). In this situation, the dog should learn for itself, through trial and error, what the most convenient behaviour is.

Restaurant management

The restaurant test is very similar to the bar test. The difference is that the restaurant test is more difficult due to the time spent there. In principle, a dog can maintain concentration for about twenty minutes (just the time it takes to have breakfast at the bar).

It is assumed that the time will be much longer if you are in a restaurant. Therefore, it is essential to be more patient and pay more attention to the details of execution that we discussed earlier (choice of place, position of the dog, etc.).

If some dog ‘fan’ comes along and wants to pet or cuddle him, we leave it up to you to decide which strategy to adopt.

1. Let them live in the moment; when the dog responds to the “advances,” let him go for a few seconds and then call him back to the place.
2. Explain that you prefer they do not touch him because you are working and want to get him used to being quiet in the restaurant.

Firm but NEVER angry!
The “correction” you make to the dog when he is undisciplined (as mentioned, will happen especially when another dog arrives) can vary in intensity depending on your manner or your specific mood at the time.
Whether you use a lot of force or extreme gentleness, you should always be calm and show no signs of nervousness.

Therefore, you can NEVER get angry with the dog. You can only use more physicality if you avoid accompanying it with anger. Accordingly, before engaging in any rehearsal, ensure you are calm and willing to have the patience to repeat and retry and enough enthusiasm to motivate your dog.

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