I have a three-year-old Collie cross and he has a habit of stealing items to chew. He doesn't do it whilst I am out of the house so I think it may be for attention. He does it when I am in the room, or in another room, and started after we had had him for about six months (aged two).
He has off-lead walks and games of fetch every day and he has his food in treat balls, Kongs or scattered. He has lots of toys and chews (stag bars/rawhide) but gets quickly bored. I've tried swapping for treats and other items but I think that has made it worse and am now putting him in his crate when he does it. I remove what I can but he will take cushions off the couch, clothing and newspapers.
Any ideas as to the best way to stop this behaviour? Should I just persevere with the crate/time out? He has also growled a few times when I have tried to take things from him.
Many thanks,
Jack's mum
Tidy up!
ReplyDeleteYou need to make it, just for a little while - that there is nothing "illegal" for him to chew. Just his toys and chews, nothing more. After at least a couple of weeks, begin to add back in more boring items, one by one, until you know he is not interested in them (i.e. don't introduce six in a day & think he's fine because you did one before breakfast, one after breakfast, etc).
Also look into ways of re-teaching him to trade "stolen" items for legal toys/chews - try Kikipup's YouTube channel for some great training videos.
Also, it would be worth a trip to the vets to ensure there's nothing physiologically wrong that may be making him do this.