Dear Dog Talk: Eight years ago we adopted Eddie, a 1-year-old border collie, from the animal shelter. He has been a real joy and was very well-trained from the beginning. He loves me and considers me the alpha female and my husband the alpha male. He is great with my children and grandchildren. I have never had a more intelligent dog.
Eddie's two faults have always been that he will run away when left outdoors, and he does not get along with other dogs. He gets along only with humans.
My problem is that in the past year, Eddie has been pilfering from the kitchen table. My daughter moved back in with me after a separation and was leaving her children's food on the kitchen table. Eddie would wait until we were all out of the kitchen and then steal the food off the plate. He was so good that the plate was never disturbed. So we learned never to leave food on the kitchen table.
The night before Easter, I had cooked a roast on the grill and left it on the kitchen counter, which is considerably higher than the table. My granddaughter became tired, so I went upstairs to read to her. I heard the click clack of Eddie's feet, so I called him up. He came up, but when I went downstairs I saw that he had eaten a large portion of our dinner. I know I could not reprimand him after the fact.
Why would such a well-behaved dog do this⢠Also, what steps can I do to correct this behavior, which seems to be escalating⢠My son and I thought we could set up a scenario on the kitchen table where he would be caught in the act. Any suggestionsâ¢
Dear Familiar: Boy, does Eddie sound like my late, great Australian shepherd, Drifter -- the greatest food thief that ever lived! I used to tell people that Drifter may have been partly state-park raccoon. The only time in Drifter's 14 years that he did not successfully steal food was when I was smart enough to put food where he could not get it. Drifter might have sometimes gone a year at a time without stealing food. But eventually I would slip up ever so slightly, and Drifter would score.
Like Drifter, your dog Eddie is simply doing what all canines are genetically programmed to do: scavenge.
While it is true that Eddie's wild relatives (wolves, coyotes, etc.) are predators that hunt to eat, they also supplement their diets by scavenging. The carcasses left behind or left unguarded by other predators are fair game. So is the food and garbage of careless humans.
Even well-trained dogs will be food thieves. I have often said that the difference between a trained dog and an untrained dog is that an untrained dog will take your pork chop off your plate while you are sitting at the table. A trained dog will wait until you leave the room.
In my "Dog Talk" book I discuss the many exploits of Drifter, which you may find informative to read about. You can try a "set-up" with food, and it might work -- but it didn't with Drifter. My set-ups only taught Drifter to be more cautious and to case the area for spies before making his move.
There is a book that I love by the late author/dog trainer, Job Michael Evans, titled "People, Pooches & Problems." Howell Book House publishes the book. In his book, Evans discusses set-ups that he believed were often effective. Maybe this book can help you.
My advice is to be smarter than Eddie. Run a tight ship. Keep food where he cannot get it. If you are more consistent than I was (and I was pretty good), Eddie won't have a chance of matching Drifter's infamous resume of food thievery.
