Sometimes I Wonder About That Dog

When Smarty pants came to live with us he had not yet been a house dog.  He was well socialized and leash trained and all of those good things, but just had not spent any real time in a house yet.  Because of that he was a little unsure about being in the house. Not scared, just not sure of what was expected of him.  We gave him toys and he was blown away by this prospect.  Pretty soon he wanted all the toys.

Here he is 1 week after we got him with a rawhide, a ball, 2 kong squeekies and  a bird squeeky. 

He would grab a toy and run down to the entry way, and keep it there. Then 10 minutes later he would come grab another and ad it to his collection. They were his treasures. It was great until he started ripping them to shreds.  We found that there was no toy that was safe, so all cloth toys had to be disposed of and now he only gets Kong toys and Nyla-bones. 

Over time, he has settled in nicely, we have had him 2 years now. He is a pretty good dog, and for the most part lives up to his name. He is very smart and easy to train....except in one area. 

Smarty is a thief.  Since we removed all the cloth toys he now has taken to stealing stuffed animals, slippers, bra's, socks, gloves,hats,  the dog bed's, shirts, or what ever else he can find.  So we started removing those things from his reach. (except the dog beds) I have to hang my dishtowels up very high or he will steal those too.   The funny part is that once he steals them, he does not go and hide with them.  He will bring them out in plain sight and wiggle and giggle (yes he giggles- kind of a oof oof oof in his throat) in front of us. It is as if to say, "I know I'm going to get in trouble, but I just can't help myself." So he is a thief, but one who likes to get caught....go figure! 

He has taken to jumping on the bed to get to the slippers which have been set on the head board out of his reach.  It is hilarious to see him come running through the house with a dog bed in his mouth, trying to hold it up high enough to keep from stepping on it.  It is hard not to laugh at him, but we have to be stern because if we don't then when we aren't looking he will tear things to shreds, like the slippers, or the dog bed, or my bra's. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that dog beds and bra's aren't that cheap anymore, especially if you buy good ones.  When he steals something, we tell him no very sternly, take away the stolen object, then pick up the correct toy laying right next to us, and give it to him and tell him he is good.  Trying to reward positive behavior while punishing negative.  It has no effect on him. Everyday it is the same thing, at least once a day. 

He has Simon's football glove here., Tom was trying to hold him still. 

One day I was busy doing something and he had gotten a glove from Simon's room. I was not paying attention to him as he wiggled and giggled behind me, so he came in front of me.  I still wasn't paying attentions, so he head butted my legs, and then wiggled and giggled some more. He WANTED me to see what he had done.  He's whacked, I tell you, plain whacked! What dog wants to get in trouble? I mean it isn't like he doesn't get positive attention.  He gets tons of it, probably more than the other dogs. 

I just don't understand this dog some days. We were hoping that obedience training and giving him a "job" would help, and it has in every other area of his life. He waits at the door now, he sits and downs when we want him too, he heals on a leash nicely too.  But that inner thief in him, the one that wants to get caught still lurks and takes control on a daily basis.  

Its not like he is a puppy going through a phase, he is 4 years old now. He just acts like a puppy sometimes. I'm telling you, the dog is whacked!