# Behaviour correction when puppy ate food he wasn't supposed to & his guilty reaction.



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

A lot of dogs eat tomatoes and it doesn't hurt them. If this is something your friend doesn't want their puppy doing, keep the tomatoes from the pups reach, offer a high value item as a trade if the pup hasn't eaten it yet.


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

"would reprimanding him as was done in the video help him lose this kind of behaviour"

Not in my opinion. I think that the owners behavior would more likely increase this behavior. Or the dog would just get more creative and do it when the owner wasn't there or aware. 

Training behaviors such as give, drop it, and trade over time would give the owner the tools (cues) to help when in this predicament. 

Young pups shouldn't have the opportunities to get to items that are unsafe for the pup or things the owner just doesn't want destroyed. 
Give the puppy a puppy proof safe area to be in when the pup cannot be supervised.
Supervise the pup when in areas that are not totally safe for the pup
Do a lot of training to give the pup the skills to follow good manners in the home.
Understand that until the pup really has a complete understanding of the rules and the behaviors you want that it is up to the owner to keep the pup safe.
Training takes a lot of repetition and time.
If a puppy gets and item that you don't want the pup to have and the pup doesn't have full understanding of give/trade or drop it that it is important to get them to give it to you by offering an exciting lure. Pups don't learn by luring but if you don't want the pup to damage or consume something the pup has gotten because the adult didn't make the place safe enough for the pup get some really high value reward (treat) and lure the pup away from the contraband. Training and playing "It's yer Choice" games can also teach a pup an automatic leave it. Kikopup has a video also called how to solve counter surfing that also teaches and automatic leave it which over time will help the pup make good choices over inappropriate ones. 

If I was the pup in the video I wouldn't be being guilty I would be thinking this person wants this item really bad so it must be something I really want to keep. The owner is teaching the dog that the owner isn't trust worthy and will take things from me that I want. This may make the pup get sneaky and very clever to not get caught.


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## Prism Goldens (May 27, 2011)

"clearly knew he did something which he wasn't supposed to do" I doubt a puppy has these thoughts/feelings. He might know he shouldn't climb up on the table, but tomatoes look like balls, and he has zero idea of 'this is not food I'm allowed' if he even knew it was a food item when he first mouthed it. He's a baby. They need to be more careful (that said, mine love tomatoes and regularly pick them as they go by the vines). Puppies such as the one in the video do not understand 'show your mouth' unless they have been previously taught this. They do not have a full vocabulary at this age and do not understand words they are not taught to. The tone probably accounted for the guilty look- but I do not believe dogs feel guilt either...


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## Kalhayd (May 4, 2016)

Prism Goldens said:


> but I do not believe dogs feel guilt either...


Interesting. Most of me agrees. I do not think dogs possess the intellectual and cognitive abilities for such intense feelings, but sometimes I question that with our girls reactions. When we come home, if she has been "naughty" she greets us with squinted eyes and slowly walks backwards. This comes without any tones being exchanged. So I often wonder if she is regretting her decisions to live impulsively, LOL. 




To the original OP- I agree with the others. A puppy has no idea that the tomato is forbidden. The act of stealing from a counter-top is what I'd focus on correcting.


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## cwag (Apr 25, 2017)

Kalhayd said:


> Interesting. Most of me agrees. I do not think dogs possess the intellectual and cognitive abilities for such intense feelings, but sometimes I question that with our girls reactions. When we come home, if she has been "naughty" she greets us with squinted eyes and slowly walks backwards. This comes without any tones being exchanged. So I often wonder if she is regretting her decisions to live impulsively, LOL.
> 
> I thought this was interesting also. There does appear to be some sense they knew they did something wrong even if it hasn't been discovered yet. There have been times when just by their demeanor I could tell my dogs had done something they knew was wrong. Maybe it's conditioning rather than guilt? IDK


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

I'm sorry, but if this is how people train their pups, it's hardly surprising that we see so many posts on this forum about puppies growling and snapping at their owners. It's a _terrible_ way to address the situation.

I agree with others that puppies don't feel guilt. Guilt is a very human emotion. In the video, the owner is towering above the puppy, speaking in a stern voice and cuffing him. The puppy feels threatened, not guilty. The owner is lucky that he has a nice personality; many dogs wouldn't react quite so well to this type of treatment and would growl or snap. There's no point saying "show me your mouth", since the poor pup has no idea what this means and just feels more threatened because he doesn't know what to do. In the pup's world, it's not natural to give up food. The owner's hesitation and cuffing will only encourage the puppy to keep the item, and to snap if the human eventually tries to get it.

If I were the owner of this puppy, I would roll up a newspaper and smack myself over the head with it, for having left food in a place where the puppy could get it. Then I'd get my act together and start teaching some useful commands, such as "drop it" or "give". I'd also work on repairing my relationship with the dog. All he's learned from this interaction is to mistrust and probably dislike his owner.


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## Mayabear (Aug 26, 2015)

Ask your friend what she thinks "show me your mouth" means to the dog. Is that a command that has been trained? If not, then it does not make sense to the dog and compounds the fear he is feeling from your friend standing over him, speaking in a language he doesn't understand.

This would have been a perfect opportunity to train "drop it" - offer something high value in return.

Your friend needs to set the dog up for success. Don't leave food lying around. Don't allow the dog to access rooms/areas you do not want him in. Understand that the dog is a child. We don't expect correct decisions from a child until we teach them, right? So why would it be any different for the pup?

The best thing you can do is understand that no dog - not a golden retriever, not any breed - is programmed to do the right thing. When they are puppies, they are like children. Always looking for guidance and training, and getting into mischief when that is not forthcoming. Almost all failures of the dog are a reflection of the owner. So help your pup achieve success!


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## Altairss (Sep 7, 2012)

if you have learned what dog body language really means and not just what we want or think it means you would see this puppy is stressed, confused and probably slightly afraid and is offering up avoidance cues looking away or down and other cues that are telling the person in dog language how upsetting all of this is. See how stiff the body is look at the ears and how tight he has them. lips are clamped not just to hide the food but shows stress. He is very unsure about what he should do as he has not been taught what to do and all that pressure makes it worse.

We Think we see guilt but its not. He also wants to keep what he has, normal dog behavior and fast movements toward him back and forth are just amping the stress and if he did not actually have something in his mouth would likely lead to a nip or bite. Control their environment to the best of our ability to prevent opportunities for them to steal and then protect what they stole. Teach alternative behaviors for trading and drop it so the dog will feel safe in giving us and item and not feel the need to retreat and protect. Dogs live in the moment and for a puppy opportunities often are abundant.


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## FosterGolden (Mar 10, 2014)

It's no wonder people get bit! The person was annoying with the asking the same question over and over (did she train "show me your mouth" or does she think a puppy just comes out of the womb knowing what that means?) and poking at him. Imagine going to a foreign country and you do something you have no idea is not OK because of cultural differences and someone has you against a wall touching you annoyingly and asking the same question over and over and over in another language when you have no idea what they are saying. You would A) stand there wondering WTH is happening right now, B) flee, C) curl up in a ball or D) yell or hit the person and tell them to get out of your face (depending on your temperament). 


Train the dog that when they get something they bring it to you and you get them a cookie. Problem solved. It's fun for you and the dog, it's not threatening, you won't get bit, it's faster than harassing your dog in the first place, and I'm sure there are benefits I'm not listing. Put things up you don't want the dog to have. Supervise puppies and untrained dogs. If you can't watch them, crate them with something to do. Teach them a mat behavior. Don't let them develop bad behaviors in the first place.


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## Catgondek (Jul 3, 2017)

Foster Golden, I read this with great interest as I am just beginning to teach my 12 week old puppy how to drop it. It’s been tough as the vet didn’t want anything other than kibble used for a treat, and Bella is convinced that kibble is not the best high value trade! Anyway ... My question is, what is meant by a mat behavior?


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Catgondek said:


> Foster Golden, I read this with great interest as I am just beginning to teach my 12 week old puppy how to drop it. It’s been tough as the vet didn’t want anything other than kibble used for a treat, and Bella is convinced that kibble is not the best high value trade! Anyway ... My question is, what is meant by a mat behavior?


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## kellyguy (Mar 5, 2014)

"Train the dog that when they get something they bring it to you and you get them a cookie."
This works so very well. My boy is very good at not counter surfing and will "drop it" on command, even with high value objects.
He has an ornery streak however and will snatch a dish cloth or cleaning rag and then parade it in front of you to get you to trade for a cookie when he wants one.


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## MomofOtis (Jan 19, 2018)

Dollars to donuts, the dog doesn't know what he's even being scolded for... 

For better, (this definitely works in your favour when you go to redirect a dog to a toy or a treat to stop unwanted behaviour), and for worse, dogs are like people with ADD. (I feel I can say this, as I actually have ADD lol!). They're easily distracted and they live in the moment; they don't focus on one thing or the other for very long... Well, unless it's super-duper interesting to them, then they're REALLY FOCUSED with horse blinders on! So it's pointless to try to punish anything after the fact. Corrections, (not that this is how I'd handle this situation), should happen right when the behaviour is occurring, not even a few seconds later. 

Dog takes tomato, while he has it, correct him or redirect to another activity/object. YES!
If given a correction, (redirecting is better and more positive), at least the dog can connect the correction to having taken the tomato. "I put this juicy red thing in my mouth, my owner is not pleased."

Dog takes tomato, he eats it, owner goes to find phone or camera, then corners the dog, scolds the dog... NO! 
If given this correction now, the dog has no idea why he's being treated negatively... "She's upset, is it because I'm in the corner? What does she want from me!?"

An ounce of prevention is worth a dog pound, (puns, yay!) of the cure. The best way to avoid the dog from stealing tomatoes is to put things where he can't get them or put the dog somewhere else when preparing the food. Lots of options, put a gate up, put the dog in another room, tether the dog, teach the dog to lie down somewhere... etc. Of course, additional obedience training never hurts, teach the dog not to counter-surf, jump on tables, teach the dog the leave it command, drop it etc.... but no, I don't think that what your friend did in the video will help a thing. To the untrained, inexperienced or unread eye, the dog looks "guilty" and it makes for a cute home movie when you believe that and project human traits onto him. But in reality, the dog is only reacting to her tone of voice and body language, but he doesn't know why she's upset with him or what she even wants, just that he doesn't like it and wants her to stop.


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