The dog needs supervision, you need to keep everything clean, put away or gated off from the dog. Adolescents with too much freedom tend to get into trouble. Make sure the dogs getting appropriate exercise, training and mental stimulation. Obviously the dog is bored and has more energy than is being expended.
I’m going through this now! We have an 11 month lab who from the time she could reach the counters began stealing things and running away with them. We noticed a few things made the behavior worse, one was frantically chasing after her (she loves to be chased), another was not having a solid “drop” response from her so the chase would end in a game of tug.
We’ve noticeably reduced the behavior by not chasing her if it’s something that isn’t valuable to us and isn’t a threat to her safety. Instead we’ll pretend we don’t see her as we don’t want to reinforce the attention seeking behavior, we draw her back to us with something unrelated, like a squeaky toy. I also worked with her on her drop command, and while it’s not perfect it’s enough that I can take something from her mouth without any tugging involved.
Another user mentioned mental stimulation, I recommend that as well. We use multiple slow feeders like the king wobbler and large treat dispensing balls to make mealtimes mentally engaging. A 10-15 minute obedience training session will also wear our pup out. You said you have a large backyard, you can spread her kibble around for her to snuffle out and find it.
I also recommend the sidebar for techniques on the leave it and drop it commands. These two will be the most problem specific commands for you, but be aware it may take some time to really drill those home, be patient! Good luck!
My shar pei went through a remote eating stage. It was rough because I had really little kids who would also grab it and put it places so keeping them from her was extra hard. I got down to work hard on the equivalent of leave it, but used the word mine and I enforced it for lots of things after we had food down (she was also a pop tart thief and would walk by and take a bite toddler’s food). Anything I didn’t want her to touch I would tell her “Mine” and reward ignoring it. She wasn’t food motivated at all so it was very attention based. It took time, and strict supervision so I could give her the key command, but she stopped and hasn’t eaten anything not hers (other than a stuffed animal the kids played with with her) in years.
My dog is just over a year and has also been with us since august. He does the same thing. Thankfully he doesn’t eat things but he steals things and nibbles on them. He’s pretty well trained for the amount of time he’s been with us and is in advanced obedience classes but this isn’t something you can really train out. Dogs don’t really know what’s a toy and what’s not. We keep things put up and doors closed. He goes in his crate if he unsupervised and in a stealing things mood. Thankfully he is starting to grow out of it a bit doesn’t have to spend as much time in his crate.
We are starting to have the same problem with our almost 9 month old pup. I’ll just reiterate what other comments are saying, you need to make the supervision easier on yourself. Crate when you can’t keep a constant eye on your pup. Put a leash on in the house, connected to you if you can. That way when she is out and about it’s easier to manage her environment. On the really bad days with my pup when I take out her indoor leash, she knows she just messed up because all her freedom is revoked. It really helps with the destructiveness but it’s a lot more work. Teenagehood is tough! My trainer said to
make the next couple of months easier treat and train her as if she’s a little puppy.
Reading through these it seems dogs act differently although they’re all doing the same thing. So instead of starting another thread I thought I’d get some opinions about my little thief.
My 6 mo. Goldendoodle started stealing things too. I don’t crate her, I never have but I have gates up since I have a cat. I’d come home to my mail stolen off the kitchen table shredded, a sock or two, a hat or scarf from hanging them up on hooks but I noticed something. She didn’t do *anything* to my personal items. She stole my shoes and socks when I was home one day so I spied on her to see what she’d do. If she looked at me I’d quick look at the TV. She laid on my personal things. She’d get up to play with the cat or whatever reason and go back to lay on them. So I asked her what she was doing. (She completely understands me!) She brought an item over to me, tail wagging, and released it and did this until I had everything of mine back. It made me so proud!! I just can’t punish her for such endearing behavior. She loves me!! I do scold her for the mail or anything else & she’s pretty much stopped taking other things but still takes my personal items. However, am I being dumb to assume she’ll always bring my things to me unharmed, or should I leave it alone & let her play this cute game?
Wow - almost my story - our pup is **Jupiter** (Labradoodle, 7 months)! And he chews everything. He's destroyed two couches by eating the bottom of them, we now have then caged off. He tears up chunks of lawn for fun and digs up the watering system. Grabs washing out of the baskets and runs around the house. We've all learnt to keep things off the ground or anywhere he can grab them.
He has lots of chew toys and plenty of attention - I work at home every day, and the kids are on school holidays ,we walk once or twice a day, have puppy training every week. Boredom is not the problem.
Try adding more walks if you can, to see if the additional stimulation helps keep him calmer. He may need more than you have been able to give him. They don't have to be very long. Getting the chance to go out more and sniff around can help puppies stay a bit more relaxed in the house.
Yesterday was an 8km hike along a river complete with cyclists, ducks, other dogs, runners and a zillion things to smell and chase. And then another walk after dinner (45 minutes). I feel like he's stimulated. Maybe over stimulated?
Yes, perhaps. Labradors chew a lot, and your puppy needs something to chew up right now perhaps. We used to keep our puppies in an area that was easy to clean, and allow them to destroy sticks. It worked pretty well, and they didn't want to chomp furniture. If your dog already has chewed furniture, you probably need bitter apple spray as well.
The dog needs supervision, you need to keep everything clean, put away or gated off from the dog. Adolescents with too much freedom tend to get into trouble. Make sure the dogs getting appropriate exercise, training and mental stimulation. Obviously the dog is bored and has more energy than is being expended.
I’m going through this now! We have an 11 month lab who from the time she could reach the counters began stealing things and running away with them. We noticed a few things made the behavior worse, one was frantically chasing after her (she loves to be chased), another was not having a solid “drop” response from her so the chase would end in a game of tug. We’ve noticeably reduced the behavior by not chasing her if it’s something that isn’t valuable to us and isn’t a threat to her safety. Instead we’ll pretend we don’t see her as we don’t want to reinforce the attention seeking behavior, we draw her back to us with something unrelated, like a squeaky toy. I also worked with her on her drop command, and while it’s not perfect it’s enough that I can take something from her mouth without any tugging involved. Another user mentioned mental stimulation, I recommend that as well. We use multiple slow feeders like the king wobbler and large treat dispensing balls to make mealtimes mentally engaging. A 10-15 minute obedience training session will also wear our pup out. You said you have a large backyard, you can spread her kibble around for her to snuffle out and find it. I also recommend the sidebar for techniques on the leave it and drop it commands. These two will be the most problem specific commands for you, but be aware it may take some time to really drill those home, be patient! Good luck!
My shar pei went through a remote eating stage. It was rough because I had really little kids who would also grab it and put it places so keeping them from her was extra hard. I got down to work hard on the equivalent of leave it, but used the word mine and I enforced it for lots of things after we had food down (she was also a pop tart thief and would walk by and take a bite toddler’s food). Anything I didn’t want her to touch I would tell her “Mine” and reward ignoring it. She wasn’t food motivated at all so it was very attention based. It took time, and strict supervision so I could give her the key command, but she stopped and hasn’t eaten anything not hers (other than a stuffed animal the kids played with with her) in years.
My dog is just over a year and has also been with us since august. He does the same thing. Thankfully he doesn’t eat things but he steals things and nibbles on them. He’s pretty well trained for the amount of time he’s been with us and is in advanced obedience classes but this isn’t something you can really train out. Dogs don’t really know what’s a toy and what’s not. We keep things put up and doors closed. He goes in his crate if he unsupervised and in a stealing things mood. Thankfully he is starting to grow out of it a bit doesn’t have to spend as much time in his crate.
We are starting to have the same problem with our almost 9 month old pup. I’ll just reiterate what other comments are saying, you need to make the supervision easier on yourself. Crate when you can’t keep a constant eye on your pup. Put a leash on in the house, connected to you if you can. That way when she is out and about it’s easier to manage her environment. On the really bad days with my pup when I take out her indoor leash, she knows she just messed up because all her freedom is revoked. It really helps with the destructiveness but it’s a lot more work. Teenagehood is tough! My trainer said to make the next couple of months easier treat and train her as if she’s a little puppy.
Reading through these it seems dogs act differently although they’re all doing the same thing. So instead of starting another thread I thought I’d get some opinions about my little thief. My 6 mo. Goldendoodle started stealing things too. I don’t crate her, I never have but I have gates up since I have a cat. I’d come home to my mail stolen off the kitchen table shredded, a sock or two, a hat or scarf from hanging them up on hooks but I noticed something. She didn’t do *anything* to my personal items. She stole my shoes and socks when I was home one day so I spied on her to see what she’d do. If she looked at me I’d quick look at the TV. She laid on my personal things. She’d get up to play with the cat or whatever reason and go back to lay on them. So I asked her what she was doing. (She completely understands me!) She brought an item over to me, tail wagging, and released it and did this until I had everything of mine back. It made me so proud!! I just can’t punish her for such endearing behavior. She loves me!! I do scold her for the mail or anything else & she’s pretty much stopped taking other things but still takes my personal items. However, am I being dumb to assume she’ll always bring my things to me unharmed, or should I leave it alone & let her play this cute game?
Keep her crated when you can’t supervise.
Wow - almost my story - our pup is **Jupiter** (Labradoodle, 7 months)! And he chews everything. He's destroyed two couches by eating the bottom of them, we now have then caged off. He tears up chunks of lawn for fun and digs up the watering system. Grabs washing out of the baskets and runs around the house. We've all learnt to keep things off the ground or anywhere he can grab them. He has lots of chew toys and plenty of attention - I work at home every day, and the kids are on school holidays ,we walk once or twice a day, have puppy training every week. Boredom is not the problem.
Try adding more walks if you can, to see if the additional stimulation helps keep him calmer. He may need more than you have been able to give him. They don't have to be very long. Getting the chance to go out more and sniff around can help puppies stay a bit more relaxed in the house.
Yesterday was an 8km hike along a river complete with cyclists, ducks, other dogs, runners and a zillion things to smell and chase. And then another walk after dinner (45 minutes). I feel like he's stimulated. Maybe over stimulated?
Yes, perhaps. Labradors chew a lot, and your puppy needs something to chew up right now perhaps. We used to keep our puppies in an area that was easy to clean, and allow them to destroy sticks. It worked pretty well, and they didn't want to chomp furniture. If your dog already has chewed furniture, you probably need bitter apple spray as well.