Why Does My Dog Stare At Me When I Eat? How To Stop It Today?

Dogs stare. That is one of their ways of “talking.” While some stares should be tolerated, like how your pet stares at you to say he adores you, some should be curbed at the very first appearance. One such is when your pet stares at you intensely while you are enjoying a meal. 

Why does my dog stare at me when I eat? When a dog stares at you while you have food, it means he wants a bite of whatever you are eating. Maybe the puppy is genuinely hungry, or it could also be that he is greedy for food and will gobble down anything edible. 

This behavior is not even tolerated by a momma dog. When the pups are old enough to eat solid food, they constantly stare at the momma dog or interrupt her while she eats. Then she would just stop and freeze even though she currently has her mouthful. 

She would stop chewing and literally freeze mid-air, not moving a single muscle. And that is the beginning of the warnings the pup would get from the mom.

If the puppy doesn’t seem to catch on to the warnings, the mom’s reaction will harden every time. Eventually, the puppy will move away. After the momma is finished, she will let her puppies eat. 

This behavior is common with many dog breeds, but there could also be many exceptions where the mom lets her litter and enjoy any food they get first.

But many dog experts have confirmed that a pack leader always makes others wait for food while the leader eats first. So are you also wondering, “why does my dog stare at me when I eat?”

Then read on!

Why Does My Dog Stare At Me When I Eat?

As we’ve explained in our previous articles, “staring” is one of the ways your pup communicates with you. 

But does your pup run to you like an Olympic athlete whenever they get a whiff of tasty food or as soon as they hear you tear open a chips packet? They won’t stop there. Your doggy will keep staring at you with the pink tongue out. 

If so, there is no surprise if you get doubts and start thinking, “Why does my dog stare at me when I eat?” 

There could be so many different reasons why your puppy stares at you whenever you are eating anything. Let me list some of them below. 

• He’s genuinely hungry and asking you to let him get a bite of whatever you are eating – did you forget to feed your pet?
• You’ve got one greedy puppy – He will gobble down anything and everything he can get his paws on
• He’s waiting for you to finish your food – scraps for me, mom! Are there any leftovers?
• Maybe he’s curious about what you’re eating 
• You instilled this behavior – Have you fed your pet every time you eat something? Then the fault is yours

If you have always given your dog food off the table or your plate, he will get used to it and expect the same thing to happen every time you eat something. It is not a very good habit to teach your pet doggy, as you must be well aware now. 

If you are still doing the same thing yet wondering, why is my dog staring at me when I eat, you should stop that immediately and look for another way to stop or curb this habit altogether.

Also, if your dog is not trained correctly, that might make your dog do things as he wishes. And because canines are natural scavengers, they will try to find every method they can to find food. So naturally, staring at you when you are eating is the easiest method they could think of. 

I understand it is hard to resist your beloved doggo when they stare at you with those adorable puppy dog eyes. But keep in mind that your actions define how healthy your pet will be in the long run.

Suppose you keep feeding him every time you eat something. In that case, he will get pulled into the overweight group without you even realizing it. 

If you are thinking, “why does my dog stare at me when I eat?” you must finally realize something is wrong with the behavior. So it is high time you stop it. Let’s see how you can curb this bad habit in your doggy. 

How Can I Get My Dog To Stop Staring At Me When I Eat?

If your pet is now used to staring at you while you are having a meal, curbing it entirely can be challenging.

But, if you have enough perseverance and patience it takes, you will see that your pet is minding his own business when you are having meals. 

You might even miss his puppy dog stare when you are eating, but remember that what you do is for a good cause. 

• Stop feeding the dog off the table

If you have a puppy, who is new to your life, you must show him you’re the alpha of the pack. He should learn to stay away when the pack leader is having their meal.

So never feed him off your plate. That is the biggest mistake many people make, which ultimately leads to them wondering, “why does my dog stare at me when I eat?”

Instead, if you’ve got a grown-up doggo who is used to eating off the table, you must stop that immediately.

You can try feeding the pet before you eat. If the pet has a full stomach when you start eating, he won’t have that much of an appetite to beg more for food.

• Ignore your pet’s stares

If you never acknowledge the pup when he stares at you begging for food, he will eventually get the signal and stop doing it.

It might take longer to eliminate the habit, but you can still mix it with other training methods to fasten its pace.

You must be patient and always be on self-guard, not hurt or scold the pup in nasty ways. Curbing a natural instinct isn’t easy as you may expect.

Thank you for reading so far! Stay tuned with Jack Russell Owner. We’ll see you next time!