Little Thief

Does anyone else have problems with their corgis taking things that don't belong to them and refuse to give them back? Oppy is almost 7 months old now, and if he decides he wants something, and he actually gets it in his mouth, good luck getting it back any time soon. Corgis are so quick that it takes me and Hilliary a couple minutes to corner him and take back whatever it is he's stolen. What's even worse is that recently he's starting grabbing things off our desks when we're in the bathroom or kitchen. He's already ruined my headphones by eating the padding off of them, and just this morning I found Hilliary's camera case on the floor (luckily he didn't get inside it, it's just held shut by a magnet). We used to punish him by shooting him with a little squirt gun (similar to the squirt bottle), but he doesn't seem to be affected by it much anymore. I don't know what to do, it's making it hard to trust him, especially now that he's getting a little older and we were hoping to start leaving him out of his crate little by little when we weren't around.

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Permalink Reply by Kyle, Megan and Loki on July 19, 2009 at 8:58pm

Loki is a little theif with a few things..socks being a favourite. He has a habit of playfully running off with these, or towels, or the toilet paper. We have implemented a system of "trading" with him- i.e. trading him something he can have, like a treat or a toy, for whatever he's not allowed to have. Usually we'll tell him "leave it Loki" first, then if he is really insistent that he wants it, we trade for it. Sometimes chasing after dogs and grabbing things from them can cause fear and aggression problems, so if you're around when he does it, maybe trying a trading system would work.

When we're not home we close all the doors to the rooms we don't want him in- like the office, bathroom, etc. so that he still has plenty of space, but he's not going to get into anything we don't want him too. We also went through a 'puppy proofing process with him'- just removing anything from the rooms that he will be in a lot that he isn't supposed to have or could get into.

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on July 20, 2009 at 8:31am

Alas, those puppy days are gone for me! However, he has taught you a very fun ,for him, game hasn't he? You may want to change the game up a little to something that doesn't involve your stuff. That "get a toy" idea is a good one. We did "get your ball" and still at ten Sparty will scurry around the house looking for his ball when we say it. At Oppy's age becoming VERY neat is a good idea. Much like having a toddeler age child around, they have the motor skills to get into trouble but not the control not to do the wrong thing. Punishment doesn't work well when you want to change a behavior (especially if it is an attention seeking behavior) and many like yours and mine find a squirt from the water bottle very refreshing! Walking is a great way to burn off energy at this age so try to make sure you have at least a couple long ones a day (45 minutes or more). If you can not do that 4 or 5 short ones will do. Mainly, try to keep your sense of humor and sign up for obedience classes, they are well worth the $. Enjoy! It won't be long and you will look back on this time and miss it like I do.

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Permalink Reply by Pat Grissett on July 20, 2009 at 11:39am

Our female, Sophie LOVES to steal anything. We still have them in a playpen at night (they are 20 mons. now) She especially love to get the dish towel if it's handy. She will even bring to me..like it's a game. I've told her no a million times and she still does it so I'm at a loss myself. She also has "used" the phone and the channel changer. Now we just make sure these things are not in her reach! Any suggestions much appreciated.