Martha
Stewart Show November 12, 2006 - Kobe The Food-Stealing Dog
 Kobe is a four year-old doberman pincher with an enthusiasm for life (and food!) that is unmatched by most dogs. He spends his days with his loving family and four other canine friends, alternating between running on their many acres of land and crashing on the couch! Whenever he’s out in public, he serves as an ambassador for his breed, disproving the myth that dobermans are aggressive dogs. His fun-loving yet gentle personality has turned many a dog-phobic into dog lovers! Martha’s Show – Nov. 1st, 2006 Kobe The Food Stealing Dog! First, Let’s Start With Some Dog Training Basics One size doesn’t fit all, not in t-shirts and definitely not in dog training! The dog who failed obedience school because he wouldn’t sit for a piece of steak and was labeled stupid or stubborn would have probably been at the head of his class if his reward for sitting was based on what he actually loved and not some stereotype of “all dogs love steak”. They do….unless they don’t. My method works on dogs who are willing and unwilling; energetic or lazy; emotionally sensitive or emotionally tough. They’ll all learn the same commands and perform them well – it’s just the way that they get there will be tailored to their unique personality. By simply knowing 5 key personality traits of your dog, you can train him to become a happy, confident and well-behaved family member. In my book, Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense, there’s a short quiz to tell you where your dog falls in these categories, but a few of them you probably already know, but never thought they pertained to dog training. For example, I’m sure most people know what motivates their dog – food, toys, play, you, all of the above, and what kind of energy level their dog has. Those are two important things to factor into your training, because then you’ll know what will be an effective reward and how long to make your training sessions in order to keep your dog interested and enthusiastic. Now Let’s Talk About Kobe’s “Issue”…………….   Food stealing is not only an annoying behavior (“there goes my dinner again!”), but it can also be life threatening to your dog. Ingesting chocolate, fatty foods or meat containing bones can mean a trip to the veterinary e.r. Kobe is a 4 year-old doberman pincher with moderate energy, low physical sensitivity (meaning he’s physically tough), and moderate emotional sensitivity. His motivation is –drum roll please - food, food and more food, hence the behavior problem. He also happens to be moderately sound sensitive, which is why I chose to fix his problem by using a “startle-er”. If you were to push or pull a dog like this away from the table, he would probably think it was a great game or challenge, since he’s so physically tough. And even if he was physically sensitive, the only thing he would learn (if anything) would be “don’t steal food when she’s in the room” Don’t even THINK about yelling “No” at your dog for this (or any) behavior problem. Dogs fear anger, ignore it, or it amps them up and makes them more wild – none of the things you want to have happen. With a highly food-driven dog like Kobe, the most likely outcome from yelling “No!” at him would be that he would take his food-stealing operation underground, stealing food only when you (the loud, angry human) wasn’t nearby. Initially, to demonstrate the problem, I allowed Kobe to go to the table and eat a sandwich. You DON’T need to do this part at home. Next, I set up the correction with a sandwich covered with plastic wrap over the top. That way, if he tried to grab the food in spite of the noise, he wouldn’t be rewarded by actually getting it. To entice him over, I rubbed a piece of meat on the plastic wrap so it smelled like the food was readily available. The plate I used for the demo on Martha’s show was a regular ceramic plate on a low table. At home I would recommend that you use an unbreakable plate (so if it hits the floor it won’t shatter and potentially injure the dog) and set up the situation on the table (or counter) where most of the stealing occurs. After you’ve corrected the problem there, you can move to the next location. My “startle-er” was a metal food bowl, but remember, you have to know what your dog’s sound sensitivity level is, so if you’re not sure, err on the side of caution!!! Try a few teaspoons, a metal measuring cup or a small set of keys. You can always increase the correction if you need to. The goal is not to emotionally of physically scar your dog! The goal is to teach the dog that stealing food is a very loud proposition. When Kobe went for the set-up plate, I threw the bowl NEAR him and BEHIND him. I didn’t let him see me throw it because I don’t want to be ID’d as the bad guy or the reason for the noise. I actually had two bowls, just in case he wasn’t convinced to leave the sandwich alone after the first bowl. If he’d gone back to the plate, I would have thrown the second one the same way I’d thrown the first – near and behind him. When the noise occurred, Kobe thought “wow – that’s a noisy table!” That’s important to understand. He didn’t think “Kathy threw the bowl near me” which would mean he’d likely try again when I left the room. He also didn’t think “ wow – ALL tables are noisy” because he’d only experienced this one. When the noise occurred, Kobe thought “wow – that’s a noisy table!” That’s important to understand. He didn’t think “Kathy threw the bowl near me” which would mean he’d likely try again when I left the room. He also didn’t think “ wow – ALL tables are noisy” because he’d only experienced this one. Even though this correction was successful, it won’t be the end of the game for him. Dogs don’t always generalize as well as people do, so Kobe may initially say “OK, no jumping on this table NOW”, but in an hour he might try again. This is because to him, eating food is such a powerful reinforcer - sometimes so much so that it initially overrides the corrections. Multiple set ups and corrections at the same location, at different times of the day may be needed before your dog is convinced. You’ve heard the saying “Location, location, location” – it comes into play in dog training, too. To solve this (as well as most other) behavior problem, you need to set up the correction to happen in different locations – one side of the table, the other side, the counters, the kitchen the dining room, whatever, until he understands that this happens EVERY time on EVERY surface. Since the holidays are fast approaching, you would be wise to focus on the surfaces that your holiday food will be residing on (dining room table, kitchen counters). Later you can deal with other locations like the kids’ playroom, but with a time crunch, you’d best work on the main locations first. Different Strokes For Different………Dogs. Of course, an emotionally sensitive or sound sensitive dog would have a nervous break down with this correction, so instead you might drop something quieter, like a metal spoons or a key ring. In those cases be careful not to jingle the “startle –er” or your dog will figure out that you’re connected to the correction. An emotionally tough/non sound-sensitive dog may think these corrections sound like dinner music, so you might try rigging up a pyramid of empty soda cans with a few pennies inside (taped shut) and tie a piece of black string to the one on the bottom and attach a tempting piece of meat to it at the edge of the counter. Then leave the room and listen for the crash. These are REMOTE corrections and are extremely successful with THIS type of dog. Obviously, you have to keep your dog’s size in mind when doing this – two cans would probably be sufficient for a small dog. For a dog that’s totally oblivious to the noise, you may have to use a static mat placed on the table or counter. He’ll get a mild static snap when he jumps up to steal the food and hopefully that will convince him to stay away. With ALL behavior problems - the key to success is to know WHO your dog is and use a solution that works for his unique personality. |
