Teach your food-stealing dog a leave-it command
My dog steals food. I can generally prevent him from successfully accessing food except at the dog park.
People bring food with them. My dog, being a master thief, quickly steals anything he can get at.
Shouldn’t people leave food out of the park? And what can I do to deal with this?
Different municipalities have different laws. In some jurisdictions, owners are prohibited from bringing training treats into dog parks. The logic being that loose dogs may become possessive and fight over dropped treats.
Many people bring human food into parks, be it a coffee, a doughnut or a sandwich to enjoy. Regardless of the rules that may be in place, someone is going to bring food into a dog park, even if it’s an energy bar tucked into a purse.
Off-leash dogs have greater opportunities to steal food because they are free to explore at a distance. There truly is no way to control what other owners bring into the park. Leashing dogs in the park is ill-advised. Leashes can become tangled as other dogs run by, creating a safety concern.
Dogs that are successful at stealing food will do so more often in the future. The dog is being rewarded for their behaviour. Training at the dog park, especially the initial phases, is counterproductive. If dogs are to learn to ignore found food, then they cannot be allowed to gain access to unattended food.
Pets that ignore food are those that have learned to do so. Teaching a leave-it command is helpful. It’s far more useful and convenient to teach an automatic leave-it without verbal commands and micromanaging.
Train an automatic leave-it in a controlled environment first. Teach in silence.
Generously reward the dog for ignoring tempting food distractions.
Increase difficulty when the dog is capable of facing more. Owners will have to work in various locations. They will need to practice turning their back on their dog. They will also need to practice working at a distance from the dog.
Owners who want a dog that is well-mannered all have one thing in common. They understand that wanting a dog to behave is not enough. You need to train them to do it. Our puppy used to follow us around and behave. She has just turned four months old, and our sweet puppy has become wilful. She pulls on the leash, trying to reach other people and dogs. When we call her, she no longer comes. We are really disappointed with the effect training has had on our puppy. Can we get things back to the way they were?
Puppies are in many ways similar to children. They bond to their primary caregivers, sometimes clinging to them. As they mature, they progress through various stages such as the terrible twos, the fierce fours and the teenage years. Children take 20 years to mature.
Dogs take anywhere from one to three years, depending on breed. They progress through phases, albeit on an accelerated timeline. Some phases are challenging.
Clingy puppies are concerning. Normal social puppies are confident. They want to get out in the world. With that comes some an- noying behaviours that need addressing with training. Many service and working dog programs spend the dog’s entire first year on basics and socialization. Pet owners should take note of that.
The bumps are normal. Training isn’t the likely culprit here. It’s the normal development of a social puppy. So long as the means and method are sound, the benefits of training come with time and practice and maturity. Yvette Van Veen is an animal behaviour consultant. Write her at advice@awesomedogs.ca.