Why Does My Dog Steal Food and Personal Items?
by Evan Davis, Admin
Filed under Dog Behavior, Dog Talk Tips, Dog Training
Does you dog sneak away with your socks and shoes . . . .?
So, why does my dog steal food and personal items like socks and underwear and shoes? This is a recurring problem, and people are always asking why this occurs and how to stop it. Basically, it is necessary to understand a little about dog behavior.<br/>
The problem of stealing food can be immediately handled by putting the food out of reach. You can then train the dog through praise and reward tactics to stay away from the food. The problem of stealing your personal belongings is a little more complicated.
When you first see a puppy steal a personal item like a sock, you might think that that’s cute. However, if you let this go unchecked, you might have a more serious problem later on. are basically three reasons why a dog steals your things.
1. The dog is testing you.
2. Lack of respect.
3. The dog thinks it’s a game.
Our German Shepherd used to pick up a sock or a piece of underwear and start to walk away with it until we “called it out,” and then she would drop the sock or underwear but keep walking as if nothing had happened, or as if it were saying, “who me?” Our Shepherd was testing us. And gradually, over a short period of time, We were able to stop the Shepherd’s item stealing.
In other cases and this is related, it is a more clear-cut dominance issue. However this can be easily handled. Basically, when you notice your dog trying to steal something, you can give it the, “sit and stay” command. Be sure to lots of praise for obeying your commands. You can also give it a firm, “get away” command followed by, “sit and stay.” You could also try a kind of intervention. For example, if the dog hates the vacuum cleaner, bring out the vacuum cleaner when the dog begins to steal something. However, truly unusual solution shouldn’t be necessary. You should be able to solve the problem with simple, kind, gentle handling.
As always, the key to handling and solving dog behavior and training problems lies in education.
[tags]dog behavior,dog stealing belongings,dogs and personal belongings[/tags]
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my dog steals stuff when were not home and she is 2! the other one is 7 and she steals food and the 2 year old gets into everything and even eats our pillows!
Dog behavior is fascinating! Our shepherd is 4 and occasionally steals stuff out of wastebaskets. I’m fairly sure that this is an anxiety response to separation. Although we like to take our dogs with us whenever we go somewhere, I think this habit has lead the dogs to experience a mild separation anxiety.