Seek and destroy

gebower · Post by **gebower** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:31 am

Max is 10 months old and loves to find anything in the house that is ours so we'll chase him. He can scan a room and 3 seconds and see anything new in it and go for it. If his mouth can't reach it, he stretches his paw out to get it. I hope he outgrows this bahaviour.

Gene.

pfordeb · Post by **pfordeb** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 9:38 am

May --- be ...
Gilbert is what we call
our re-arranger. We've
been fortunate that he's
only destroyed his own
toys, but he likes to
take our things from one room
and put them in another.
He's fairly big too (part
lab)so he can reach pretty
far. He's over 3 now, and
he may --- be doing it less?

I think most dogs mature a
little after 2 -- all of ours
have, but ya never know.

Happy Holidays and good luck.

Laura · Post by **Laura** » Tue Dec 25, 2007 10:04 am

Awwwwwww Max is adorable. It is a game to him and gets a big reaction perhaps? The reaction/attention probably has a ton to do with it. Try ignoring when you can and when you can't, react as little as possible. Calmly trade him something of his, try not to make it a way he gets attention. No attention, reaction, chase, he should tire of it. Also baby/puppy proof which I'm sure you've done.

pablotx · Post by **pablotx** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:19 am

Laura is right. It is the reaction he gets from you. It has become a game. Your chasing him to get your item back is basically a game of chase. Your chow starts it when he gets an item and you take off in pursuit. Good, positive training and lots of patience will help.

sugaboog · Post by **sugaboog** » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:17 pm

Max looks like such a sweetie, it would be hard to reprimand something so cute....Sugar used to do that but after we bought her so many toys she realized what was hers and what wasn't , she started chewing on the toys knowing she wouldn't get in trouble for that.

Judy Fox · Post by **Judy Fox** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:10 am

Mmm! He is a teenager and it is fun to tease. I second the suggestion that you do not make a big thing about it - however - a sharp reprimand and then hand him something of his own.
My Milly and Mabel are 7 yrs. old now and when they were younger, they used to take our things and hide them in their beds!

They seem to have grown out of that but sometimes we miss something and will find it in one bed or another.
Chows are like no others and they think things out.
I have told this story before but for the benefit of the newcomers, they - one of them - Milly we suspect - took Fred's hearing aid from his bedside table. It was missing for several weeks. We searched the house for it - turned the place upside down and we searched the garden - every bunch of plant and so on.
We were on the point of going and getting a new one when one day, we were in the sitting room and they walked in and one of them dropped the hearing aid on the rug in front of the fire - totally undamaged and working, except that the battery was flat.
We have absolutely no clue where it was.
So I would suggest you just keep an eye on him and try not to make too big a deal. It is obviously a game which becomes better when you get wound up. I suspect he will grow out of it.
Good luck!!

pfordeb · Post by **pfordeb** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:11 am

Last night I found one of
my snow boots from our
front door, just sitting
in the middle of our
living room, perfectly
unharmed. Hm, could it
have been the job of the
rearranger? Love that
story about Mabel &
Millie, frustrating for
you I'm sure, but so
Chow!

Dogdad · Post by **Dogdad** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:06 am

Max is so cute, His behavior reminds me of Yoshi, the more he is corrected the more he does it

David

sit_by_the_beach · Post by **sit_by_the_beach** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:54 am

Max is cute. I wish my chow Mikki was more playful. She's too quiet. My first chow would bury stuff in the yard. While gardening, I'd find all sorts of items I had been looking for months earlier. Luna would come back from the yard and had a nose full of dirt. I knew she buried something, usually a beef bone, sometimes a sock or any item that I left on the coffee table. Taught me to be neat. She had that same mischievous smile on her face like Max.
Karin

debraschow · Post by **debraschow** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:48 pm

Our Newfie mix Terra, was the sweetest girl in the world, but she was horribly starved when we first got her. Well we took all the dogs to the dog beach, and she just seemed kind of happy sniffing around while the other dogs actually played. We came back to the blanket after about a half an hour of playing with the other two, and she just laid there, but she had a look on her face, that I knew she had done something. I made her get up, and she had STOLEN probably 20 toys from other dogs on the beach and was laying on them to cover the theft. We never did find the owners of all the toys. What I found fascinating was she knew she did wrong, and then tried to cover up.

enchantedonyx · Post by **enchantedonyx** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:46 pm

Deb, that is too funny about Terra and the dog toys. Sounds like something Tess would do, actually.

coleywoley · Post by **coleywoley** » Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:51 pm

Oh Deb, thats so cute and sad in a way. She actually covered them up to keep them from being found. Poor thing must have had it rough before she found you guys!

debraschow · Post by **debraschow** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:39 am

Yeah, Terra was the one that was beaten with a belt buckle and every inch of her body was covered with bruises. She was according to the vet starved also, which I think was one of the reasons she was a hoarder. But you know dogs, they forgive so easily. I don't know what monster would do that to a puppy, but the vet placed her with us and she was a wonderful addition to the family. She passed the year before Hobo.

coleywoley · Post by **coleywoley** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:35 pm

Oh my oh my! I'm glad she found a forever home filled with love with you. It breaks my heart the way people treat their animals.
Ginger doesn't do any hoarding. She actually has gotten really good about sticking to her toys finally although she still has a weakness for Soph's socks and diapers-YUCK!

Rowlee · Post by **Rowlee** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:39 pm

Wilbur does this too, he particularly loves taking our clothes and shoes. The more fuss we make, the more he's thinks it's a big game!

Max is very, very cute!

Sabina

Charlotte Paige · Post by **Charlotte Paige** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 7:42 pm

My Liberty (Chow/Border Collie Mix) treats her toys different than anyother dog I have had.
My sweet Charlotte(my Chow that passed), all she ever wanted was a few stuffed animals to throw around and some rawhide.
Libby on the other hand NEEDS toys, when I pick her up from the sitter after shopping (even if it for groceries, clothes) she sniffs through all the bags lookin to see if I bought her a toy.
Now the funny part although maybe it isnt so different to others, is she picks her newest OR best toy and brings it up to the bedroom... and ONLY ONE toy... she never brings 2 always just her favorite at the moment.
Now that I have Angel her practice is to bury the toy under my pillows. The first time it happened it kinda scared me but every once in awhile I lay my head on my pillow and hear <SQUEEEEK>. She is such a silly girl.
Thank goodness she is getting MUCH better with Angel(My Chow) playing with her toys.
I love my babies... my life would not be complete without all the silly goofy things they do to make me laugh and smile.