Stealing house-shoes/slippers

by Valentin
(Kirkland, WA)

My dog is stealing our house-shoes/slippers and runs away with them; if I try to get them, he'll growl and even bite me if I insist. He's a coton mix.

Comments for Stealing house-shoes/slippers

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Sep 12, 2009
Rating

How about a trade?
by: Gale

Valentin, I can relate to your story. With Luc it was stealing my eyeglasses. When he was a puppy he would steal (and then chew) any pair of glasses he could find. I finally realized that it was up to me to keep them out of his reach.

I also found that chasing him to get them back reinforced the behavior because he thought we were playing a fun game. My advice (other than remembering to keep these items out of his reach if possible) is to teach him the "leave it" command so the next time you find him "stealing" you can use the command.

Another thing that I found that works is to find something to trade with. If your dog has one of your valued possessions coax him into trading it for something more appropriate like a bone or one of his favorite toys. Good Luck!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Dog Behavior Question.