A happy dog often has something in their mouth! Whether it’s just to hold and show off, or even better, if it can be shred or eaten. One of the difficulties of teaching dogs to live in a human world is reigning in how they naturally want to explore the world with their mouths. They need to learn what toys belong to them and what belongs to us. Sometimes these items will even be identical in appearance, such as many toys for human babies.
As with any behavior we are looking at changing, the first step is preventing the habit from happening. This makes sure that the dog is not receiving any reinforcement from stealing items or food, and it allows us time to build up a new behavior in the meantime. What makes it incredibly difficult with behaviors such as counter surfing is how they frequently get on a random reinforcement schedule. Usually, there is nothing for the dog to steal, but the unpredictable nature of the reinforcement can turn the dog into little gamblers. They are eternally optimistic that they will get a reward even if months have gone by without any success.
You will need to think of all the items and/or locations the dog is prone to grabbing things. If the dog only steals shoes by the entryway then you can look at either putting the shoes in a covered container the dog can’t get into, or you can block access to the entryway itself.
Tools that will make your life easier will be baby gates, lockable containers (even locking trash cans), and the use of a crate or x-pen when you aren’t able to watch the dog. Because dogs can be experts at moving off unnoticed, you will have the best success if you focus on guarding the items/rooms over the dog. Many people will use gates to prevent access to the kitchen entirely so they don’t have to be quite as diligent about making sure food is never on the counters!
The other items you will want to have easy access to are alternative items the dog can pick up. Have a variety of bones and stuffed toys (if you don't have a dog who destroys toys) around your home within reach of you at all times.
When you first start this training, you will want to have only dog appropriate toys around. Give the dog time to develop a strong reinforcement history for chewing bones and playing with dog toys. Praise the dog when you see them engaging with a toy, and if you have time you can even go over and start a game with them or a cuddle session!
You can introduce the dog to a cue such as “Where’s your toy*?”* and encourage them to find a toy that is within easy reach.
As the dog starts to love his toys, you can purposefully introduce items on the floor or counter that you want him to ignore. Start with boring items like a pen or piece of paper, and gradually introduce more exciting items like mittens. When you introduce these tests, try to actively be playing with the dog and a toy. As soon as he starts to investigate the human item, you can verbally redirect him back to the toy that you are excitedly moving in your hands. Praise him for making the right choice! If you need to, calmly remove the item from the dog’s mouth and set it back on the floor next to you where you can guard it with your hand or body. Keep the items on the ground or on a low surface such as a coffee table where he has to make an active choice to not pick them up.
When you are no longer able to directly supervise the dog, pick up the items and go back into management mode.
As your dog progresses and finds it easy to stay engaged with a toy when tempting items are on the ground, start to test your dog when they are out of play mode. Can your dog remain chewing a bone or lying on a dog bed when you drop your items onto the floor? Praise your dog for making a great decision! Start to build up the duration you can leave tempting items around without needing to intervene.
What if your management fails and you suddenly find that the dog has brought you a shoe that you thought you had put away? Any time you notice your dog has an item in their mouth that they shouldn’t have, calmly approach and remove the item. Praise the dog for dropping it, and then place the item on the ground within easy reach of your body for at least a few minutes while you are able to supervise. Then put the item back into lockdown where your dog can’t get it!
Do not reward the dog for bringing you an item that you did not ask for! With a young dog, you can still choose to redirect them to a toy to chew on instead. Do not worry about discouraging the dog’s retrieve, as this will be taught in a structured way
What if your management fails, but instead of letting you grab the item the dog goes into keep-away mode?
If the dog is playing Keep Away, your job is to remain as calm as possible while you attempt to approach him. You want to slowly “walk the dog down” without any lunging, reaching, or verbally cuing “Come”/”Drop” (as your dog isn’t listening at this point). By moving slowly and calmly you are trying to be as least reinforcing as possible. Eventually, the dog will either get trapped in a corner and/or realize this is no longer fun. The dog might even try to lie down to chew on the item and be annoyed that they have to keep getting up to run away from you each time you come close. You want the dog to learn that running away is futile; you keep approaching, and that this is not a game of chase.
Alternatively, with a dog who has a strong keep-away history, go ahead and use food rewards as needed to get the dog to come to you and drop the item. Try to only use food until the dog no longer wants to play keep away but instead easily lets you take the item. You don’t want to accidentally teach your dog the chain of picking up an item just to get a cookie.