In class tonight we discussed what to do when other family members don’t cooperate with the training plan. The problem: Mom brings the dog to class. She knows some of his naughty behaviors at home are just ways to get attention…like grabbing things and running around. The other family members will chase him down and he has a wonderful time with that game.
A normal protocol would be something like:
- Management: Pick things up. Don’t give him a chance. If there are designated messy parts of the house, he is to be on leash or heavily supervised in those areas.
- Training: Work on a strong Leave It, and make it a default behavior. Teach him a stay on a mat in those rooms. Teach him to listen to all family members. Work on a recall when he is carrying objects. Train him to get attention by sitting or lying down rather than stealing.
- If a mistake happens: And he grabs something, don’t chase him. Wait for him to get bored or casually walk through the room so he follows you. Do not confront him about the object.
But there were a few problems implementing this. The other family members don’t want to participate. They won’t contribute to keeping things picked up. They don’t want to participate in the training. And they get really upset and do chase the dog every time he grabs something. So we discussed additional options.
- Non Dog Management: Make it easier for the family members to keep things picked up. Use big plastic tote boxes setting on the surfaces or areas where the dog normally steals things. A big box by the door for shoes. Another by the coffee table where they do homework. If the boxes are right there, family members are more likely to comply with keeping things out of reach.
- Dog Management: Crates, gates, leashes when the other family members are home and there’s trouble to be had. Use this to note and reinforce appropriate attention seeking behaviors and to train the dog to relax on a mat.
- Get Them Invested: Many times non-participant kids can be convinced to be involved in training through activities like agility. They learn appropriate ways to interact with the dog. They start caring about recall, stays, leave its, etc. It matters to them. This is an option I often use with kids and husbands who don’t want to participate in basic training yet are compromising the training every day.
- Don’t Worry: If the dog isn’t going to swallow things…. maybe don’t worry so much. It’s annoying when he gets things. It bothers the other family members. But it doesn’t bother those family members enough to change their behavior. Dogs like to get into things. A dog is not a Bad Dog for stealing things, he’s just being a dog. Some dog owners are so distressed over every little naughty thing their dogs do that it can be very distressing for everyone involved. Sometimes it helps to remind families that they don’t have to care about everything. Pick priorities.
I’m not sure what will happen for this family. They’re not too worried for the most part. Mom is now addicted to dog training and is reading everything she can and is hungry for more training opportunities.