# Kleptomaniac



## CindyDiep (Dec 5, 2010)

When I got my first Havanese (Teddy) about a year ago, we noticed that he really like to steal things from us and run away. It seems like he does it for fun and knows that we will chase him down for it. It could be clothes, undergarments, dish towels, or any random things he can get his paws on. When we tell him to "drop it," he always puts up a fight and continues to keep it in his mouth. This morning, it took at least a couple minutes until he dropped my pencil sharpener. The only time he will actually drop something is if I offer him food. But I learned that if I give him food in exchange for the stolen item, then he would continue to steal in hopes of receiving more food!

Does any one have any tips for me? He's been stealing less than before, because now he's more occupied playing with his sister (3 1/2 month Winnie).
But now, Winnie is also starting to steal things as well and dives underneath the couch or bed with it.

Cindy


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## becks (Oct 18, 2010)

LOL !!

I know what your saying sister. My wee guys is exactly the same it is a game, except his main two targets are my shoes and anything he can get his teeth on from my handbag. I try and keep these well away from him but really anything goes. I also use food as reward for bringing and giving (which he willingly does), but I also wonder if he does it just for the treat. If I ignore him he will continue to chew on the item, and it is definitely not a good idea to chase as this is the ultimate reward. 

Cindy, I will be checking back in here to see if there are any helpful replies.


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

if washing machine door is opened, Roki goes inside and pick all socks. Nothing else, but only socks! Then he runs around the house with his "prey". The same is with all kind of washing cloths, small towels... I tried to get those things out of his mouth, but that was invitation to play warious games. At the end I realized that the best tactic is to ignore. When I ignore his stealing business he loses interest in about half a minute. But good thing abut his stelaing is that he doesn't steal small (dangerous) things like pencil sharpener. He is simply not interested in them.


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## SOPHIES-MOM (Oct 4, 2010)

Sophie will grab anything and run, hoping I will chase her.The only way to get it back is with a treat. So I know I'm encouraging this behavior. But how else can you get it back? I can't catch her if I try. I have a feeling many of us here have the same problem. Life is just a game to them.


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## Thumper (Feb 18, 2007)

Gucci loves the 'chase me' game, that might be her absolute favorite game to play so I'll just mark this thread and commiserate, lol

Although, I have trained her to mostly play this game with a few certain toys, you can try that..using one item and making it super fun so they keep going back to that one thing. For us, it is these little small stuffed puppies that say "Merry Christmas ruff ruff ruff" with red flashing lights that she seems to be attached to. They were originally stolen from Christmas stockings a few years ago. I got lucky this year and found more of them at Walgreens, so I managed to restock up on them..I have about 6-7 laying around the house for this game.

Kara


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## Flynn Gentry-Taylor (Jan 17, 2008)

Sir Winston loves to steal any kind of paper, he carries it very gently at first but will shred it in a few minutes. The other thing is he puts all his toys in his crate, or bed. The worst thing would be my reading glasses, if he can find them and I can't I just look in his crate and there they are!! So far he has not chewed them..so far lol!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

CindyDiep said:


> When I got my first Havanese (Teddy) about a year ago, we noticed that he really like to steal things from us and run away. It seems like he does it for fun and knows that we will chase him down for it. It could be clothes, undergarments, dish towels, or any random things he can get his paws on. When we tell him to "drop it," he always puts up a fight and continues to keep it in his mouth. This morning, it took at least a couple minutes until he dropped my pencil sharpener. The only time he will actually drop something is if I offer him food. But I learned that if I give him food in exchange for the stolen item, then he would continue to steal in hopes of receiving more food!
> 
> Does any one have any tips for me? He's been stealing less than before, because now he's more occupied playing with his sister (3 1/2 month Winnie).
> But now, Winnie is also starting to steal things as well and dives underneath the couch or bed with it.
> ...


He's playing, and the more he can entice you into chasing, the more fun it is. Try to keep "contraband" out of reach. If it's socks or underwear, ignore it, and retrieve the stolen items after he has lost interest in them. (which happens pretty fast if you won't chase him)

Right now, he has no idea what the command "drop it" means. You need to teach this completely separately from his thievery! Teach "drop it" with an item you hand to him and then ask him to drop. THEN you give him a treat each time he drops it. (don't let this turn into a game of tug, though... that can be just as rewarding as chase!!!)

If he grabs something dangerous that you just HAVE to get away from him, try trading for a favorite toy. If that doesn't work, try food. If those both fail, you may just need to pry it out of his mouth. But this should be a very last resort, saved ONLY for times where letting him keep the item would be harmful to him.


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## motherslittlehelper (Mar 18, 2010)

Cindy - Have you done any obedience training with him? Teaching Augie the 'leave it' command has been invaluable. But we don't use it around here for stuff like socks, washcloths, etc - only things that he could actually hurt or more importantly (in my opinion) could hurt him. The pencil sharpener in the mouth would come under that category, and yes, treats are involved in teaching the command. We use it when we come upon gross things on our walks, or if I drop something on the floor that he absolutely cannot have. When we were staying with my SIL and MIL this fall on our trip, I saw him chewing on something. I said 'leave it', and out popped an aspirin that MIL had dropped on the floor! He actually spits things out, and that wasn't an isolated incident. The rewards we have gained from obedience training have more than compensated for the time, effort and money we have put in and I strongly recommend it for anyone if you haven't already done so.  So far, at least, (hope I haven't jinxed myself) Augie has left such things as eyeglasses alone. We had a problem with electrical cords when he was little. Those scared me. Had to watch him like a hawk! Oh, and he loved zippers.

Soft things like underwear (ewwww), socks, washcloths - I do think they consider a game - chasing just escalates things, ignore and the fun is gone.  Our route to go out potty is through my laundry/mud room. I usually have a pair of garden gloves tossed in there. We will get out to our potty area, and many times I look down to see Augie with a garden glove in his mouth, or a wadded up sock that he has picked up on his way through.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

ha ha, I think this is a Hav trait, along with shredding...
Tillie will steal virtually anything she can get her teeth on... particularly ANYTHING out of the kids rooms, cause thier doors are SUPPOSED to be CLOSED. SO, when they aren't it is like Disneyland to her!
She is very gracious though and runs up onto the couch and drops it. She doesn't really WANT the item most of the time, she just loves to steal things! LOL
We have never chased her and unless it is something she could get hurt on or break, we don't even make a big issue out of it. Like other posters said, if you ignore it, they will lose interest VERY fast!
A game Tillie has been playing for months, that she LOVES, is I put a ton of her toys in her crate, down the hall, in our room... and she has GREAT fun running all of them back out into the living room. Sometimes I even put a few treats in the mix just for fun!!


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## Amala (Oct 14, 2009)

Hi all,
I have made a comment about chewing. But the chasing is another part of the same Hav behavior. I agree that getting a good trainer is a big help. But as the owner and "pack" leader you need to consistent. Something I have had a bit of trouble with, Zama is such a cutie.

But one thing I have trouble with is catching her especially if it is something dangerous. Zama is so fast. Actually all things which should be "dropped" can be difficult or impossible to get her. My trainer suggested that even when she is inside to place a leash on her. If she takes off, I can step on the leash which ends the "game" and we can go to behavior modification

The only thing you need to be careful about is once you place leash on, you need to keep an eye on them so they do not get caught and possibly hurt. My trainer especially says Hav are very smart so they need to challenged mentally not just physically. If we practice "training" twice a day for about 30 mins., she is exhausted and seems very happy. Then we can play together or I get a rest.:whoo: I also would say be picky about a trainer. I asked my vet for recommendations and then interviewed. My trainer comes to my house since I can not drive.

I have gotten lazy the last month or so. I am paying the price. So one of my new year resolutions is to be more consistent, call my trainer for a fresher up ( for me) and to try to get Zama some other Havs to play with.

As far as taking your shoes, clothing and anything that has a smell of you or family, my son is a Vet and has always told me that to a dog it is like carrying a picture of you around. So in a way it is a compliment.


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## CindyDiep (Dec 5, 2010)

Teddy graduated the 8 week beginner training class over the summer. That class only included basic training, so Teddy passed with flying colors. He learned how to sit, lay down, stay, "leave it", etc. With that class, I was able to use the same techniques, along with food as a reward to teach him to also how to roll over, shake hands and spin. He still has a hard time walking on a leash though. He gets so excited every time he's outside. Anyway, I know this stealing behavior can possibly be corrected with the right training, and persistence. 

At least I know, I'm not the only havanese parent who deals with stealing and of course shredding too. Teddy has gotten a hold of the toilet paper before as well. 

I know "pencil sharpener" sounded so dangerous. But thank god it was the kind where it had a lid and Teddy did not manage to get the lid open. 

My new years resolution is to keep the house clean, especially my closet. Teddy likes to steal mainly from my closet! haha. Today, I made sure there was nothing in his reach. 

Does anyone else put their dog/puppy in time out? When Teddy gets a little too crazy and out of control, we put him in his pen for about 10 minutes to calm him down. Sometimes after he steals something, I'll put him in there so he knows he did something wrong. 

We used to have a coffee table in our living room. Due to the excessive chasing around the table...round and round and round. We decided one day to get rid of it! Now, chasing him down is a little easier, but he is still as fast as can be! haha. 

Thanks for all the replies everyone!!!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Putting your puppy in an ex-pen or his crate to calm down is a fine idea, AS LONG AS it's not done as a punishment. Put them in there with a chew, so that they settle down and relax.

Using "time outs" to try to teach a dog something is absolutely useless. Dogs don't sit in their ex-pen and think about why you put them there. Using an ex-pen or crate as a "punishment" will only make the dog start to dislike what should be their safe, cozy retreat.

It's great that you did a puppy kindergarten class, but that is just the VERY tip of the training iceberg, even if all you want is a well-behaved pet. I'd strongly suggest that you resume classes or hire a good positive trainer to come and help you with your dog in your home. 

The great thing is that most Havs, even without much training, are pretty easy dogs to get along with. They WANT to please us. But they have SO much more to offer, and our relationship with them can be SO much richer if we really learn to communicate better with them through regular training.


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## CindyDiep (Dec 5, 2010)

Thanks for the advice Karen!


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