I have a 4 month old puppy who has gone through puppy obedience class. She has learned the basic commands such as sit, stay and even drop it...however, if she has gotten a hold of a sock, slipper, etc., she will run like the wind with it. It seems that me and my fiance are the only ones she will not come to when she has something that she needs to put down. I'm not sure if it is because she doesn't see us as her pack leaders but it was never this way before. I am asking advice on whether other people have dealt with this and what they do in this situation. We know we have to retrain her I am sure of it, just don't know how to go about that route. Thanks in advance!
Hello there Are you chasing your dog when she nicks something? That is the single best way to have your dog never give you the contraband. Most puppies and young dogs absolutely LOVE to be chased, so if she gets a chase game when she nicks stuff, you are reinforcing both her nicking stuff and running off with it. Plus, if you catch her and get the stuff she has nicked, the game is over. Where's the fun in that? So the way to keep the game going is to run faster.... So, you need to train a 'drop' cue (or a give cue if you want her to hand things to you but that's a bit more complicated). This won't stop her nicking stuff, so you need to keep all your stuff picked up, but it'll get her to drop the stuff if she nicks it. Have your dog in a confined space to limit the running off. A kitchen is ideal. Have a few things that she will want to nick, or you can use balls if that will work with her. As soon as she picks something up, offer her a swap. So if she picks up a ball, make the ball/amazing treat/sock whatever seem like a MUCH better thing than she has and sort of tempt her with the swap. As soon as she drops what she has, to grab the swap, say "YES!" or "GOOD!" and throw the swap for her. Rinse and repeat until she gets that dropping what she has gets her something better. Then, the next step is to try to hide the swap, so cover it with your hand, then try to have it in your pocket, and encourage her in the same way, only without her seeing the swap. You might have to go back and forwards a few times with this until she gets that the reward comes even though she can't see it in advance. It helps to have a hand movement that is the same as you used when giving her the swap (only you don't actually have the swap in your hand). As soon as she drops, say "YES!" (or whatever) and toss her the reward. Then, once she gets this game and reliably drops what she has, you can start saying drop AS SHE DROPS whatever she has. So she associates the word drop with dropping something. And so on. Then you have to do the same again in your front room, garage, garden etc. etc. so she understands the game applies everywhere, not just in the kitchen. This is absolutely nothing to do with being a pack leader - or not. All of that alpha dog, dominance, pack leader stuff has been proved to all have been a big fat myth.
LOL, I think it must be the rare Lab owner who has not dealt with this. Double ditto all above and I will add, I morphed the advice above into an expectation that not only would the item be given up, it would be delivered to me. If the item was swiped in the living room then I asked it be brought to me in the kitchen. The kitchen was where the treat box was so this concept was understood easily. Then, when it seemed to me that the item was being swiped just to get a treat or attention I ignored my pup and let him have it. A couple of big caveats; I puppy proofed the house so nothing dangerous to him or precious to me was available for swiping. AND, mine have not been chewers, if I let them have, say, a sock, if I ignored them, they gave up and didn't chew it. This point was not reached till many months older than four so don't hurry to try it. Another AND, , sometimes my dog is right, he is in need of some attention and I do need a break so I will chase him. Again, we didn't reach this point for a long time but you might think of how much mental and physical stimulation your puppy is getting and try to put some more short training sessions or play sessions into his day, at your instigation, not his. Have fun.
You need some super stinky high value treats to swap her treasure for. We have a jar of very horrible stinky tripe sticks for this, they will give up anything for them.. No, it doesn't cause them to pinch stuff all the more - they don't think like that
Saba does this too, and the command I use to retrieve contraband is 'trade'. He gets a small edible treat in exchange for giving up whatever he has pilfered! It works for us
Oh but sometimes it is just so much fun to have a game of chase ☺☺. Yes, I know, totally wrong and has a negative impact on training but occasionally it is great fun! Ella stole a stubbie holder the other day (hmm.. I'm assuming you know what this is - wetsuit type material cover for a beer bottle to stop your hands getting cold/beer getting warm) so not dangerous to her or particularly valuable for us but she still shouldn't have stolen it. The OH, my parents and I were having a bit of fun so decided to play a bit of chase and my goodness, it was hilarious! Four humans and one dog and the humans failed miserably! After a short while, the humans were exhausted and still missing a stubbie holder so we ended the game, I called Ella over, asked her to give me the stubbie holder and rewarded her when she did. Yes, she did steal a few more things that day as I'm sure she was hoping for another game but then she was back to normal. Was great fun though ☺☺
I never take the "pack leader" direction with my dogs, but think more along the lines of consistent, calm guidance for them, so they understand what we need. I believe humans can never be pack leaders, and dogs recognize this. They do however, need us to be self assured and confident with them. Also I think a puppy at 4 months is still very, very young, and playing is an important part of bonding and learning with you. I would incorporate some teaching games into play as has been suggested...swapping for food, or using food as a game in itself. Mental stimulation is a great way to tire a puppy as well. You might find this article interesting as some of it relates to being a pack leader. http://www.thelabradorsite.com/is-your-labrador-in-charge/
Like loads of things, it depends on the dog. If Ella being 'back to normal' means she doesn't spend her life nicking anything that's not nailed down, then you have a dog that's probably going to be ok with this. My dog, however, will nick the oven knobs if I forget to take them off (these days to present me with them, thankfully - missing oven knobs are such a pain...,). And it would be possible to put 'chase' on cue and use it as a reward. Even a reward for bringing things back. But one step at a time for the OP, I think.... don't start with chasing the dog.
