In need of dog behavioral advice.

[86121]

Now normally I'm pretty much set when it comes to training dogs, but I have never in my life had a dog like my Greyhound Leo's son Sarge.

He collects things. And I don't mean normal things, I mean the pillows, the table cloth, mugs, phones, bra's, shoes, the porcelain doll...
He takes the most bazaar things and puts them in a pile to either lay on or chew, or play with...
First I tried taking them and swapping them with stuffy toys, peanut butter hooves and bones.
Then I tried disciplining,
Then I tried hiding the things he collects and putting stuffy toys in there place.
Then I tried covering a few things with bitter apple. Then hot pepper, then lemon juice...*You try explaing why the phone is slathered in lemon juice!*
Then I tried simply crating him every time he did this, and letting him back out after wards.
Diversion, treats, angry voice, clicker, smelly stuff, squirt bottle...
All of the usual things is not working. Though I was able to convince him to stop climbing the couch to get the porcelain doll off the shelf...
I really have no idea what else to try. He seems to be getting better with age, (Hes a year old now) but he still collects the most bazaar things.
Does any one have any idea what else I can try? I really dont want him to be crated so often.

 

[86121]

For example he just tried to "collect" the cutting board from the counter.

 

[Oregon Blues]

I had a German Shepherd that collected items bearing the scent of her family.

She didn't destroy anything, so when you were getting ready for work, you just went to her bed to get your watch and wallet. She was in Search and rescue training and I didn't want to discourage her scent discrimination, so let her collect. She grew out of it once she was past puppy stage.

Generally, greyhounds aren't fetchers or carriers, so I suggest you try to think of some use for that talent. If nothing else, start training with the UD title as the end goal.

At least mine stayed off the kitchen counters and out of the garbage. You might try a scat mat on the kitchen counters. Counter surfing is extremely annoying.

Part of Diana's training was vocabulary stretch. She learned to fetch different items by name. Greyhounds are smart enough to play that game. She would also fetch based upon the name of the owner of the item.

 

[Aeropennchick]

Sounds like your dog doesn't understand that everything in the house belongs to you.

I would crate him when unsupervised, and watch him like a hawk when he's let out. Correct him as soon as he goes to touch something that isn't his. Praise him for playing with his own toys. I think the only thing that will work here is watchfulness and training.

Good luck!

 

[86121]

I had a German Shepherd that collected items bearing the scent of her family.

She didn't destroy anything, so when you were getting ready for work, you just went to her bed to get your watch and wallet. She was in Search and rescue training and I didn't want to discourage her scent discrimination, so let her collect. She grew out of it once she was past puppy stage.

Generally, greyhounds aren't fetchers or carriers, so I suggest you try to think of some use for that talent. If nothing else, start training with the UD title as the end goal.

At least mine stayed off the kitchen counters and out of the garbage. You might try a scat mat on the kitchen counters. Counter surfing is extremely annoying.

Part of Diana's training was vocabulary stretch. She learned to fetch different items by name. Greyhounds are smart enough to play that game. She would also fetch based upon the name of the owner of the item.

Actually I was thinking once I got his grand championship in the AKC, I could try flyball out and see how that goes. (Launch a telephone lol) I was also thinking of training him to fetch the garden pots outside for humor reasons lol.
The biggest issue at the moment is teaching him NOT to fetch the items and collect them. Im not sure if hes nabbing them because they smell like us, but then again I have no idea why hes doing it to begin with? The scat mat is a very good idea, I never thought of that! Thank you!
Any ideas how I can try and get him to collect toys instead of odd things? Or maybe I could try buying odd toys in the shape of the things hes collecting?
Im sure I could sew a squeeky bra together with a bit of felt. (Now that will be funny)

 

[86121]

Sounds like your dog doesn't understand that everything in the house belongs to you.

I would crate him when unsupervised, and watch him like a hawk when he's let out. Correct him as soon as he goes to touch something that isn't his. Praise him for playing with his own toys. I think the only thing that will work here is watchfulness and training.

Good luck!

Hehe nope!
I can try keeping up with that, I do already crate when were not home, but its a matter of keeping an eye on him every second and replacing the odd things with proper dog toys @_@ its a bit tiring after a while.

 

[Aeropennchick]

Hehe nope!
I can try keeping up with that, I do already crate when were not home, but its a matter of keeping an eye on him every second and replacing the odd things with proper dog toys @_@ its a bit tiring after a while.

Heck yes it is! One of our dogs is a black and tan coon hound. So smart and so SNEAKY! We once took her to a birthday party, and she waited until everyone was singing happy birthday before she snuck into the kitchen to try and steal some food off the stove. She also once took a roast out of a hot roasting pan on the stove, and ran outside with it NEVER MAKING A SOUND.

We had to tell that dog the same things a million times growing up, and we felt like broken records. She's still stubborn, and we learned to prevent her from having opportunities to misbehave. Gate on the kitchen always shut when there's food out, for instance. But these dogs are relying on us to acknowledge acceptable behavior, and disagree with unacceptable behavior - 100% of the time until they have it right. Some dogs are sooo much more tiring than others!

 

[punk-a-doodle]

Interesting. When we first stated trying an adopted ACD out of her crate when we left the house, she would collect any clothes we had recently worn and nest in them. She would also pull food off the counter but not eat it (still does this today when she is feeling especially anxious). For her, it was clear separation anxiety, and it lessoned immensely as we worked her through her issues. This sounds different though. Does he guard this pile possessively?

 

[86121]

Heck yes it is! One of our dogs is a black and tan coon hound. So smart and so SNEAKY! We once took her to a birthday party, and she waited until everyone was singing happy birthday before she snuck into the kitchen to try and steal some food off the stove. She also once took a roast out of a hot roasting pan on the stove, and ran outside with it NEVER MAKING A SOUND.

We had to tell that dog the same things a million times growing up, and we felt like broken records. She's still stubborn, and we learned to prevent her from having opportunities to misbehave. Gate on the kitchen always shut when there's food out, for instance. But these dogs are relying on us to acknowledge acceptable behavior, and disagree with unacceptable behavior - 100% of the time until they have it right. Some dogs are sooo much more tiring than others!

Oh wow! Now boy am I glad he just takes odd things from around the house and not food.
I suppose I can keep at it. Though it would be nice to be able to do something that would get him to learn faster @_@

 

[aprille218]

I have golden retrievers that "collect" unique items. Because I don't want to discourage their retrieving of items I just praise them big when they bring me whatever they find ( usually clothing, shoes, remotes, cordless phone, cell phone, pop bottles, vacuum cleaner attachments) and put it up out of reach. I also daily remove the treasures from the dog's beds. I would suggest the scat mat and just putting everything up or away. This is why my salt shaker is in the microwave and my shoes are hung up in the closets
Aprille