Stop stealing toys!!!

[Puppy Madness]

Grayson is almost 11 months old...should he soon stop stealing toys from the kids?!?  It is driving me crazy.  He'll be lying quietly chewing a bone, I'll go throw in a load of laundry and come back in and he is chewing a toy to smithereens.  And of course it is never the crap they get out of a happy meal---it's their good stuff.  I can't find a way to keep him gated away from their stuff...he jumps it or pushes it over.  I always tell him no when I catch him and give him one is his own.  And the boys do the same.  I TRY to teach them to keep their stuff up but they are 2, 4, and 6--so THAT'S like beating my head against a cement wall!  Any ideas or encouragement or advice, please???

[Adina P]

I have no idea.  I was worried about this when we considered adopting Boca, but so far she's really kept to her own stuff.  Shey probably chewed up a couple wooden blocks and maybe something else, but she really doesn't do more than sniff Natalie's things.  I think I got lucky! 

 

[Lynda Kamrath]

Actually, I have the same problem with my husband.  He never closes his closet door and the puppy is always running around the house with one of his Smart Wool socks or even his biking shorts.  I tell him to close the closet door or keep his stuff up, but he just forgets.

I would say to tell the kids that the puppy is going to eat their toys if they are left out and remind them to put their toys away and close doors.  Then just put the chewed up toys where they can see them and have them put them into the trash.  A couple of times doing this and they will start to remember.  Can't change the puppy behavior, but you have a better chance of changing the habits of the kids.  Tough, I know.

[Kris & Brinkley]

I was wondering do Graysons toys look anything like the kids? If so, this could be the problem & you'd really have to re-teach, which could go faster if you used bitters spray on them for awhile, hard to do with kiddos. I say MINE! then squat down ( in the alpha mode)  around things I want my dogs to know is off limits. 

You might also, set up a teaching scenario with toys & really go through & claim things. 

Usually dogs will respect ownership once claimed, otherwise he sees himself as your kid, those are his toys too in his mind.

 

Just remember, though cute, NEVER EVER buy toys that look like something your kids or you own.

[Kris & Brinkley]

:) From what I've seen & what I tell ppl is you never give a dog a toy that looks anything like your stuff.

For example- a dog stuffed toy doesn't look any different to them than a kids stuffy.
For a dog...shape, materials & textures are really hard for them to tell the difference between yours & his.

If  you say yes to a stuffed doggy duck but you yell at him when he grabs the teddy bear or the doll he would be really confused & just think your nutty. lol meaning he will disobey out of sight.

Since I wasn't real sure of what you meant by crossover vs pet store toys, I decided to reword myself as well. :)

[Kris & Brinkley]

I really don't know what kinds of toys your kids have, so I can mention a few that I suggest. The Kong Family works really great they last fairly well unless you have an aggressive chewer. There are other brands that sale very durable toys that look nothing like kids toys other than maybe the tennis balls. My dogs love ropes of all kinds & several toys from the kong family, there are some duck training dummys that look like tan tubes that might be ok depending on your kids toys. I give my pup a gumby now bc my kids don't play with Barbie, Kens or GI Joe any more. There really are tons of toys that bare no real look to toys, at least teh ones mine played with. 

Balls can be difficult dogs balls sometimes are made from material so different that they get that they are different. 

This doesn't mean your dog won't try to take things from the kids bc he will, they are the puppies along with him & at 11 mths I bet he sees himself alpha puppy unless your older kids are training him some. 

You may find you would rather try the mine/ claiming technique it really depends on the battles you decide to choose now & later. :)

 

BTW under this teaching none of the dogs that I've taught this have stolen or chewed anything belonging to the family past very young puppyhood.

[Trina L Lavoie]

We are dealing with the same thing with Bruno, he is only 10 weeks, but have also worked on just giving him his toy instead. RILABRADOODLES sent me a article in which the trainer used positive reinforcement with the dogs own toys. Basically if the dog has a toy he shouldn't, give him his own and then give him a treat but only if he hands over his own toy to you first. Do this also when you see him go for his toy on his own. I am going to try it this week and see how it goes. I guess the idea is they will learn they only get rewarded for chewing on their toys!