How to stop a dog from stealing other dogs

Possessiveness is an entirely natural behavior for dogs and, in the case of dog-dog interactions, a difficult one to modify. Don't give your dog toys when he's around other dogs. Train your dog to drop toys on cue. When your dog has a toy, offer him another, better toy or treat, and as he opens his mouth to take the new thing, say “drop” and praise him enthusiastically when he does. This is going to take a lot of training with every toy he has before it becomes automatic. Make your dog think that whenever you say “drop,” an even cooler toy or fabulous treat will appear. Train your dog to have solid leave it and come commands, and use them to prevent stealing other dogs’ toys. As your letter indicates, you recognize that he lacks self-control around toys, so it’s your responsibility to provide that control. Just like you wouldn’t let a son or daughter bully other kids at the local playground, you can’t let your pup bully other dogs at the park for their toys.

People often actually teach their dogs to steal, chase, and chew, by reacting to what the pup does in such a way that guarantees repetition. Simply saying Thank you, and accepting the object in exchange for a tasty treat is actually teaching the beginnings of your retrieve as well. Start teaching this new 8-week-old baby in the gentlest way possible - no need for any NOs or Ah-ahs or anything else that expresses your displeasure. You are teaching this young creature, mistakes are an essential part of the process, and gentle redirection a standard requirement of parenthood. And yes, offering a treat is a perfectly acceptable way of teaching how to make these choices. If your pup makes a mistake and you toss a treat away for him to fetch, you are not rewarding bad choices, you are rewarding the action of leaving the undesired thing. Formal Leave It training can start once your pup is a week or two older, thereby ensuring that not only your possessions, but also foul stuff on the street, dropped pills, and the like, are out of bounds.

If your dog is stealing things because the game is so much fun, then don’t play. The idea is for your puppy to learn that taking your things is completely pointless because it doesn’t result in anything fun happening to them as a result. Dogs will repeat anything that works out well for them. So, if your dog enjoys gaining your attention by stealing things, the best thing to do when they steal is to ignore them, as long as it is safe to do so. Simply wait until they lose interest and drop the item, then encourage them to do something else instead, such as play with a toy or enjoy a chew. Then you can remove the stolen item when they are distracted. If possible, try to avoid picking up the item straight away as you don’t want your dog to think it’s valuable because you appear to be desperate to have it. Always reward good behaviour Make sure you give your dog lots of praise and attention for good behaviours instead, like playing with their own toys or relaxing by themselves. It can be useful to get your dog comfortable with swapping something they have for something they consider to be of equal or greater value. For example, if you’re taking away a toy, swap it for another favourite toy or tasty treat. Offer your dog the better item before trying to take what they have away. Or drop several pieces of food onto the ground slightly away from your dog, so they have to leave whatever it is they have in order to go over to eat the treats. Then you can calmly pick the item up and remove it while they are busy enjoying themselves. Provide physical and mental exercise Your dog might be stealing things because they are looking for something to do or for some interaction with you. Dogs need both physical and mental stimulation to prevent boredom. Giving them a suitable outlet for their energy may prevent them from making their own fun. You could provide suitable toys and chews, make homemade puzzle feeders and engage them with some fun training.

Resource guarding is common in dogs, and stealing is just a bullying behavior, like a bigger kid on the playground taking over the swing just because they can, even if they were more than happy to play on the slide until someone else started using the swing set. If they get away with it, the dog is rewarded by a new tasty bone to chew, and if they learn which dogs will and won't put up with their bullying. When I catch her either taking something away from another dog, or starting to act defensive about having it, she has to leave it alone, and she gets rewarded with something else for choosing to walk away. Guarding is an anxiety problem, where the dog fears losing something valuable. The more they feel that fear, the more they feel compelled to act on it, even if no real threat is present. The dogs can both have the bones while they're separated or crated, but they need to be put away before allowing the dogs to interact so no one becomes anxious and defensive. If there's ever a question that one of the dogs will escalate to snapping or biting, remove the items of contention completely when the dogs are together.