# How do I get puppy to leave the kids toys/stuffed animals alone?



## gemini6774 (Oct 15, 2012)

He is great with the chewing thing for the most part, but if the kids leave a toy or are even still playing with a toy the dog thinks it's his. This isn't just some toys, it's all of them. I have a daycare and teach the kids to pick up after themselves and they are all pretty good but he will just take it from the ground where they are playing. My dd will play lego and he puts it in his mouth. Now most things he will drop and he appears to know it's wrong as he runs and wags his tail as if to get attention for it. A lot of times he just snatches it and runs away then drops it and waits for me to punish him for it. The other thing is if the kids have left their bedroom doors open he will go in there take one of their stuffies and bring it downstairs to me. Tries to get me to chase him around for it. He has always left shoes alone, but now winter is coming he seems to also do the same thing with the winter boots (the ones that have more fuzz to them. Again, he doesn't actually sit and chew at it, just a ploy to get me to play with him. I give him lots of attention through the day, he comes outside to play with us and on walks, etc. But I do have 7 kids here as well so he needs to be able to self entertain sometimes. He has toys, but he's a power chewer and destroys anything that is not a nylabone/antler/kong. He is 8 months old, will he just outgrow this? He does know the leave it command and drop it, however, because he's wanting my attention he seems to not obey these commands in this scenario.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Dogs don't really understand the concept of ownership. So, if they see a toy they are interested in, they will often just go and grab it. They don't reason it out, and think "oops, THAT toy is a kid toy, not mine."

Also, he doesn't run because he knows it's wrong, he runs because dogs LOVE chase, and if he takes something, maybe you will chase him, or at least try to catch him, and that is so much fun (to him!).

Can you keep work on getting the kids to remember to shut the doors? That would at least take care of him getting things from their rooms.

You say he knows the leave it and drop it commands._ BUT, if he's not responding, it's probably because the thought of playing chase with you over a toy is much better (in his opinion) than whatever treat you are using for leave it or drop it._ You are using treats for that, right? So, you'd need to find a treat that is better (in his opinion) than a game of chase.

So, if I were you, I would practice leave it or drop it with the kids' toys, and some high value treats. Like really high value. Maybe try some tiny bits of cheese and hot dogs, just the size of your pinky fingernail. And, maybe you could spend just a minute or two practicing leave it or drop it with the super yummy treats, and the kids' toys, when they kids are there, too, not just when they're not there. I always just told the kids, "Will you help me teach the puppy to leave our toys alone?" And, they would at least focus on what I was doing with the dogs for a few minutes. And, if you can just do a minute or two a few times a day, it might be enough. Really, all you are doing is "firming up" his performance of leave it or drop it, by letting him know that there are really, really good treats involved. Eventually, you'd eliminate using treats for every time, just spontaneously giving treats. Then, none.

And, by that time, he may have outgrown some of this......


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Trust me, it's easier to teach the kids to put their toys away. It only took my niece losing her favorite stuffed animal for her to figure it out. Don't buy a replacement, either. The child fails to put their toys away and the dog destroys them, the child doesn't have a toy anymore. They'll figure it out.


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## gemini6774 (Oct 15, 2012)

Like I said the kids are pretty good it's actually mostly when they are playing with the toys. I have a daycare so there are toys being played with all the time. Not by just 1 or 2 kids, by 7 kids. The kids have all been trained to put the toys away, but they should be able to play with toys without fear of the dog coming to steal it away, I have a table that they can play with but when the kids play sometimes they play on the floor the toys are on the floor being played with he goes over and just takes it. Also, sometimes they are playing up at the table and a piece drops, as soon as it drops he's all over it like white on rice. He will leave it if it's a piece of food that drops in the kitchen. It's the kids toys, he just wants them! It's like doxiemommy said, he knows that I will chase him to get the toy out of his mouth and that is more fun for him. I will try to get a good reward and do that with him. The problem with my kids rooms are that my ds's room doesn't close properly so when I've finally told him he can't play in the playroom anymore (if he won't leave the kids alone and play with his own toys or me) he pushes the door open and steals a stuffie off the bed. It closes over but not shut tight (it's broken). I guess I will have to figure out how to fix the door. I think maybe I'll try the bitter apple spray too on some of the toys and maybe that will deter him along with some of the high reward treats.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

I would not put bitter apple on kids' toys. If they touch the toys and then touch their mouths, the taste will really bother them, too -- and that stuff stays on your hands even after multiple washes. Trust me, I have accidentally gotten it on my fingers and then tried to eat finger foods... it was gross.


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## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

Yeah, Crantastic, I also have tasted the Bitter Apple. Oh, my gosh. So horrible.


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## gemini6774 (Oct 15, 2012)

Lol, well, I have a 3 year old that won't stop putting her hands in her mouth, maybe that would work (joking, lol)!. Okay, I'll just do the high value treat first. My neighbour also has a daycare and 2 dogs, she suggested the bitter apple spray.


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

What I'd do is probably just separate the kids and dogs. Your dog sounds amazing with kids, but you never know when a kid is going to do something unpredictable to upset a dog, or even accidentally hurt a dog and cause the dog to snap out of reflex. I'd be especially careful when you have a daycare and are looking after other people's kids. Even if you're supervising at all times, which I'm sure you are, it would be safer to have the dog separated from the children... and would keep him away from the toys as well.


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## gemini6774 (Oct 15, 2012)

Yes, for the most part he is separated from the kids. I have a pretty open concept home so it's via a gate between 2 couches. He has jumped over once to get back in. I have been giving him a chance to come in and play with us. If he can leave the kids alone and play with his own toys, he's okay. Once he gets up, that's when he starts to look for trouble. I will then sit and try to play with him a little, but he is persistant about investigating the kids and their things, so he eventually gets the gate put up. He then is free to pretty much play in the rest of the house. But he seems to want me of course to play with him. So he has figured out that my ds's room doesn't close properly and will push on it, jump on the bed, get a stuffed toy and bring it to the kitchen to play with it. He doesn't destroy it, just brings it and then drops it and tries to hide cause he knows I'm upset with him and he wags his tail. Like a guilty little kid! It's actually sort of funny if it wasn't so maddening. I eventually just crate him. I have posed the same question regarding puppies and daycare on a daycare forum and they all stated they generally crate for most of the day. I just feel like I would like him to be part of our day and come with us for walks and hang out with us, etc. I feel like there is no training happening while he is in the crate. So I just want to be able to figure out the best way for us to make that happen. Happy puppy, happy kids, happy me! If that makes any sense. I am very careful, he is never left alone with the kids. I always make him come with me to the kitchen when I make the kids lunch, or crate him if I have to go to the bathroom or something. No, I definitely need to make sure the kids are always safe. They are my priority for sure!


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

It sounds like you're doing things right, then! I wouldn't worry about crating him some; it's good for dogs to get used to downtime in the crate, too.  It's great that he gets to go along on walks, and I'm sure the kids love that!


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## spotted nikes (Feb 7, 2008)

Crantastic said:


> What I'd do is probably just separate the kids and dogs. Your dog sounds amazing with kids, but you never know when a kid is going to do something unpredictable to upset a dog, or even accidentally hurt a dog and cause the dog to snap out of reflex. I'd be especially careful when you have a daycare and are looking after other people's kids. Even if you're supervising at all times, which I'm sure you are, it would be safer to have the dog separated from the children... and would keep him away from the toys as well.


This^^^. Put a toddler gate up to keep him away from the kids. The liability to you is HUGE if he accidentally snaps, even if a kid accidentally stepped on his tail or something. And the dog is always the loser, either being dumped or put down.


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## edenorchards (Nov 13, 2012)

Haha... dogs are so funny. My Rosie had the habit of going into my daughters' room and plucking up whatever toy seemed interesting and then depositing it somewhere else in the house. She only actually chewed up a few. Mostly she just seemed to lose interest in her little treasure at some point and deposit it randomly about the house.
I did two things, 1) taught my kids to keep their door closed. I couldn't have the dog dropping small toys (choking hazards) in the area where our infant might get ahold of them! It was VERY serious that they stop allowing her to do that.

But the best thing I did was this: Every time I caught Rosie walking around with a kid toy in her mouth (and I did intentionally set up opportunities where I put a tempting stuffed toy in plain view on their floor, left their door wide open, then waited for Rosie to take the bait) I asked her to "give" into my hand (or "drop it" if she was going away from me and it was more convenient) and I immediately 1) enthusiastically praised her and 2) gave her a substitute toy. I actually bought a new and exciting dog toy and called it her "baby". I accepted her deposit of the kids' toy and then made her "baby" look so exciting and enticing and gave her that instead.

Then I played with her for a couple of minutes with her "baby".

After a while Rosie completely stopped even trying to get into the kids' room to steal toys, but instead would bring me her "baby" for playtime or would simply raid her dog toy box on her own.

Oh-and I do have a big box of dog toys available to them at all times. I rotate the toys to keep things interesting. 

Now my toddler leaves toys all over the livingroom and I rarely have a problem with toy-snatching. But when I do I offer a quick trade-and-praise.

You run a day-care, so I bet you're all too familiar with using trade methods for distracting toddlers getting into or focusing on off-limits items, right? Its sort of the same idea. It worked for me, anyway!


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## gemini6774 (Oct 15, 2012)

Well, I managed to get him to leave the toys alone, not because I had to ever do a trade off with a piece of hot dog though......because the hot dog smell is so enticing he won't leave me alone and keeps jumping all over me. LOL! That was yesterday. Today we tried again but I made sure to keep it well hidden in a pocket, he could still smell it and jumped but lost interest after a while. As soon as he managed to walk over to a toy, he didn't leave it, but did drop it right away for the reward. Then jumped all over me again for more. We'll keep it up. Thanks!


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## xxxxdogdragoness (Jul 22, 2010)

Have you tried a "place" or "bed" command? Maybe have a drag line on him (just a standard 6-8 ft leash will do) when you notice him start eyeing the kids or their toys, have a stuffed kong (frozen in the freezer with yogurt or peanut butter the night before) or his favorite toy & pick up his drag leash & play with him with his toy & take with him to his "place" & lie him down.

If he gets up again rinse & repeat, if you are too busy you might have to tether him to a sturdy piece of furniture so he can't get back to them. If he's ok with being tied that is, that's how I taught Josefina to stay where I put her, after one time of telling her to stay she got tied, no punishment not even a "no" I just repeated "place" & sent her there & tied her up.


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