Here, blogs will be posted monthly on top tips and interesting topics on dog training & dog behaviour.
Blog Post – March
Puppies who just love slippers!
When our puppy was 4 and a half months old, she would enjoy holding, hugging and confiscating our slippers! They just seemed to disappear. They were not too far but they are next to our puppy. I like to imagine that she wanted to be next to us in some way, and if we were busy and our slippers are not (e.g. if they were left on the floor without feet in them), she wanted to be near us and would take something that is ours to be near her.
We tried to correct this behaviour. And although it is ever so cute, we must correct it!
It is quite common for young puppies to steal items that are yours. They may even mistake them for their own toys, by thinking everything is a toy and not understanding what they can and cannot play can be confusing. It is up to us to teach them that they cannot play with everything that looks like a toy. Digging and destroying a toy or in this case slipper, can be quite a problem. This destructive behaviour can be more common in some breeds than others. For example, terriers might be more likely to shake a small toy, as they were initially bred for hunting and killing small prey. They think of their toys like their prey. This is why we should refocus our puppy’s attention from our slippers to their toys and ensure they have enough mental and physical stimulation throughout the day.
Teaching a puppy what are their toys an what are not
- We made sure that we correct her behaviour by removing any slippers that may get stolen from her possession. We made our slippers less accessible for her.
- We always replaced any ‘stolen’ possession of ours with a toy of her own to play with. This was our way of showing her what is the correct thing to be playing with.
- We make sure to give her love and affection when she is not stealing slippers!
It’s quite funny, as it didn’t happen with shoes. By slowly showing her what was right we taught her to play what was hers and what was not.
We finally had our slippers back!!