Into EVERYTHING!!

[Camille King]

Chance, my 16 month old goldie steals everything he can get his mouth on!  He steals food from the counter, table, anywhere!  He gets my kids toys when they aren't looking! He gets into the garbage.  He does this when I turn my back for 2 seconds!  Any tips??  Thanks!

[sharon Levesque]

I know what you are talking about--Thelma and Louise have a passion for socks and underwear. Has anyone got a doodle that will eat socks and then throw them up--its kind of worrying me because I am afraid they will get a blockage. They actually dig them out of the laundry bin. They also love chewing wood and eating it--tried bitter apple on things but not working. Will they outgrow this because they will turn 1 on Sept 28th. I hope so!!

[Jen, Lachlan, and Declan]

What is it with these guys and socks, sharon?! LOL  They're like doodle-crack or something! So far I've been lucky with Lachlan, he's only managed to eat one sock, but I've learned to just keep them in a drawer if they're not actually IN the washer or dryer. Dirty socks get their own drawer now!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Every time he is able to successfully steal something from the counter or the garbage he "wins"....and that just reinforces the behavior.  It really comes down to a couple of choices.  You can keep your counter cleared and your dog restricted from kitchen access when there's any food on it or you can keep a leash and a training collar on him so he can be corrected the minute he even "thinks" about going something on the counter.  As for the toys, I would definitely keep them where the dog can't get to them and I would get a garbage container with a strong lid.

[Bryce P]

Put bitter apple on sandals, napkins, counters ect. Put food and desirable items in the middle of the table or away from the edges. When he jumps up on the counter take him away and give him somehing else to chew on. Huff was hard to break of stealing because as a pup he had a long nose (better to grab your stuff with my dear-lol).

[Dot, Maggie and KoKo]

I've already posted a response but forgot to add socks to the list.  KoKo loves them, guess she's a "normal" doodle.  She has thrown up three and one made it out the back end.  She doesn't care is they are dirty, clean or new.  They all taste good apparently.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

My best advice is to be as clean as possible.  It's hard!  Peri is a mini and we caught her licking our chicken last night - it was on the counter, but a little close to the edge and she couldn't resist. HA!

[Kristine and Charlie]

I am losing it with my  14 month old GD!  I think I screamed 3 times today because it's always at the worse possible time...when I'm already short fused or totally involved in something.  And it is the most annoying thing.  We don't have a counter surfer but a terrible thief!  We keep a gate at the stairs and everything put up or away downstairs and he still manages to find things.  Definately worse when he hasn't gotten enough exercise so we are working on that and the leave it command.  Good timing for me to come across this post and all of the comments...it's good  to know that I'm not alone :).

[Camille King]

You are definitely not alone!!