Dinner starts and your dog is already there. Chin on a knee, eyes up, a paw on somebody's leg, and a whine that gets louder the longer it is ignored.
Your dog is not being rude. They are doing the thing that has worked, which means that somewhere in this house it is still working.
Find out who is paying
Begging survives on the occasional payout. One scrap from one person, once a week, is enough to keep the habit running for months.
Get everyone in the house to agree, out loud, that nothing goes from the table to the dog. Children and guests included.
Watch for the quiet versions: a piece dropped by accident, a plate handed down to be licked, a hand under the table.
Expect it to get louder for 3 or 4 days once the payments stop. That is the habit being tested, and it is where people give in.
Give your dog somewhere to be instead
Taking something away without putting something in its place is hard on everyone. Your dog needs a job during dinner, and a mat or bed out of sight of the table is it.
Train the mat at a calm time first, not at dinner. Drop food on it, feed your dog for lying still, and finish after 3 minutes.
Do 2 short sets a day for 5 days. Relaxation is trained as a behaviour in its own right, in short repeatable sets below your dog's threshold.
Then use it at 1 meal a day, with a stuffed chew, sending your dog to the mat before the food comes out.
Put a gate or a closed door between your dog and the table for the first week if the mat is not holding yet.
Rituals are fine, the table is not
If you like feeding your dog around the family meal, feed their dinner in their own bowl after everyone has eaten, in another room. The ritual survives and the table stops paying.
Reward-based training has been associated with higher reported responsiveness and fewer reported problem behaviours. Paying your dog for lying on the mat is the same mechanism that was paying them for begging, pointed somewhere useful.
Safety note
Stop and speak to a qualified behaviour professional if your dog stiffens, freezes or growls around food, a person or the table. Do not move them by hand. Speak to your veterinarian if the begging is new and comes with a much bigger appetite, weight change or vomiting.
Today's version, in one line: agree at dinner tonight that nobody feeds from the table, and do 2 short mat sets tomorrow.