Dog Eating Everything

[nugget]

hi
i think you've all been through this but i'm having a little
trouble stopping my dog from chewing our clothes,sock,shoes and stealing food from
the table when we're not looking.
i try kepping an eye on him and say no all the time but it's impossible
he dissapears just like that and when i think he just went outside
i see a chewed either sock,a piece of our clothes shoes or even candy that he
found under something where my children lef it. i'm trying really
hard to stop it but as i said it's inpossible!!!
please help

by nugget (nugget is 1 of my dogs-the trouble maker):msniwonder:

 

[Jean Cote]

Your answer is supervision.

You must catch him in the act of stealing something you do not want, and to immediately remove it. You can always keep a long line on him so that he cannot run away from you, you can step on it. (Always remove the line when you are not supervising your dog.)

Do you crate your dog? It's a lot easier to supervise your dog when you don't have to do it all the time. If you are eating or busy, you can place him in his crate, and when you are ready to supervise him you can let him out. Two weeks of complete supervision and you'll see tremendous changes.

I think you need to tighten your rules, he should earn his freedom. Right now he can do whatever he wants, go anywhere he wants and you are the victim of his desire. But if you change your mindset as to what your dog should be, then he would be earning everything he gets, including food and free time. I wouldn't even let him go away into another room with those kind of behaviors, but that's me.

 

[gardengirl]

Jean is right. Supervision is the key to your problem. Most dogs can't be left alone for a year or even two. Unfortunately many people are anxious to let their dogs free in the house, but that just sets the dog up for problems. If you remove the items and supervise your dog, you will never have to discipline him. Here is a place to start:

1. Pretend to be a dog by getting down on your knees and looking around your house. What do you see? Are there things on the floor that would be interesting and fun if you were a dog? How about shoes, pencils, paper clips, clothing, slippers, etc.?
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: Pick up all objects from the floor and put them where they belong, or put them in a closet and shut the door.

2. Look around your house. Do you see a door that is open? What is on the other side of that door? Is it a closet with lots of cool things on the floor? Or is it a bedroom with sweet-smelling socks that are easy to reach?
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: Close all doors that lead to trouble. The best thing to do is close all doors except for the room you are in. If your dog is having behavior problems, he should be supervised at all times.

3. Trash the trash. Where does your family keep the trash? Check the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, and the yard.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO: All trash needs to be put away. Trash cans should be put under sinks and in closets or cupboards. If a trash can cannot be put away, it must have a lid.

Then do this:
Sit down with your whole family and decide what the rules of the house will be for your dog. Everyone must agree so that your dog will get the same rules from everyone. Here is a sample list of rules. Yours may be different.
No jumping on people.
No begging at the table.
Dog is allowed on the children's beds.
Dog is not allowed on living room couch.
Must sit before receiving all food.
Must sit to say hello to company.

I hope this helps. I know you have your hands full, but if you can try and get the rules down, and people to help you, you will start to see a difference in your dog.

 

[zhaira046]

my dog cookie every thing i eat she wants to eat it to
please help me to solve this problem,
help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[marineangel]

My boxer does that sometimes, i bought him a little teddy bear for Valentine's day and he decided to pee on it so i had to throw it away and i found him chewing on a teddy bear i bought my husband for Valentine's day, lol i wanted to kill him! I find him chewing on socks sometimes but no big deal once i tell him to stop he stops and hasn't done it again ever since.

 

[leema]

I suggest looking at the 'zen' suggestions on Sue Ailsby's training levels, at least for food stealing matters:

 

[l_l_a]

others have given very good advice. The only thing I can add is that in addition to supervision (which is when you are paying attention to him), also use management like putting things out of his reach for when you are not there. Management just makes it physically impossible for the dog to do the undesirable behavior because the more the dog does it, especially if it's inherently fun to him, then the stronger of a habit it becomes. By preventing him from having access to those things, he can't reward himself in your absence and develop a strong habit of doing those things, so that when you are there to supervise him and train him it's easier because you're going up against less of a habit.

 

[AnimeLover12]

My dog Trigger is only 7 years old(dog years), but she is such a pain!
Just today, she chewed up my MP3 player!
I understand my door can be easily opened, and it's getting fixed today. Although, we know she eats; pencils, undergarments, lint, tissues(even used ones!), and small plastic toys as well.
I don't understand, why does she eat everything? I'm glad she hasn't reached my dolls yet, but now I have to check my room.

Please help my family and I deal with this problem!

 

[southerngirl]

My dog Trigger is only 7 years old(dog years), but she is such a pain!
Just today, she chewed up my MP3 player!
I understand my door can be easily opened, and it's getting fixed today. Although, we know she eats; pencils, undergarments, lint, tissues(even used ones!), and small plastic toys as well.
I don't understand, why does she eat everything? I'm glad she hasn't reached my dolls yet, but now I have to check my room.

Please help my family and I deal with this problem!

Hi, if you re-post this in the Dog Behavior forum as your own thread you'll get more help.
Redirect her with a toy that Trigger can chew(Kongs toys are great) What breed is Trigger? How long do you walk her? Does she get play time, do you teach her tricks?

 

[AnimeLover12]

Update. Checked my room and it's trashed. Yes, it's my fault for putting stuff that low, but I swear she shouldn't do this in the first place. I had a wooden chinese parasol shredded, erasers eaten, pens and markers broken; plastic bags and paper towels torn.

My dog is Black lab-Huskey mix. She is 7 dog years old. Yup, she's a girl. We didn't name her Trigger. She has a Black Kong.(She tore up the red one)
We walk her regularly, but my Mom is sick right now; so she can't walk her. My sister and I can't train her like she can. She gets tons of playtime. My Mom works in the morning until noon, my sister and I come home around 3pm. We try and teach her tricks like; sit to go outside, bark when people come to the door, etc. We all fail, she hasn't really learned a thing.