Understanding a dog’s stealing behavior is important because we often see this behavior from our perspective rather than our dogs’. This often means that dogs who do the stealing are seen in a negative perspective, almost as if they on an a quest to rob us of our belongings the moment we turn our back. Whether your dog steals your slippers or that piece of sandwich you have left unattended on the table, it’s important to understand dog stealing behavior so to address it correctly and stop labeling our companions as “bad.”
Stealing From a Human Perspective
In our world, stealing is perceived as taking a certain item without permission or legal right and without intending to return it to the person it belongs to. Stealing is perceived in the human world as a very negative type of conduct often leading to mild or even severe penalties. Stealing may lead to fines, jail or even prison sentences.
As humans, we have a strong sense of protecting our belongings. We carry our hard-earned money in our wallets and have safes to protect our valuables. Our cars are locked and kept in secure garages or in monitored parking lots. We have alarm systems, fences, surveillance systems and locked doors to deter potential thieves.
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As humans, we also have a strong sense of respecting the items of others. Although our coworkers are temporarily away from their desks, our moral conduct prevents us from messing with the items they have left laying on top of the desk. We also don’t go around stealing other people’s cars even when they are left unattended in a dark ally and nobody is around.
Stealing From a Dog’s Perspective
Now, despite the fact the word “stealing” is used, it’s important to precise that dogs do not have a sense of “stealing” in the same way we do. Among dogs, if you watch them interact, you will see that when a dog is lying down with an item and then gets up leaving the item behind, to the other dog this is a distinct “signal” meaning that the dog has lost interest in it.
This same concept is often applied to humans. Should you leave an unattended sandwich behind, from the dog’s perspective this is officially a relinquished item left behind and therefote available to anyone who wishes to claim it. In other words, dogs do not have the cognitive abilities to recognize that an item that is far away from us and not in our direct possession still belongs to us and should therefore not be touched.
Dogs act out of instinct and are opportunists, and after all, without these important traits they likely wouldn’t have made it so far as a species (imagine a starving dog in the wild not eating food readily available to them). A dog who we therefore think is stealing a sandwich left on the counter, in reality is acting quite politely, waiting for the person to leave it behind and show no more interest in it.
Tips for Stopping a Dog’s Stealing Behavior
There are several ways to stop a dog’s stealing behavior. There is usually not a one-solution fixes all, but rather it often takes a multi-facted approach.
Prevent rehearsal of problem behavior. It’s important to understand that the more a dog rehearses a problem behavior, the more it becomes ingrained. Fact is, stealing when an owner is out of sight brings a strong reinforcement history. So every time our dog gets a hang of something when we are out of sight, the reward history has already occurred. The dog got to eat, chew and interact with the stolen item. So it’s best to prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior the best a person can and the best way is through management an supervision.
Manage Your Dog’s Environment. By managing your dog’s environment, you are preventing access to things your dog can potentially steal when you are not actively watching. This often entails “thinking lik a dog.” In other words, look at your home and remove items that your dog is likely to feel like “stealing.” This is similar to toddler-proofing a home only that dogs are capable of pulling and ripping things apart, jumping up and stealing items from counters and tables.
These may be various tempting things to remove such as pens from a desk, small knick-knacks from a piece of furniture or food leftovers from over a table. These dog-proofing measures are important as many times dogs who steal stuff are also likely to ingest them and this may lead to costly surgeries to remove intestinal blockages or hospitalizations associated with dogs eating things they shouldn’t (think baker’s chocolate left unattended on the table). To make life easier, it’s best to restrict a dog’s access to a small area that is easy to dog proof. For many dogs who tend to get in a trouble, a secure crate may be the best option. Other options are baby gates, exercise pens and the obvious, yet often forgotten, closed doors.
[adinserter block=”1″]Leave Legit Items Around. Now, that your have removed the items your dog shouldn’t have, it’s a good idea to leave several ample choices of legit items your dog can have. You may want to invest in sturdy dog toys that do not break apart for safety, although, any toy though could turn into a problem with an aggressive chewer.
Increase Saliency. Often the items dogs steal are particularly appealing eaither because they taste good, have a nice texture to chew on or simply have a sense of novelty. It helps to increase the saliency of legit items.
Interactive toys work best as they offer a double-whammy. They are fun, attractive toys on their own and offer food rewards inside. A strategically stuffed toy can provide a mental workout and several minutes of entertainment. A Kong Wobbler can have some pieces of large cookies inside which may help prevent the kibble from coming out too freely and too fast.
Also, it helps to rotate access to legit toys. Keeping some toys out of reach, and then back out again helps prevent them from getting too boring. This sense of novelty may make them less appealing than other items that may be found laying around the house.
Practice the Leave it Cue. Training your dog to “leave it” is important so that your dog understands that some items should be left alone. Make sure to practice with low value items at first and praise/reward your dog lavishly when he listens to your cue.
[adinserter block=”2″]Practice The Drop it Cue. Training your dog to “drop it” adds a back-up plan should you be to late to say “leave it” as your dog has the item already in his mouth. It can make the difference between life and death should the dog get a hang of something potentially dangerous.
Active Supervision. When you have free time, make it a habit of performing active supervision. This means that you will be closely supervising your dog (no distractions!) and providing him guidance and feedback about what he can and cannot touch. Tell your dog “leave it” the second you notice intent of getting something you don’t want him to have. You shouldn’t have to say “drop it” if you are actively supervising.
Out of Sight, but not Out of Mind. Finally, as a last resort for some challenging cases of dogs who tend to steal certain items over and over, it may help to teach the dog a valuable lesson: that although you are not in sight, you are still there. This should entail leaving the dog with an item that he is often likely to steal and watching the dog from a window at a distance or a remote camera from behind the door.
The moment the dog attempts to the get the item, the dog owner should announce “leave it” to remind the dog that although he’s not in sight, the dog is still being watched. These sessions can be rehearsed several times, although there are no guarantees the dog won’t steal the item if left alone for a long time. Also, such rehearsals should never be used with items that are potentially harmful to the dog.
So to recap, by preventing rehearsals of problem behaviors, managing your dog environment, limiting access to stuff your dog can steal, granting access to legit items, increasing their saliency, training leave it and drop it, providing structured guidance, with time, you should hopefully see an increase in your dog making good choices. Of course, this is on top of providing exercise, training and mental stimulation.
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