Why does my dog take all the toys from my other dog?
Lavon Williamson
2025-05-22 03:11:50
Count answers: 7
He's not aggressive about it or anything, but it's become bit more of an issue lately since we've added Dexter, a 9 week old black lab puppy to our doggy family. For the most part, they play really well together, but if Titan is across the yard and notices Dexter has a toy, he'll run over to steal it from him and sometimes, due to his size (he's 100+lbs), it's a little rough. My 1 year old pup Titan is an absolute dream, but when it comes to being around other dogs and their toys, he always has to have what the other dog has, even if he wasn't previously interested in it.
Trisha Swift
2025-05-22 01:09:42
Count answers: 3
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. 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. Like people, dogs don't learn well when they are anxious, so you have to remove the anxiety in order to teach them what you want them to do. 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.
Emmalee Willms
2025-05-21 22:42:16
Count answers: 2
Possessiveness is an entirely natural behavior for dogs and, in the case of dog-dog interactions, a difficult one to modify. From Brutus’s perspective, his behavior works—and every time he successfully steals a toy or defends one from another dog, his obnoxious behavior is rewarded. I know of no way to decrease his interest in toys—I expect that time outs will have the opposite effect—and I don’t want to deprive him of what are obviously a great source of joy in his life. Don’t give your dog toys when he’s around other dogs. Train your dog to drop toys (or anything else that’s in his mouth) on cue. When your dog has a toy, offer him another, better toy or treat. As he opens his mouth to take the new thing, say “drop” and praise him enthusiastically when he does. Train your dog to have solid leave it and come (recall) commands, and use them to prevent stealing other dogs’ toys. This is especially important if your dog is inclined to get ugly with other dogs. As your letter indicates, you recognize that he lacks self-control around toys, so it’s your responsibility to provide that control.
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