Dog trouble

[Threemusketeers80]

I'm feeling extremely fed up of my dogs behaviour. He's just turned 2 and he's absolutely awful.

I've done a lot of work with him, training him. But he's stubborn and doesn't listen.

*He constantly jumps up at the kitchen tops trying to steal stuff, even non food items

*he stands whining at the kitchen door because he wants to go in to try to steal thing's.

• he point blank ignores you calling his name. He knows it and will respond when it suits him.

*He will go through your bags to try to take things.

• He barks at you if you don't let him in the kitchen.

• we can't let him off the lead because he's too overly friendly with other dog's. And would ignore you calling him back.

We've been consistent with our boundaries and training but he honestly could not give a sh**t

His plus points are he's loving, and gentle, and walks beautifully on a lead next to you and is a very gentle soul. He's just a giant twat. I guess I'm asking for some hits or tips before I get a behaviourist in to try and tame his habits.

Go straight to a trainer/ behaviourists not people on the internet. My 2yo has been quite the challenge, i cannot count the hours with trainers and behaviourists we've had but one thing is for sure - it was all worth it

My main advice would be put your bags away and don't leave anything out on the work surfaces that he can access, whether it's food related or not. Set the environment up so your dog succeeds, rather than so you're constantly having to manage his behaviour.

Instead of using doors to prevent access, put baby gates so that he can still see and hear what's going on. It should help to stop the scratching, barking and whining.

I could be wrong, but it sounds to me like he's maybe managed to steal things off the counters and out of bags in the past and so he wants to keep trying in case he's successful this time round?

Is he a standard schnauzer? Because he sounds like our twat. But I would get straight onto a behaviourist. We’ve had one out to help us (she also runs the classes we go to) and you can’t beat having someone in your own place seeing the behaviour and adjusting their approach to suit your dog. I also agree with whoever said to make the environment suit your dog. If you know they go for stuff then don’t leave it out.

That's all stuff that will calm down as he gets older. He sounds like a great dog who is a real handful. I thought he was a lab until you said he walked beautifully on the lead

. Me too!

It's a phase OP - he is at 'that' age. Be consistent and carry on with your reward based training and he will come good.

The problem is we have a small kitchen so stuff tends to some what be around, as much as I try to keep everything out of reach. But it's a constant cycle of crying at the gate or door, to go into the kitchen to just see if there is anything to steal.

I worked really hard with the walking, he at one point thought he was a sled dog and drag me around so I put a LOT of hours into cracking it. I just feel it's a constant negative cycle and it's not the relationship I want with my dog. He just flat out ignores you when you call his name.

He on the whole is lovely, lovely with people and kid's and generally a softy. Just the behaviour. I think I could tolerate the top surfing if he actually responded when you called him. And he may have been a lab in his past life but reborn a very long legged whippet

Everything you do with him needs to be about helping him to succeed so prevent prevent prevent. I know it's hard but you've got to stop letting him self reward - if every time he jumped up on the side he got nothing (and no attention) he'd stop doing it. Same with bags.

A really fantastic place to go for advice if dog training advice and support on Facebook. You must read the guides first before asking for help, and they also have a paid for advice group which is unlimited. Just search for the name above but make sure you join the right one. It's the one which is admin only responses and a behaviourist called Sally Bradbury is one of the main advice givers - she's no nonsense but absolutely knows her stuff.

The problem is we have a small kitchen so stuff tends to some what be around, as much as I try to keep everything out of reach.

I totally appreciate that it's difficult but as long as there's any chance of him finding something, he'll keep trying to jump up.

If he's ignoring his name then you could use a house-line.

He needs different training.

If one type of method hasn't worked, pick out the good bits and use a different method for the rest.

Some breeds are way more food obsessed and difficult to train and recall than others (Beagles in particular nightmare on these two scores).

Also, simply do not allow him in the kitchen. This will likely involve having to listen to him scratch and whine for a good couple of months until he realises it's not working.

I don't let him in the kitchen. Unless he needs to go out to the toilet, but he will jump up and steal food off the kid's plates at the table. He doesn't try it with me. So he's a bit of a hooligan all over the place. I honestly do put stuff out of reach of him, food and non food, but if you are cooking and he slips past the children he's up on the side like a shot.

He used to respond to treat rewards then he hit an age where he will just ignore you and is no longer interested in treats or you when out walking. He wants to sniff and do what he's doing. I've tried a lot of advice online but he really doesn't give a rats ass. When he's got it in his head he's doing something, nothing seems to deterr him.

Maybe I'll just have to try and take it right back to basics but I think he's always going to be a food thief and a stubborn minded dog. I do have a training line for him, I'll try and take it back to puppy training

Have your kids ever fed him off their plates, or allowed him (intentionally or otherwise) to jump up and take food off them?

It honestly sounds like a management issue. If the children can't be trusted not to let the dog in to the kitchen etc. while eating then an adult needs to make sure the dog is elsewhere - either in a crate, shut in another room or on a tether somewhere.

I get how frustrating it is - I have a beagle who is really food motivated and who will steal given the opportunity, so we just can't afford to give him the opportunity.

I guess he's already connected going out to the toilet with 'snaffling some food' so the problem is how to break the system and re-programme him!

Various things spring to mind:

take him out the house a different way (there may not be a different way)

build a frame making a 'corridor' to the door so he can't get into the main body of the kitchen (possibly impossible)

hold him tightly on very short leash when taking him to the door

train him to toilet at very specific regular times in which there is zero food on any surface

do not allow him to 'decide' when he needs to go out as this by default cannot be trusted to be a secret food snaffle device

re-train yourselves and take radical action to ensure there is no food at all on the surfaces in the kitchen, except when you're literally sitting and eating in which case he is locked in another room

OR accept your dog is a chronic food snaffler and no surface is safe and this is how you live from now on!

I have a feeling my daughter did although never when I was present in the room, they are older children so you would think they would be trustworthy. Our living room is adjacent to the kitchen so can't shut him in the kitchen so the dining area is in the living room, so limited to where we can shut him.

I'm pretty on it, unfortunately not everyone else is, I have explained to them that every time he successfully takes something its a win for him. Even if it something from the recycling

I block him from getting to the tops when I let him out, so it's in the living room or out the back door. I always wash my plated in the sink etc or he will be in the sink. Unfortunately not every one else in the house does the same so it's a bit of a battle

Pointy hound you say? My crazed one stole my toast directly from the toaster yesterday.. At the back of the bench...

Aah this is a retraining your family members issue. Quite something else again.

People think it's cute etc but perhaps they could be reminded of the dangers of if he ate something inappropriate - chocolate or something in a wrapper (bloat) or something with cooked bones etc.

We actually bought 2 new bins with the press to open /close buttons. Kitchen is kept super sprayed... Minimum stuff to sniff at up there but cleaning product! Ime if your dog's eyes and nose are bench level it is difficult! Our slightly smaller pointy ddogs can't see anything exciting so don't even try to snaffle stuff!

So as usual, it's a human problem and not a dog problem

Unfortunately that means that your dogs' behaviour won't change unless the human behaviour changes. Dogs learn by reinforcement, so every time he jumps up at the sides or at the table and gets even the tiniest lick of food, he's learning that jumping up is a good thing for him to do - which means he's more likely to keep jumping up in the future.

Are your children old enough to understand that he could get really sick or even die if he eats something he shouldn't? Chocolate, grapes, raisins and onions are all toxic to dogs and it doesn't take much of the wrong item for him to land himself in the vets on a drip, leaving you with an expensive bill.

If you can't physically shut him out of rooms then you may need to use a lead so that you can tether him somewhere while you eat and clean up, then he gets no access to the kitchen until it's clear and safe for him to be in there again.

Our dog will be six in February and we still have a lockable bin, child locks and a baby gate to keep him safe and out of the kitchen unsupervised. Like you, we have a tiny kitchen and he has to go through there to get outside so we have no choice but to lock things away, even if it means cramming stuff away or using the microwave as an extra cupboard, lol.

Maybe it's a bit more of a common problem then I first thought. Yes they are old enough, however one is ASD and can sometime not realise it's still in reach.

The other pointy nose will leave it if you tell her too, however she has worked out how to open the bin so that's now turned the other way so she can't open it. He is definitely better than he used to be. I can now eat in the same room without having him launch himself at me. However you can never get too complacent.

He's so lovely but also an absolute food gremlin. I'll take it all the way back to basics.

Ah we tried the bin the other way.. Ended up buying a proper bin that clipped shut.. She has moved on to opening the tall cupboard the dried ddog food is stored in and helps herself..

If you can't block the kitchen is there room for a raised bed in there? Not for sleeping but for him to lie on and get "paid" (normal food, keep some his ration in a pot)? Right now you are telling him a lot of what you don't want him to do, which is frustrating for you both. Give an acceptable alternative and reinforce it.