Other Threads You May Find Helpful The Forum Recommendshttp://thehappypuppysite.com/how-to-stop-your-dog-stealing/ Cooper(14m) is getting worse and worse about stealing a usually chewing up small items. Recently these include several small wood decorative boxes. Sharpie pens. A nice hair brush, several nail brushes, and today a bottle of plant food and a silver creamer which was wrapped up in paper and plastic. ( she did not chew up the Creamer, just the wrapper, and I got the plant food back before she chewed it up.) Unfortunately she is so tall that she can see what is on top of counters or tables when just walking around. We try to keep attractive items out of her reach, but her taste is very ecumenical. We keep finding things she wants to try that we did not expect. There are always bones and dog toys around for her to chew or play with, but sometimes other things are just more interesting. Naturally we never see her take something, it is always when we are doing something else. We will go for hours or even days without stealing things, and then take something out of the blue. I'm sure others have had to deal with this. I would like to hear your thoughts.
move everything out of the way even stuff you don't think she can reach, everything and when this stage has passed slowly reintroduce stuff which they might have stolen before. We operate a scorched earth policy until they are about 2 to 3yrs nothing that they find valuable is left around. By valuable I mean everything from food to socks and tea towels etc. They do like stuff that has been handled by us it must smell interesting and some do have an interest in soft furnishings which can be stopped by special toys which only come out a cetain times as a reward. anything of value is left on a very high shelf or upstairs. I keep my eye on everything at all time and know where everything is that they might want to eat. I have also taught a strong leave it and will swap anything for a piece of crunchy fish or cheese. I'm just very vigilant by now labs really have an eye for detail and just because you miss something it doesn't mean they won't. All food is locked away and never left on surfaces no bins in the house all rubbish is taken out to the main bin which is kept behind a locked gate all prescription drugs are kept upstairs which can only be accessed by a door which they can't open. No dog is left unsupervised in a dangerous area (living room) until they have got through the klepto stage. No pup is left alone with white goods until they have stopped trying to eat them. Rorys just coming out of the chew eat steal phase and is allowed free run of the house at night and most of the day now that feverish I want everything, look what i've got is mostly gone now. They are also very good at hiding things in their mouths. We developed a game were the dog hiding something would get asked what have you got let me see and have the stone or whatever swapped for something nice and praise or just praise. (I know when Rory has something he looks smug and parades himself in front of me with his mouth firmly shut.) It works pretty well but sometimes I still have to do an almost forensic search of Rorys big slobbery mouth. Each dog has been different some better than others. Don't loose heart it does get better eventually they just want to find things to do. The devil finds work for idle paws.
There is only one way and that is a clear surface policy so nothing is left out for Cooper to take. Every time she takes something from a worktop, table top etc she is self rewarding for the behaviour and will continue while anything is left out that she can get to.
Saba is also a thief of shoes, tea-towels, laundry, phones, TV remote controls etc. I always know when he has something as he'll run down the far side of the room, tail up, and head outside as fast as possible. He will 'trade' sometimes, but will rarely come back with the contraband. Today, each theft has resulted in a short time-out in his crate, and after about four repetitions, Saba seemed to catch on. Our surfaces are routinely pretty clear, but this is our home and he needs to learn boundaries. Oddly, he's not a food thief, just objects.
Quinn does this too, started when visiting at my parent's house where there are tons of low surfaces with interesting things to steal and destroy ...at home she takes shoes mostly and parades in front of us trying to get us to chase her. I've been doing drop for a treat which works. I've noticed she is more likely to steal things when she is bored/just before her evening walk since it's been so hot we have to go out very early in the morning and her evening walk is a lot later in the evening than our usual routine, so I think she might be restless.
Based on the responses, this is going to be a challenge for us. We have many book cases and other low surfaces, with lots of small items. We zeroed in on protecting things like TV remotes early, but Cooper is so tall, that almost any surface is fair game to her. We may have to make some serious life style changes, because If the dogs can get from the kitchen on main floor, to the dog door on the lower floor, they have the run of most of the living space. We keep all the bedroom and office doors shut, but they still can get in the Living Room, Dining Room and Family Room as well as the Kitchen. None of our Labs have ever chewed on furniture, and Cooper is the only one that has chewed up enough stuff to make us really worry about it. They have always had the run of the house, and it is only recently that Cooper has gotten to be a major problem. Tilly would be quite unhappy if she and Cooper were confined to one or two rooms, especially if they could not get out to the yard. If we try closing them in a room away from us, we are likely to find large scratches on the doors.
Reintroducing things previously stolen, is probably not an option. In general things that Cooper steals are destroyed, unless we discover it immediately. Usually we find wood or plastic shreds.
My dog is a terrible tea leaf, and I had to implement a clean surfaces policy. It's not quite as bad as you seem to be imagining really. I didn't clear all my low bookshelves, but I used mesh panels that slotted together to put in front of them. I bought pretty (and quite tall) boxes and swept up permanent paraphernalia around remote controls and so on. I also bought a lot of table top storage for desks etc. to keep small items out of doggie reach but still on desks to be used. I bought a small cabinet to stand in the hallways for shoes and slippers, a recycling box with a snap shut lid.....and so on. He responded by retrieving the oven knobs, so I take those off too now.... I honestly think it's the only way. He is much, much better these days. Still terrible, but not as terrible as he once was.
Gosh - Tara must be an absolute angel, as she has never stolen anything. She has access to remote controls, ornaments, books, fruit bowl and even the mail, but she has never stolen or chewed anything. Ok, one kitchen drawer handle has a couple of puppy teethe marks, but nothing else. She does dig up large stones from the garden, and chew them, however!
Remotes seem to be a particular problem. We keep ours put a way now but our friends Sammy has chewed up several of theirs and one of ours.
It comes with our dogs being retrievers - the name 'Labrador Retriever' is as it is for a good reason. These dogs have been bred to pick things up and carry them...that's just the way it is. You can a) suppress it - that has fall out if you ever want them to be a serious retriever b) stop them nicking stuff by restricting access until they give it up, in the house anyway c) train them to deliver to you what they have. c) has been far and away the most successful for me, along with b) to make it possible to live with my tea leaf of a dog!
I look forward to the day when I'm able to re-hang my tea towels on the oven door. They're currently out of dog reach on the kitchen bench...I feel like a savage.
Jake has a habit if greeting me at the door with a shoe or something of mine if I have been away from the house for longer than he would like. He is also known to help himself to the laundry at times.
Rory has a fasination for laundry he now helps me empty the machine and trots out to help me hang the washing turning into a game really cut down on the thefts. He thinks he's helping
If training your dog to deliver their ill-gotten gains to you for a treat using a swap or drop, be very careful what you are training as far as your dog is concerned. It is very easy to end up with a dog who picks up anything to bring to you for a treat.
It is, indeed. But since many Labradors don't need training to pick up everything anyway - and anyone serious about retrieving won't train a dog not to pick things up - it is very much the least worst option.
But not all of us are interested in training to retrieve, we have our dogs as pets and companions. I would have thought, even if you want your dog to retrieve, that you want it to retrieve when asked not at random for reward because the dog feels like it but that's just my simplistic thoughts. I want my dog to pick up/retrieve what I ask, when I ask not go around collecting anything in reach
But not all of us are interested in training to retrieve, we have our dogs as pets and companions. I would have thought, even if you want your dog to retrieve, that you want it to retrieve when asked not at random for reward because the dog feels like it but that's just my simplistic thoughts. I want my dog to pick up/retrieve what I ask, when I ask not go around collecting anything in reach
Homer is a sneaky sock thief. He also has a concerning pallet for suede boots and cashmere cardigans.
A dog picking stuff up in the home environment, or when not under orders on a walk, is pretty much irrelevant as to whether the cue 'fetch' is under stimulus control. Lots of Labradors come pre-programmed to not only pick up your socks, shoes, but every pebble, leaf, twig they come across. Of course they grow out of this in the main, but in the meantime getting them to bring you what they pick up (and be reinforced for that), is pretty much the only thing you can do without punishing them for picking things up to begin with. Or just leaving them with whatever they have, of course, which if harmless is fine.
