[nagdu] Picking up things that aren't toys

[Tami Jarvis]

Tracy,

You're on the right track, but in an intermediate phase. You can start 
teaching him "mine" and "yours" by labeling things "mine" as you take 
them and replacing them with toys that are "yours." That's one approach. 
Or you can teach concepts like "bring" and "give" or "drop." I've come 
to the conclusion that the important thing is to have the dog bring the 
things he/she picks up to me instead of wandering off with them to chew 
them up in secret. Loki, being a puppy, gets endless entertainment out 
of the whole game sometimes, which makes me want to scream... Then I 
remember that both of our other dogs grew out of it and will show me 
things or even bring them to me in a useful way. Krokus, being pretty 
much an adult, should work through the maddening intermediate phase a 
lot faster. /smile/

hth,

Tami

On 01/04/2015 07:43 AM, Tracy Carcione via nagdu wrote:
> Krokus picks up lots of things that aren't his toys, like my shoes,
> hats, papers, anything.  Really, I don't mind if he carries things
> around, but then he starts chewing on them, and that I mind a lot.
> At first, I scolded him and told him sternly to come so I could take the
> thing away.  Predictably, he didn't want to come.  So I started calling
> him cheerfully to come, and praising him when he did.  That way, he
> gives me what he's got, but he doesn't learn not to pick it up.  I've
> heard of trading a toy for the thing he shouldn't have.  How do people
> manage this? Do you pick up toys and carry them around, waiting for the
> dog to grab something non-toy?  Is there some other solution to this
> problem?
> Tracy
>
>
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