# my dog is a thief



## Jingers mom (Feb 10, 2012)

Riley my 3 year old boy is a big thief. He steals clothes, shoes, phones, remotes, eyeglasses, what ever he can get a hold of. He'll take things and then come prancing happily in from of us with his new prize in his mouth. 

Drop it doesn't work, give doesn't work either. We have to tag team him until one of us catches him and then he'll drop it. I figure he thinks it a game but how can I stop this behavior. He's probably eaten (broken) 50 pairs of reading glasses and a couple of tv remotes, not to mention underwear both mine and my husbands. 

Any advise?


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## prezofxms (Jun 22, 2014)

My golden steals shoes when she's bored or wants my attention. She also loves stealing whatever I'm working with. If I set down a scissors, a pen, or a screwdriver, it's gone within 30 seconds, so I feel your pain!

Riley's probably bored. After all, you do chase him around. One solution is more playtime, more walks, more mental stimulation! Dogs are angelic when they're sleeping. 

Does he know "leave it"? You could probably teach him to leave the objects you don't want him to have. Not a preventative measure, but you could also work on "drop it" with a toy and some treats.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

If he's not going to chew it up and eat it, walk away from him instead of chasing him. He probably will follow you.


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## Cpc1972 (Feb 23, 2015)

This is exactly what Chloe does. We always know when she has something because she runs in and shows us and wants us to chase her and play. I agree walk away if it isn't going to harm.


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## ktkins7 (Jul 20, 2013)

Ella likes to steal things too. She drops it faster if I just ignore her. If I try to get it from her then it becomes a game.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

I have fallen in this trap with Duke as well. He even has a special run/trot he does so that if you don't see him take it, you still hear him take it. And I've been guilty of chasing him (which he loves and why he does it). He does respond, to "trade", "leave it" and "drop it". For him, it's more about the attention than anything else.


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## Holly♥ (Jan 9, 2014)

jennretz said:


> I have fallen in this trap with Duke as well. He even has a special run/trot he does so that if you don't see him take it, you still hear him take it. And I've been guilty of chasing him (which he loves and why he does it). He does respond, to "trade", "leave it" and "drop it". For him, it's more about the attention than anything else.


I know the run/trot too! How funny it is. I can tell by how Zeb comes out of my son's room if he has stolen anything even if I can't see him (I hear that guilty trot). He tries so hard but always gets busted.


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## Dale (Dec 14, 2015)

Sounds exactly like our Ollie. He loves nothing better than taking something that is ours and hoping we will chase him. Something our trainer taught us, which works with Ollie, is to try substitution. If your Goldie has something that is yours, don't chase him / her. Try taking something else, such as a ball or one of their toys and pretend it is "high value" to you. Your Goldie when then show interest in what you have.


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## bixx (Sep 8, 2015)

ktkins7 said:


> Ella likes to steal things too. She drops it faster if I just ignore her. If I try to get it from her then it becomes a game.



This is so true. Ignore is really the best way to get the dog to drop something he/she stole. If you chase, you are giving him exactly what he wants -- attention and play time. If I ignore Amber while she's taunting me with what she has (yes, that run/trot thing), she eventually sits beside me and lamely offer me what's in her mouth. It's funny and pathetic at the same time...she's expecting me to run after her and if i don't, she comes and surrenders the item voluntarily, or rather, she tries to shove it in my hand in the hopes that I would grab it which would end in either a tug play or a chase game. If I show no interest, she eventually drops it and do something else, like lie down beside me.


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## anamcouto (Aug 15, 2015)

*My Ella, not ktkins7 Ella tries the same*

My Ella tries the same stunt but she's quite good with the command LEAVE IT, except if it's some kind of paper tissue 40% chance she will ignore and socks. If socks are involved I'll have to hold an end of it while she pulls from the other and try and do something more interesting than the sock for her to release that prisoner.

My advice: baby proof the house, nothing potentially grababel is in close range of the little devil unless you're sure it's within your eye sight. Except socks, those can't be left alone, ever


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