Puppies are curious little creatures for sure! Akira has always been good at knowing she isn't supposed to have something and if we saw her with it - like a sock - we could just tell her to leave it. She would usually drop it and walk away. Lately though she snatches things up and runs to hide with them. She has plenty of toys to play with and chew on but is more than happy to snag anything from a kids room, etc. I don't like the idea of chasing her to get it back, but as I approach she runs away with it again. Thoughts? Advice? Thanks!

Forgot to mention...we have been working on stay and come in her training sessions and she is very slowly starting to get it. In these cases though it's like all training has been thrown out the window. Lol We also take her for a few walks a day too.

Akira is still just a puppy. A very young puppy! of course Akira can still get better at the "drop it" "leave it", but really a lot comes down to you too, like being aware of what's laying around that Akira can pick up. My two, ages 2 1/2 and 1 1/2, to this day still do this. Do they know better? Of course they do...do I know better, of course I do if I catch them in the act, they are told to "drop it" and 9 times out of 10 they will, the 1 time is usually dropped while they're in flight though. It took time though, at Akira's age I can definitely tell you they weren't listening to drop it when they stole something.

I understand and we are working on the "us" portion of this issue as well. Seems Akira has ample opportunity to snatch the kids things. lol During the training time, how did you cope with them not listening and running from you? Did you just chase them down to retrieve the item from their mouth?

I completely understand about the opportunities with the kids rooms...is it while your kids are in the rooms or while they're away from their rooms? If it's the latter, maybe the kids can close their doors each time they leave.

At first, of course, first instinct was for me to chase them down, and that of course just makes them run faster and in Mishka's case (the youngest) swallow the item faster and that is something you don't want. First I called them, if they didn't come back, I walked calmly (as I could, lol) into the room where they were "hiding" and kept their attention on me instead of the item they had. I did different things, like the bait and switch (pretty much offering them something they would want, maybe a toy, in exchange for what they had ) or I kept talking to them til I was right in front of them and could persuade them to give up what they had, and when they did I did the big hugs and good boy/girl thing so they knew I was happy with them. I am SO not a trainer though so I really don't know if I did the right things or the wrong things, but it worked for me and how I do things. They still do things once in awhile, their biggest thievery items are dirty socks (that I find them later playing tug o war with) or paper products like napkins, maybe candy wrappers and things like that. ahh, and Mishka and her plants takes a little while but they usually do grow out of this kind of thing.

Hi. Jimmy is right, honestly, little Akira (who is adorable), has way too much freedom. Would you let a 6 month old human baby crawl willy nilly around your house with access to all the rooms and expect that baby to make the 'right' choice? Honestly, I really doubt a 2 month old puppy 'knows' when she's not supposed to do something. I'm guessing the times she got it right were either luck, or just excitement about having her name called or hearing your voice.

If you chase her, it turns into a game that she thinks you're playing with her. If you get frustrated, she won't understand why. If she happens to grab an item and runs, grab a squeaky toy and bait her with it, most puppies, will instantly drop a boring old sock and come running. That said, it should be something interesting and special that she doesn't always have free access to.

So, what to do? Don't let her into that part of the house at all for now. Put up a baby gate and keep her to the main livingroom area, or the area of the home where the family is most often together. For now, always have some of her kibble in your pocket and a leash on her. Practice randomly calling her name and giving her a few pieces, surprise her. You don't always have to have the leash in your hand, just let her drag it around so that if you need to, you have a better chance of catching her without initiating the 'chase' game. If you can't watch her closely enough to keep her out of trouble (like if you're cooking, involved in a task, or need a break from being a puppy slave), just put her in her crate for some relaxation time.

She's too young to understand any kind of correction (verbal or otherwise), at this point, limit her access to places you know are trouble (the kids rooms), and work on teaching her basic commands and calm behavior. This could also be a chance to convince your kids to clean their rooms, the puppy can't come in unless it's clean. Also, don't use treats for training, just use her regular kibble. Get a treat bag, put her full meals in it, and do 10-15 min training sessions at regular feeding times working on those basic commands, or even just eye contact.

Jimmy's trading game is also key to play with puppies. This will teach them that when you take things away, it's not a bad experience. They gain something by giving up something. This will go a long way to prevent any future problems of resource guarding. Once they are happily trading one thing for another, pair with a word "out" and now you've taught them drop it and leave it in one (get that out of your mouth).

Lastly, your comment about an "us" portion, is right, but not totally... I'm a trainer (novice, but working for and learning from a pro), and what I've really come to realize is that if a dog isn't responding in the way I want or expect him/her to, it's because something is off in my approach, either I'm not using the tools correctly, or I expected too much too soon. Not to say that you don't know what you're doing, just take a step back and a deep breath and realize this puppy is not out to get you ha! You're the one with a rational mind (even though sometimes you might wonder if your puppy is possessed). It's not an 'us' portion and a 'puppy' portion. It's a family adjustment teaching the puppy how to fit in with your life, setting boundaries for both the puppy and family members and slowly adjusting those boundaries as she matures and can handle more. Right now, she's too young to make the right choices (not grabbing the kids things), and the family needs to set her up for success.

It sounds like you are an awesome owner for her and if you set her up for success, she'll be your dream dog in no time.

Thanks for the great advice Jimmy and Jen! There are some seriously good nuggets in each of those replies. It has definitely been a life change in our household since getting Akira. Closed doors all over the place now when they used to all be open. We have kids rooms on both the main floor and basement. They are getting a lot better at keeping their doors closed too. We do keep her with us at all times too - if we are upstairs so is she, etc. As for the bait and switch why did I not just do that to begin with?!? Seems the simplest things escape our minds sometimes. lol I play with her that way almost all the time so it is a really easy way to do get anything back from her. Even as we are trying to teach her fetch I have used 2 balls. Once she is back with one I praise her and get her attention with the other. Or playing tug of war I distract her with the other end and get her to take drop what she has and take the other end. At this point I think we spend just as much time (if not more) training our kids to have puppy as we spend training Akira.