My dog STEALS!

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Grim
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Mar 12, 2009 10:10 am

My dog STEALS!

Post by Grim »

Well... I've tried everything but it appears that my dog is hell bent on stealing whatever he can find.

So... My dog, Odin. A large Doberman Pincher puppy with lots of energy and lots of smarts. I've trained him a variety of commands (sit, stay, leave it, dance, up, lay down, speak, crate, so on and so forth). He is also potty trained and exercised several times a week (we also have a large fenced in yard). But HE CANNOT LEAVE MY THINGS ALONE!

He's chewed an ungodly amount of items (Some of which I have no idea where he found) which include: A piece of rusted metal, glass, razors (!!!), rocks, wood, matches, a play station 3 controller, charcoal and my bras! He will chew on anything and everything when we are not looking. I have gone through hundreds of dollars worth of toys, he destroys them in minutes. EVEN the ones that are supposedly 'heavy duty.' The one thing he hasn't dismantled completely is this large rope ball which I imagine will be gone just as soon as he figures out how to 'kill' it. He steals food from my counters THAT ARE STILL IN CONTAINERS! I can understand the taking of something delicious but he actually stole a sealed Tupperware container and ATE it. He steals things off of my desk to chew, things you wouldn't think he would even CARE for... expensive color pencils, nail polish, a camera... When he takes something of mine I give a sharp 'ah ah', take it away, and give him one of his toys. It seems to work till an hour later where he grabs something else.

I just don't know what to do. It seems an hour of exercise tuckers him out but he STILL tries to grab things when he thinks we are not looking. It's gotten to the point where I just lock him down stairs at night (the entire ground floor is completely empty save for a bathroom we lock up). It kills me because he use to just be very interested in his toys and now it's all about what else he can chew.

I love him to death but god... His stealing and chewing of our things has to stop. I am home most of the day but I am usually working on the computer so I would hate to crate him since he is locked up at night. But I simply can't watch him every second and it seems that is all it takes before he begins to steal and chew my things.

It use to be that our home was set up so that the office had all of the dangerous puppy items locked and high up but with problems in the family we had to move our bedroom into the office and give our old room to a family member. However, our dog can no longer come in with us due to the amount of things he can chew and how we had to arrange it JUST so we could have our things and sleep. This is around the time he started chewing our belongings at an alarming rate.

I know that he is bored out of his mind and lonely, but what else can I do? I need a toy that will mentally engage him. I've tried setting up play dates to get rid of that energy but he's still stealing...


Things about Odin that maybe useful
-loves to chew chew chew
-Is 8 months old
-high energy Doberman Pincher
-very affectionate
-eats Chicken Soup for the Soul large breed puppy
-loves fluffy chew toys with squeakers
-loves to be around people and other puppies
-is not yet neutered (due to conflicting reports I would like to wait till he is done growing before neutering, not aggressive either)
-got him from a reputable breeder at 8 weeks
-normal weight/height for age and breed
-seems to be very afraid if someone is yelling, becomes nervous
-utd on all shots including rabies
-microchipped

Hm... Can't think of anything else but if anyone has suggestions please please please bring them on!
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Post by Nettle »

The only thing you need to change is how you are thinking just now :wink:

Dogs have no concept of theft. Your dog is simply amusing himself with the objects he finds around him. If you don't want those objects taken and chewed - you know what to do.


You say that he is bored out of his mind and lonely, so you know what you need to work on. We can help you with good ways of working on it.

You do not say how old he is, what his routine is, when he is fed, what he is fed, what form his daily exercise takes. You have chosen a high-energy breed, and he can't change that so you are the one who makes the changes.

Several of us here work from home and have puppies right now - mine is nineteen weeks old on Saturday and she certainly keeps me busy :D
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
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Nettle
Posts: 10753
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2008 1:40 pm

Post by Nettle »

Ah, just found age and diet, thank you :wink: still need to know how often you feed etc. Give us a typical Odin day.
A dog is never bad or naughty - it is simply being a dog

SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS
katowaggytail
Posts: 394
Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2007 11:37 am

Post by katowaggytail »

All I say add is move it up and move it out!!

Having just moved house and unsettled my rather large 5 1/2 yr old ridgeback - who decided to have a nose round (me forgetting I now have a kitchen/diner with no door), ate no end of stuff that would have made a smaller pooch very ill indeed... soo.... now... nothing is out, no food even in containers, evrything I treasure or is vaguely needed up on high, just like when you have a toddler about. He is getting better and now has the run of the whole downstairs - but it takes time....patience.... and a dustpan & brush!!
emmabeth
Posts: 8894
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 9:24 pm
Location: West Midlands
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Post by emmabeth »

Ha! Welcome to the wonderful world of Puppies!

Dogs don't steal.

Rather.. dogs find things, things that we have left within their reach (big reach sometimes!).. and find them curious/entertaining/tasty.

Theres no magic trick to do here - just plain, boring old housework (yeuch did I just say that!), tidying and clever storage.

Couple that with providing plenty of mental and oral WORK... Kong toys to chew food out of - raw meaty bones to gnaw and crunch, puzzle solving training sessions to get the brain working in a way you like.. after all if a dog can figure out how to get some of the stuff your dog has gotten hold of... theres some brain there. Think what it can do when channelled into 'good' rather than 'evil' :lol:

Doggy minds have to be formed though and directed where we want them to go, because cameras and razors and expensive pencils (and £50 gaming mouse and £45 keyboard and £150 mobile phone...) and $$$ just dont figure in a dogs world, and they never will.

Fun, chewy, crunchy, tastey, challenging, boredom... these things all do feature in a dogs world!

Soft toys with squeakers in them are for destroying by the way - get good at mending... or provide furry food such as the odd raw rabbit instead, (make sure you worm regularly). If your dog particularly likes shredding things then make him safe cardboard boxes filled with things he can shred - messy, but cheaper than your camera!
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