How to stop a klepto dog
October 20, 2013 3:19 PM Subscribe
My dog is a kleptomaniac. Anything left in his reach he will steal and chew on and hide. Paper goods, remote controls, anything. He's a freaking 5 lb Chihuahua but nothing is safe if he can reach it or climb to it.
After 3 years of being terrorized by his ways I'm wondering if there's any training that can make it so we can trust him to have free reign of the house.
We have taken our dog to training. He sits, stays, lays down. He follows commands and is very friendly, even sweet. (and yes, he's the overly aggressive puppy I asked about on MeFi a few years ago...most of the bad behavior is gone from him). And if you're around he won't take a thing.
But the moment your back is turned and he knows you aren't watching to issue the dreaded 'leave it' command, he steals anything in sight.
When we see him sniff objects he shouldn't have we say "leave it" and he obeys, but when we aren't on the ready any object he can lift becomes his for the chewing.
What can we do to prevent this behavior? He's a dog that loves toys, he has a box full of "favorites" that are dog toys for him to chew, shake, and play with, and he does so regularly. But he also finds credit cards, batteries, sales receipts, and pens to be equally fun.
We will happily take him to more training, but what can you do to train a dog to NOT be bad when no one is watching?
We have taken our dog to training. He sits, stays, lays down. He follows commands and is very friendly, even sweet. (and yes, he's the overly aggressive puppy I asked about on MeFi a few years ago...most of the bad behavior is gone from him). And if you're around he won't take a thing.
But the moment your back is turned and he knows you aren't watching to issue the dreaded 'leave it' command, he steals anything in sight.
When we see him sniff objects he shouldn't have we say "leave it" and he obeys, but when we aren't on the ready any object he can lift becomes his for the chewing.
What can we do to prevent this behavior? He's a dog that loves toys, he has a box full of "favorites" that are dog toys for him to chew, shake, and play with, and he does so regularly. But he also finds credit cards, batteries, sales receipts, and pens to be equally fun.
We will happily take him to more training, but what can you do to train a dog to NOT be bad when no one is watching?
I learned to keep my things out of reach until my dog outgrew this behavior. It took several years. His destruction material of choice was paper!
posted by cecic at 3:23 PM on October 20, 2013
posted by cecic at 3:23 PM on October 20, 2013
Some folks are hesitant to use them, but used *correctly* electronic training collars are GREAT for this type of stuff. This one says it is for dogs 5 lbs and up.
Setting up a webcam so you can watch him when he thinks he's unattended and AFTER establishing what the ecollar means and what the expectations for it are, you can use it to discourage the bad behavior even when you're not around.
Feel free to memail if you want more info.
posted by HermitDog at 3:37 PM on October 20, 2013
Setting up a webcam so you can watch him when he thinks he's unattended and AFTER establishing what the ecollar means and what the expectations for it are, you can use it to discourage the bad behavior even when you're not around.
Feel free to memail if you want more info.
posted by HermitDog at 3:37 PM on October 20, 2013
You are taller than he is, aren't you? If he's five pounds, surely he can't reach very high. How can he be getting a hold of credit cards, batteries, sales receipts, and pens if they're put up on tables, shelves, etc?
I can understand a dog that gets into the bathroom garbage can or chews slippers, and that still demands an owner that will purchase a garbage can with a lid and keep slippers and shoes in a closed closet.
Perhaps you need to look at changing your behavior so that the dog learns that his toys are his, and eventually he may prize his own things more than if you (accidentally) leave one of your things down.
posted by BlueHorse at 3:46 PM on October 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
I can understand a dog that gets into the bathroom garbage can or chews slippers, and that still demands an owner that will purchase a garbage can with a lid and keep slippers and shoes in a closed closet.
Perhaps you need to look at changing your behavior so that the dog learns that his toys are his, and eventually he may prize his own things more than if you (accidentally) leave one of your things down.
posted by BlueHorse at 3:46 PM on October 20, 2013 [3 favorites]
My bad Husky took an instant liking to small, stuffed cat toys as a pup. She was much faster than I was, there was no way to catch her and take them away. She swallowed a couple, thankfully they came out (one way or the other)... but, of course this could have been dangerous.
So...instead of taking it away, I taught her "bring it", which means, bring me what you find and you'll get a treat. I initially used high interest treats and would trade for the cat toy. Eventually she would just bring me every cat toy she found and drop it in my hand for a treat (most of the time, not ALL the time, intermittent reinforcement is more powerful!).
This has become somewhat handy. At five she pretty much picks up anything that isn't where it belongs (my cell phone, dropped socks, almost anything she can carry) and bring it to me. Admittedly, once in a while she'll open the linen closet door and bring me a random towel and expect payment.
Bottom line, I no longer worry she'll eat something dangerous (or expensive)... it costs a few treats but all is well.
posted by HuronBob at 3:46 PM on October 20, 2013 [31 favorites]
So...instead of taking it away, I taught her "bring it", which means, bring me what you find and you'll get a treat. I initially used high interest treats and would trade for the cat toy. Eventually she would just bring me every cat toy she found and drop it in my hand for a treat (most of the time, not ALL the time, intermittent reinforcement is more powerful!).
This has become somewhat handy. At five she pretty much picks up anything that isn't where it belongs (my cell phone, dropped socks, almost anything she can carry) and bring it to me. Admittedly, once in a while she'll open the linen closet door and bring me a random towel and expect payment.
Bottom line, I no longer worry she'll eat something dangerous (or expensive)... it costs a few treats but all is well.
posted by HuronBob at 3:46 PM on October 20, 2013 [31 favorites]
Some folks are hesitant to use them, but used *correctly* electronic training collars are GREAT for this type of stuff.
Seconding this -- an electric collar was the only thing that worked when I needed to train my dog out of her barking problem. Both HermitDog's linked example and the one I have allow you to adjust the intensity of the shock. You want to aim for the level where it feels just weird enough that the dog is distracted, not the level where the dog yips and you can almost see it's skeleton!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:48 PM on October 20, 2013
Seconding this -- an electric collar was the only thing that worked when I needed to train my dog out of her barking problem. Both HermitDog's linked example and the one I have allow you to adjust the intensity of the shock. You want to aim for the level where it feels just weird enough that the dog is distracted, not the level where the dog yips and you can almost see it's skeleton!
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:48 PM on October 20, 2013
Let me add one thing, since part of your goal is for the house/items to be safe when you're not there...... With the system I used, items are considered, by the dog, to be a token for trade. If the pup finds something when I'm not home, she will typically just set it aside and, the minute I get home, run and get it to bring it to me. As destructive as Huskies are known to be, she's never chewed anything up while I was gone.....
And, in honor of this askme, the darn dog just brought me a hand towel. heh...
posted by HuronBob at 4:29 PM on October 20, 2013 [9 favorites]
And, in honor of this askme, the darn dog just brought me a hand towel. heh...
posted by HuronBob at 4:29 PM on October 20, 2013 [9 favorites]
How much exercise is the pup getting?
Mine is well behaved 99% of the time. That 1% is when I haven't gotten him as much exercise as he needs and he starts acting out, likely out of restlessness.
posted by toomuchpete at 4:41 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
Mine is well behaved 99% of the time. That 1% is when I haven't gotten him as much exercise as he needs and he starts acting out, likely out of restlessness.
posted by toomuchpete at 4:41 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
We have a 6 month old Chocolate Lab and he is the same way when he's bored. He plays the "forbidden fruit" game - he takes things he knows he's not allowed to have (my shoes, etc) and plays "keep-away" for, like, 45 minutes. Vexing but damned cute.
posted by brownrd at 5:04 PM on October 20, 2013
posted by brownrd at 5:04 PM on October 20, 2013
Drawers and hooks and closets and shelves. Trust your own, not the dog's self control. You've simply got to make these things inaccessible, just as you would for a baby or toddler. It's not just a matter of convenience or for the sake of your stuff getting ruined. Batteries contain potassium hydroxide, which is a strong caustic chemical comparable to lye or Drano. For a five pound dog, even small pieces of paper or fabric swallowed can cause gastrointestinal blockage, and that's a surgical fix. Because he's a tiny breed, I'd worry about zinc poisoning from coins, because coins might be too large to pass out of his stomach if he ingests them, and zinc is really toxic.
You could crate or confine him to a limited area when you're not home, as well.
posted by Lou Stuells at 5:51 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
You could crate or confine him to a limited area when you're not home, as well.
posted by Lou Stuells at 5:51 PM on October 20, 2013 [2 favorites]
I, too, had to train the dog to stay away from stuff by training myself to keep it out of her reach! I never leave my clothes on the floor anymore.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:36 PM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 6:36 PM on October 20, 2013 [1 favorite]
Is this only when you walk out of the room or also when you're gone? You don't say what you do with the dog when you're gone, but the first step is certainly kenneling when you're gone or can't supervise (in the shower, etc.).
posted by radioamy at 7:54 PM on October 20, 2013
posted by radioamy at 7:54 PM on October 20, 2013
As others have said, you need to set your dog up for success. There's no reason for him to have access to the contents of a handbag, which is where I assume receipts, credit cards, and pens come from. If you want to leave him alone in the house without being crated, it only makes sense for you to maintain the house as a safe environment.
You can't really train a dog to not do something; you can train them to do something different, however. I've mentioned this in other threads on stealing, but we trained our golden retriever to bring us stuff in exchange for treats. If we do leave out the odd remote or whatever, he will bring it to us and we trade it for a low-calorie cookie. It helped that we'd already trained him to retrieve other things, so it was just a matter of shaping destructive behavior into behavior he already knew. He adapted this trading behavior to other things on his own; we've traded for remotes, underwear, ipads, magazines, hats, sneakers, and sunglasses. But when we leave the house, we do a quick check--is there anything out that he could get to that we don't want him to have? He's always been trustworthy, and even in the event of weird things happening, like a pantry shelf collapsing while we were out, he's been a good boy. But we still check and keep the house safe because he's a dog, and dogs like to chew and carry things.
If you're chasing him, he'll think that's a rewarding and fun game, so you should avoid doing that. You should also not bother scolding him if you find the remains of destruction that you weren't present for; he has no idea what you're talking about.
posted by xyzzy at 2:04 AM on October 21, 2013
You can't really train a dog to not do something; you can train them to do something different, however. I've mentioned this in other threads on stealing, but we trained our golden retriever to bring us stuff in exchange for treats. If we do leave out the odd remote or whatever, he will bring it to us and we trade it for a low-calorie cookie. It helped that we'd already trained him to retrieve other things, so it was just a matter of shaping destructive behavior into behavior he already knew. He adapted this trading behavior to other things on his own; we've traded for remotes, underwear, ipads, magazines, hats, sneakers, and sunglasses. But when we leave the house, we do a quick check--is there anything out that he could get to that we don't want him to have? He's always been trustworthy, and even in the event of weird things happening, like a pantry shelf collapsing while we were out, he's been a good boy. But we still check and keep the house safe because he's a dog, and dogs like to chew and carry things.
If you're chasing him, he'll think that's a rewarding and fun game, so you should avoid doing that. You should also not bother scolding him if you find the remains of destruction that you weren't present for; he has no idea what you're talking about.
posted by xyzzy at 2:04 AM on October 21, 2013
As with almost all pet behavior, you may eventually end up at a place where you have decide whether you can live with it or not.
There are some pets that have some behaviors that simply cannot be mitigated and you, as a pet owner, have decide to live with it or get rid of the pet.
posted by DWRoelands at 8:33 AM on October 21, 2013
There are some pets that have some behaviors that simply cannot be mitigated and you, as a pet owner, have decide to live with it or get rid of the pet.
posted by DWRoelands at 8:33 AM on October 21, 2013
You can't really train a dog to not do something.
If this were true, dogs would have ceased to exist centuries ago. You can certainly train dogs to abstain from certain behavior. It might be more difficult. It might have a lower success rate for some dogs/breeds. There might be any number of reasons why you would prefer something else, but there are far, far too many counter-examples for a statement like this to be even within the realm of "maybe true".
As others have suggested above, the key to keeping the dog from chewing things up is to not leave things lying around that shouldn't be chewed up. It's incredibly difficult to break a dog of a habit that they can engage in unabated when you're not home.
posted by toomuchpete at 12:11 PM on October 21, 2013
If this were true, dogs would have ceased to exist centuries ago. You can certainly train dogs to abstain from certain behavior. It might be more difficult. It might have a lower success rate for some dogs/breeds. There might be any number of reasons why you would prefer something else, but there are far, far too many counter-examples for a statement like this to be even within the realm of "maybe true".
As others have suggested above, the key to keeping the dog from chewing things up is to not leave things lying around that shouldn't be chewed up. It's incredibly difficult to break a dog of a habit that they can engage in unabated when you're not home.
posted by toomuchpete at 12:11 PM on October 21, 2013
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posted by Blue Jello Elf at 3:22 PM on October 20, 2013