Ask Me Help Desk - How do I get my 5 month old puppy to stop stealing things around our place?

We got a nice puppy from a good breeder. He's sweet and has a nice disposition. Even loves the cat, but he STEALS things!

I will be in one room and hear him chewing something odd and come in and he has stolen yet ANOTHER thing he doesn't need to be chewing.

This is not just shoes, clothes, etc. He will steal vitamin bottles, he stole an bottle of embossing powder last month and had it in his mouth, all the glitter, and we had to rush him to the vet. Luckily he didn't ingest much of it, and was okay.

The month before it was an entire bottle of drano! I mean, the list goes on and on.

When I tell the puppy no, he doesn't listen! He is of hunting stock and very pleasant to be around, but also VERY stubborn.

When he goes outside he will steal the pots with plants in them and round around until all the dirt and the plants are vacant from the pots!

Arggh, it's so annoying, and not to mention dangerous for him!

What does one do to stop this?

Is this typical for a 5 month old puppy? Been a long time since I raised a puppy.

He is 5 months old and there are toys everywhere!
To put it into perspective it is basically like putting a 2 year old child in a room full of toys and expecting them not to touch anything!

For now I would suggest putting anything that you do not want chewe out of reach...
The soil in the potplants can have something that he does not like the smell of put on top of it, citronella works great.

And if he starts chewing anything like furniture then you can buy special products from pet stores to help stop them from chewing said items.

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When I tell the puppy no, he doesn't listen! He is of hunting stock and very pleasant to be around, but also VERY stubborn.

Did you realise what it meant to own a hunting breed before you ordered him?

They need a LOT of mental stimulation.
You can play special hunting games with them by setting up coarses in your back yard.
One that another member suggested which was great (Her name is Altenweg) was to put a hole in a tennis ball and attach a rope to it...
You then throw the ball and when they run and get it you can guide them back to you by pulling the rope.

You can set up games in sand pits where you hide food or toys under the sand and they have to sniff them out and find them.

Another one I have heard of is more for the hardcore gundog owner.. they set up a track around the perimeter of their yard made from line/rope with a motor... They then attached a fuzzy toy to it and it went wizzing around the edge of the yard for the dog to chase.

Well, I'm EXTREMELY familiar with the breed, as we have owned SEVERAL of this breed over my lifetime!

Yes, I know.. he is tall now and can get into everything almost.

It's almost like I got to set up 8 foot shelves in our home to keep things out of his reach.

Do they NOT understand the word NO at 5 months?

I agree, he's very active, and loves to fetch and chase balls and sticks...

But honestly I don't have time to give him 2 hours of exercise like playing every day.

We take him for walks, at least an 1 1/2 hour every day, but still these dogs are So active!

I still don't know how to get him to stop stealing things... I cannot put EVERYTHING out of reach...

Is this typical of puppies, to like to steal things. Once he gets his hands on something, it's like "woohoo.. I've got something new and then runs into the other room where i must chase him from under the coffee table and get whatever is in his mouth out of it!"

I suppose to him it's a game, but it's a dangerous one! I guess I could take him to the dog park.. I bet he'd like that...

Is there any good websites speficially for puppies of hunting breeds? I think my questions about my dog are probably common ones for other people with the same breed and maybe they could help me further.

He may always be a 'stealer'
My parents Great Dane is now 14 months old and he STILL steals everything he can get his mouth onto... he taken tea towels off the kitchen bench, he steals the washing off the line, he eats the rocks out of potplants, he even picks up the whole garbage bin and drags it across the floor...

They had to find ways around all that...
Now the tea towels live in a drawer, they trained him (partially) not to take washing off the line by tying bags of water to it, the rocks were coated in citronella, and the bin was moved into the pantry cupboard.

A 1 1/2 hour walk is far too long for a 5 months old puppy, you will end up doing damage to his joints.
Perhaps substitute 3/4 hour of walking time for an hour of solid playing or 'hunting'

What breed is he?

All hunting breeds are the same, but different, I can more than probably find you some breed specific pages, or even find out some information first hand (Attending a dog show tomorrow)

I* don't know about the 1 1/2 hours being too "long"... He's almost full grown in looks and nearly 60 lbs..

We usually just go for an hour walk, but we will easily walk 1.5 miles...

Yeah.. I'm going to have to be creative in the ways I keep him from getting into stuff he should not!

Hanging water bags off the laundry line? LOL>. I had to laugh my head off at that... not to be rude, but I could well see myself resorting to such measures!

He's so strong now, he's carry off 6 inch pots FULL of dirt AND my beloved plants, :(... around the house like it's a tiny mouse!

I'm starting to think I need to put ALL my pots into ceramic or concrete pots but we have a concrete pot that is 12 inch tall that he picked up also yesterday.

Well, I am thinking I could use all this strength for "something"! He could help me get the garbage up to the curb.. hehe...

Yeah.. puppies ARE mischievous.. It's been at least 13 years since I raised a puppy as my last dog died at 11 and we didn't get a new one until this new pup.
I've obviously FORGOTTEN how destructive puppies can be! I had house-crated my last dog... but the one before generally stayed outside.. so didn't really chew up stuff...

I am not sure he will CHEW everything forever. My last lab just STOPPED chewing at 1 year ! Yeah! And for some weird reason, he NEVER wanted to get into the garbage.

My, he was a GOOD dog in a lot of ways.. he was so loving... LOVED the cat.. adored her! They were good mates.. always hanging out together and playing..
This one is a bit too headstrong.. and the cat is older now.. over 10 years... so sometimes he gets to be too much for the cat and she starts hissing at him.

He's isn't "stealing" things - dogs have no concept of what is yours and what is mine. He is finding irresistible toys all over the house.

My yellow Lab - at age almost 2 - chewed up a video cam. Yes, a video cam. And all the cords and the charger. I have no idea why. Then one day he lost interest in anything that wasn't his toys.

Dogs don't have hands (obviously) and can only tell textures with their mouths. That's why they take and chew up things.

I have learned with puppies to keep them with me - and I know it's a pain but after I had the toes chewed off a pair of very expensive boots I learned to put things up high and keep doors closed.

My GS is 135 pounds, very tall, and she can reach onto tables and countertops - I was lucky. She never took one thing that didn't belong to her. My Gordon Setter grabbed everything she could get into her mouth or drag, including one memorable time when she took my wallet under the deck and ate money, credit cards and my Drivers License!

I've got a yellow lab too, and when he was a puppy, he chewed his way into an eviction notice . Now he's a yard dog. We let him in during hot and cold times, but he's primarily an outdoor dog. He's nine now, and I hate to say it, because my 2 Great Danes were very dear to me, but he is the best dog I have ever had.

Labs are great, but you have to put up with the chewing while they're young.

So like Shaz, and Miss Judy mentioned, keep "valuables" out of reach.

But they definitely can be trained quite easily. Good luck to you.

Although its impossible to keep an eye on him at all times, something I have found to work very well is when you see him getting into something he's not supposed to, make a very loud noise, such as banging two pots together. This should startle him (hopefully). Then say "NO" very loudly and make him go to a kennel or "time out" area

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Originally Posted by tany072075

Although its impossible to keep an eye on him at all times, something I have found to work very well is when you see him getting into something he's not supposed to, make a very loud noise, such as banging two pots together. This should startle him (hopefully). Then say "NO" very loudly and make him go to a kennel or "time out" area

It did it by setting up baby gates. When my destructive dogs are NOT within range I put them in the kitchen and blocked off both doors, making sure the kitchen was pretty destruction proof. I also bought a dog playpen and set that up in the family room so they could go in there without being kenneled.

Believe it or not - I bought a baby monitor and put it in the kitchen so I could hear what was going on.

I have also developed a "mother's ear." When all is quiet I figure SOMETHING EVIL is going on and go and check!

When I can hear them - we're good!

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Originally Posted by RomanticsRhot

The month before it was an entire bottle of drano! I mean, the list goes on and on.

I have smart 10 year old children who are in my home and can't find the draino (some times I can't):eek:

You need to keep things out of the baby's reach. They are babies:)

The heavy pots for outside is a good idea, that's what I did.

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Originally Posted by RomanticsRhot

I* don't know about the 1 1/2 hours being too "long"... He's almost full grown in looks and nearly 60 lbs..

We usually just go for an hour walk, but we will easily walk 1.5 miles...

The below information is taken from this website: Raising A Large Breed Puppy - Animal Frequency
It details about owning a large breed.

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This is a guide for anyone considering a large breed puppy for their family, from my experience on what it takes to raise a healthy, happy German Shepherd Dog or any large breed.
BODY: Selah Shepherds
(Pause and Think) Raising a Large breed puppy!
As with any large breed , We believe fast growing puppies need "Free Will" movement. Exercise at will ! Muscle development is very important for bones and joints to properly develop.. . This means to us a puppy NOT being in a crate more than 3 hrs. a day total. Prefer not in a crate at all. Save the crate for traveling purposes only. They need a large area they can move and play in.. Movement is all part of what a puppy needs and play is what all puppies crave. Walking a puppy in a park once a day is not enough. Continued free will movement is.. A puppy with another dog to play with,or lots of toys and a large area to be in is sufficient. Young puppies with these pleasures will get enough exercise. . As they grow bigger, they will need even more exercise. If you work long hrs. A puppy is better off in a large kennel , fenced in yard outdoors,or a kitchen blocked with a gate, than in a crate they can barely move around in. Yes, a crate is the fastest way to house break any dog, but don't set yourself up for problems, figure out another method of house breaking, We can help you with suggestions on this depending on your situation. They will need all the attention and love that you can give! Over exertion is not good for their joints, trying to get all their exercise in all at once is hard on them, let them be a puppy, let them be a dog. They will exercise just the right amount. They need to play and be able to play when they want. This is natures way and is important they can do this! German Shepherd puppies grow fast, they can not develop enough muscle tone if they are in a crate a lot!! I can not stress this enough!

Do not do any type of agility programs with your puppy until at least one yr. of age, and at this point it should only be an introduction for going into the second year, a large breed puppy is still not fully mature. The repetition of agility is stressful on maturing joints.( Its not a natural way of going). Their bones are not completely calcified until two yrs. of age.! Please keep this in mind. A one yr. old pup may look like a mature dog, but are very much still a pup. This would also include going up and down long stairs on a daily routine several times a day is unnatural stress in repetition!

We really like to encourage a lot of outdoors for your pup, They love it! Sunshine, fresh air, grass and nature. Puppies find themselves intrigued and entertained! Take short walks, making a habit of playing a lot outdoors, helps them mature into a sound mind and body. German shepherds are high energy, working dogs, give them the outdoors and this will make a much calmer easier dog to manage indoors. A toy breed gets enough exercise inside, but these guys , are large to giant size need much more room. Fence in your yard. This is all tips for puppy buyers to think on for a success on raising a happy,well developed,and easy to train German Shepherd Dog.

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Basically you should not be doing repatitive exercie like walking for such a long amount of time, it WILL damage their joints.

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Yeah.. I'm going to have to be creative in the ways I keep him from getting into stuff he should not!

Hanging water bags off the laundry line? LOL>. I had to laugh my head off at that... not to be rude, but I could well see myself resorting to such measures!

Well... you need to do what works for the dogs, if you will not resort to such measures then you may always have a ill behaved dog.

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Yeah.. puppies ARE mischievous.. It's been at least 13 years since I raised a puppy as my last dog died at 11 and we didn't get a new one until this new pup.
I've obviously FORGOTTEN how destructive puppies can be! I had house-crated my last dog... but the one before generally stayed outside.. so didn't really chew up stuff...

I am not sure he will CHEW everything forever. My last lab just STOPPED chewing at 1 year ! Yeah! And for some weird reason, he NEVER wanted to get into the garbage.

My, he was a GOOD dog in a lot of ways.. he was so loving... LOVED the cat.. adored her! They were good mates.. always hanging out together and playing..
This one is a bit too headstrong.. and the cat is older now.. over 10 years... so sometimes he gets to be too much for the cat and she starts hissing at him.

Yes he may always chew, I know quite a few dogs that still act like puppies even though they are in their old age.

The cat may grow to like him once he calms down (if he does) It is hard for older animals to accept a new older one, something that needs to be considered before getting a new animal.

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Just Dahlia agrees: I like your idea about the citronela in the pots

I'm a huge fan of citronella!
My parents bought a citronella collar for their great dane...

Now if he goes to bark all they have to do is pick the collar up off the table... he doesn't even wear it anymore!

Mind you, I think Prada's medication would work just as well... poor little things, it really tastes foul.