Dog Park Toy Absconder

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Alright, I already know Oscar believes ALL toys are HIS. From the day we brought him home at 8 weeks he made that very clear. He was the smallest male of his litter and maybe he learned it then. He had to be assertive to get what he wanted. By 'assertive' I mean patient and able to take advantage of an opportunity. He's smart and not mean in the least. No aggressive tendencies and no 'resource guarding'. If there's a toy another dog has that he wants, he will most definitely get it in the end. Hands down (or 'paws down'?).

Lucy has none of these tendencies, and lucky for them, their play style with each other when it comes to toys is one of give and take. Lucy gives, Oscar takes. Lucy, of course, makes a game out of it (as she does everything), by tempting Oscar with toys. She'll hang on to a toy just to push Oscar's buttons, knowing how he just has to have the toy.

Recently, this whole toy thing has transferred to the dog park. When someone is throwing a flyer and other dogs are running to chase it, Oscar joins in. He's not the fastest dog, and he never gets the toy first, but he'll follow the dog who does and patiently wait for the opportunity to grab hold. He doesn't tug, he just holds on, until the other dog lets go. Then he prances off towards us to throw the toy for him. Which we never do. We've done a couple different things though, one of which is to take the toy away and return it to the original thrower. But that just starts the whole scenario over with Oscar ending up with the toy again. And I mean, EVERY TIME. I don't know how he does it. He's not aggressive or bossy or intimidating. He's just persistent until he gets it. Its extremely embarrassing and makes us feel a little guilty that our dog always has someone else's toy. My DH would like to put Oscar on a leash to keep him from going after those flyers (or the dogs who have them), but I think that's far too harsh. He's a dog, after all, and he's doing what comes naturally to him. I don't think he should be punished for it.

So, here's my solution to the problem (I have yet to put it in action but will the next time we go to the dog park). I bought Oscar his own flyer, and will only ever use it at the dog park. We'll throw it for Oscar and if other dogs get it (which is a good probability), so be it. No biggie. We know that Oscar will ALWAYS end up with the flyer and we will NEVER FEEL GUILTY for it again! Problem solved!

 

UPDATE: I've been meaning to get this update posted on last week's dog park visit, but have been dragging my feet. I so wanted to have great news to share, but it just wasn't to be. Our foray into Oscar having his own flyer at the dog park kind of backfired.

It was a busy Friday evening at the dog park, crowded with lots of people and dogs. I was kind of glad there were a lot of dogs there, as it would be a good testing ground for 'Oscar and his flyer'. It all started okay, with Oscar loving having his own flyer and having his daddy throw it for him. Oscar ran after the Chuckit toy and Lucy ran after Oscar. All was good in the world. After about 20 minutes a couple other dogs got interested in the flyer, and Oscar wasn't always the one to it first. When that happened he used his old tactic of taking his time and eventually grabbing onto it. Problem was, these dogs weren't going to let go. At one point all three of them were clamped down on it, determined to be the triumphant one to claim it as their own. It was at that point that the dog to Oscar's right let go and snarled and snapped at Oscar. Oscar let go and ran off towards us. I watched him and it clearly looked to me like he was processing what just happened. He was 'thinking it over'. Aggression had never been a part of his plan, and it was new to him. Eventually, he made his way back to the dogs and the flyer and clamped down on it again. This time, however, he took the initiative and snarled at the dog who had originally snarled at him. It didn't seem to phase the other dog one bit. The tugging continued until Oscar snapped and snarled at that other dog and the other dog reciprocated. That was it for us. We picked up the flyer and playtime was over. Oscar learned something new that day. That aggression is an effective means to an end. No dog was bitten, BTW, and it never escalated into something more (for that I'm very thankful). It was all about the flyer. After the altercation, we ended up walking around the dog park, Oscar following us (checking every so often, making sure DH was still carrying the flyer). At one point Oscar went after another dog's Frisbee . Twice he returned to us with it and we returned it to the owner (Oscar was not aggressive at all with that dog, but that dog wasn't as intent on keeping the Frisbee as those other dogs). At that point my DH put a leash on Oscar, and it was time to go.

So, I wouldn't call my 'solution'  a success, not with knowing not every dog Oscar encounters is necessarily going to let go of the flyer. Most will, but not all. And when that happens, from this point forward, I'm afraid it will bring out the worst in Oscar. I'm not sure how to proceed from here.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

My feelings exactly, Bonnie. All I can hope is that this whole. 'obsession with flyers at the dog park' is just a phase. BTW, Oscar turned 1 year old last Friday, the same day as the unfortunate dog park visit. Maybe he'll grow out of this in time (fingers crossed).

[Bonnie and Kona]

Oh Debb. This is such a bummer.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

For those interested, I've posted an update to my blog, Dog Park Toy Absconder.

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/dog-park-toy-absconder?x...

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Great solution :) I love to hear these stories about our Doodles. Great blog.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Thanks everybody! We plan on going to the dog park tomorrow evening. I will report back on how it goes and will try to get a video of Oscar's interesting behavior. It is really funny to watch, and, for me, will be a whole lot funnier without the guilty part.

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

Sounds like a great solution!   Oscar definitely knows what he wants:)  and gets it!!  LOL

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

that Oscar is pretty cute!!!  I love it that he can get his way w/o being mean!  Let it be a lesson for everyone!  

[Miss Ellie]

Proof that where there is a will, there's a way...great idea!

[Pat and Traveler]

Cute, Debb!  Oscar is a planner, and willing to wait.  Nice qualities!  Your solution sounds like a good one.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Sounds like you have a plan! Let us know how it goes!