# Chewing, food stealing and bin raiding.



## Lucy1012 (May 23, 2010)

I have a 3 year old Ridgeback who we have had just over a year. when we got her she was a horrific chewer, you name it she chewed it. So we programmed ourselves not to leave things in reach. She then turned her attention to opening the larder door and stealing food from there. So we placed a lock on the door and other doors like the front room door etc, so she started chewing the kids toys, a stairgate went up,. which she jumps with no effort but has slowed that problem down. She has now turned her attention to the bin and dirty nappies, which i have come home to find broken and the contents all over the kitchen. Whilst I was clearing that up she has chewed through the 2nd childs lunchbox in so many weeks. I am at my wits end with her. She is given appropriate toys to chew and she does chew them. All of her mischeif (apart from the kids toys and a pair of clarks kids shoes) has been food orientated. I understand dogs are scavengers but this is really out of control. Couple this with the fact she is a nightmare on the lead I am really beginning to regret having her.


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## Bearpaw (Dec 10, 2009)

Hi,hopefully you will get lots of helpful replies to your thread,dont give up yet!
Firstly,can i ask,how much excercise she gets per day? and what you are feeding her? Do you use a crate and how long she is left for each day?


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## Lucy1012 (May 23, 2010)

Bearpaw said:


> Hi,hopefully you will get lots of helpful replies to your thread,dont give up yet!
> Firstly,can i ask,how much excercise she gets per day? and what you are feeding her? Do you use a crate and how long she is left for each day?


I do not use a crate no, she is in her bed in the hall with my other dog. As for excercise she gets about 1hr 30min ish a day. Split over 2 walks, but has access to a large garden all day every day. She is fed on a natural diet, of meat, bones and veg. The bin today happened on the 20 minutes I was out getting the kids from school, but it doesn't seem to matter whether we are in or not hence the loss of my daughters lunch box. but as a general rule she is not left for more than 2.5 hours per day.


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## Jasper's Bloke (Oct 30, 2009)

What is the other dog like? Does it join in the fun or just let her get on with it?

I would of asked the same questions as Bearpaw, but as she seems to have a healthy diet and sufficient exercise I can only recommend a crate.

If they are introduced correctly and always seen as a positive thing rather than a punishment then they can be invaluable. Not only will they keep the contents of our house safe it will also keep her from eventually eating something she shouldn't, which could be very dangerous.

The only other thing I can suggest is to look more closely at what you are feeding her, she should have meat from a variety of animals over the course of the week and should be eating between 2-3% of her bodyweight per day. Different meats contain different amino acids and dogs need all of them in order to maintain a balanced diet. If she is missing out on one or more of these she may be trying to scavenge food to address the imbalance. Personally I don't feed any veg, just meat, so am not sure what kind of percentage of the diet that should make up.


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## Guest (Sep 23, 2010)

I have a tealeaf here! and I can tell you I have NEVER been able to stop her! I will not use a crate, I have tried muzzling her but I am terrified that she will hurt herself as she goes crazy!

This dog goes belong the norm in my view! She can break into anywhere! YEP! unless a door is locked she can open it! The other day she removed the cat flat and then chewed the plastic frame that is sat in to get to something she wanted! Today I returned - all doors we thought had been jammed - and I was only out an hour and she had got a packet of coconut from somewhere!

The only advice I can give re the theiving is to TRY and get everything out of there reach!

The reason!! dunno! she is fed well - I can only put it down to her being one of a large litter and had to fight( not literally) for her food when she were with the litter!


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## newfiesmum (Apr 21, 2010)

Perhaps she is just a natural born thief, like my Ferdie. There is nothing he can't reach and he knows it. I daren't leave food on the worktop, but even if there is no food up there he will find something to steal: tube of solvite (found in the garden) my spectacles (also found in the garden) half bottle of glucosomine (gobbled up and thrown up all over the carpet). As for the bin, I keep it in the downstairs bathroom with the door shut.


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## Bearpaw (Dec 10, 2009)

Hi again,sorry had to sort littlies.

Have you had her from a pup? And if so,what training has she had?
As said above i would look at her food intake and check that she isnt lacking something or having too much of something.Some dogs suit some foods,others just dont.(i wanted to feed mine a high quality food,but they just didnt do well on it at all!!)Maybe ask other ridge owners what they are feeding,so you can get some comparison and idea of requirements on natural foods.
Mental stimulation,like mind games,hiding things etc may help.as this breed need to be stimulated and get bored very easily!
Again,as said before,what is your other dog like?
Have you tried clicker training,you say she is very food orientated,this may work with her,as may going back to some kind of training class or maybe agility?
Setting firm boundaries,rewards for good behaviour.
Also can you keep her out of the kitchen? iv bought one of the higher dog stairgates,as i have a jumper (although she can scale it when my back is turned!),maybe worth looking at,or keeping the door closed when you arent in there.
Its so hard to advise without seeing the dog etc but it does help to have a really big picture,hence all the questions!! lol
With walking,again,goes back to what she has already learnt from puppy hood and continuing with you now,are you a confident walker? does she use a halti or harness etc.What do you do when she pulls? Is she like that if someone else walks her? On her walks does she go off lead? and if so,how is she then?
Ill stop with the questions now lol


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

I've heard that a dog conducting food orientated destruction in the kitchen could be part of 2 things

1) Is your dog getting enough exercise to not be bored/frustrated? (Both physical and mental?) 

2) Varying your dogs diet can help reduce his hunting for different foods. I don't mean changing his food altogether, but use different mix ins everyday.


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2010)

Helbo said:


> I've heard that a dog conducting food orientated destruction in the kitchen could be part of 2 things
> 
> 1) Is your dog getting enough exercise to not be bored/frustrated? (Both physical and mental?)
> 
> 2) Varying your dogs diet can help reduce his hunting for different foods. I don't mean changing his food altogether, but use different mix ins everyday.


Mine is definately NOT bored! They say that dogs don't get bored with the same variety! but we give ours different varieties of the ND anyway!

just think some dogs are born greedy so consequently if the opportunity arises for them then the will steal!


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## Paddy Paws (Jul 11, 2010)

If she is totally food motivated you could try using a large feed ball to feed her. It will be mentally stimulation too. A crate may be good for a couple of weeks just to break the cycle. She is currently mentally programmed to chew. A week or 2 crated may help to reprogramme her. She may well need more mental stimulation. Look at Brain Training toys (only suitable under supervision).


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## ClaireandDaisy (Jul 4, 2010)

It sounds like a mix of separation anxiety and having gone hungry in the past. 
The SA is a difficult one and takes time. The scavenging is something I`ve found a previously starved dog never quite loses. 
You could try a garden run / kennel for when you go out, but be aware she might start barking / howling and upset your neighbours.
Personally, I`d find a good behaviourist and work with them to address the behaviour. 
One warning - there are a lot of unqualified behaviourists out there who have trained their own small well behaved dog, think they know it all and then bought a franchise. Only use one that is APBC or APDT qualified please.


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

DoubleTrouble said:


> Mine is definately NOT bored! They say that dogs don't get bored with the same variety! but we give ours different varieties of the ND anyway!
> 
> just think some dogs are born greedy so consequently if the opportunity arises for them then the will steal!


Sorry but I don't agree that some dogs are just greedy. How would you feel eating, say, a piece of dried bread 3 times a day for the rest of your life? Then I sit next to you with a fresh baked smelly lovely piece of cake. Wouldn't you try to get a piece too?

If you mix in a small amount of chicken with his normal food one night, and something else the next etc and make his food as exciting as possible, his tendency to look for food will diminish.

BUT, only coupled with him being unsuccessful if he does scavenge. If he finds food on the cabinet he's getting his own reward for his bad behaviour...


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## Guest (Sep 24, 2010)

Helbo said:


> Sorry but I don't agree that some dogs are just greedy. How would you feel eating, say, a piece of dried bread 3 times a day for the rest of your life? Then I sit next to you with a fresh baked smelly lovely piece of cake. Wouldn't you try to get a piece too?
> 
> If you mix in a small amount of chicken with his normal food one night, and something else the next etc and make his food as exciting as possible, his tendency to look for food will diminish.
> 
> BUT, only coupled with him being unsuccessful if he does scavenge. If he finds food on the cabinet he's getting his own reward for his bad behaviour...


Well I can assure you! it aint down to the food here! My dog gets nature diet! and we do vary the flavours! AND!! strange as it may seem she will if she gets in there pinch a pack out of the garage! so it is not a case of stealing a food that 'smells of tastes' better! she will steal her own food! But there is one thing you won't do! you won't stop the theiving! I'll put money on that!

and sorry! but if you mix something different and tasty in every night you have one a chance of making the dog fussy! or two encourage it to go looking for that food!

There are many many so called different reasons why a dog theives! This can include boredom, lack of exercise, previously starved! lack of stimulation - personally I don't THINK I believe any of em! imv A dog is a opportunist theif!


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## Lucy1012 (May 23, 2010)

Thanks for all the replies. I am going to the pet shop at the weekend to find her some food based toys a kong etc and I have ordered a book on natural feeding to get a better understanding about it to see if there is something amiss there. It is a shame as she is such a loving dog and has so many good points. We did break the cycle before by training ourselves to be more careful, I think the problem is that we have gotten sloppy again leaving things in her reach and dogs being the oportunists they are. I will take some of your ideas on board and make some changes and see what happens.


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## Ridgielover (Apr 16, 2008)

Oh dear - what a naughty girl! But she is not alone. I'm afraid that RRs are real foodies and many are terrible thieves. I don't have a bin where my dogs can reach it. I have one under the sink and it's usually safe there - unless someone doesn't close the cupboard properly. I've known of RRs that can open fridges and freezers and that have eaten frozen joints! They are good at using their brains for themselves. And they get into bad habits so quickly. I think that unless you want to crate train your girl, the only way with your girl is to be amazingly tidy and put your bin where she can't reach it 

Just as an aside - I came into my kitchen once to find one of my girls standing on her back legs ON TOP of the worktops, trying to reach something I'd put on top of the wall cupboards where I thought it would be safe. She can also open doors as could her grandfather and great, great grandfather and the latter used to try to open my microwave if I left things in there.

Oh - and Dogmatics are really good for using with dogs that pull


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## Helbo (Sep 15, 2010)

DoubleTrouble said:


> Well I can assure you! it aint down to the food here! My dog gets nature diet! and we do vary the flavours! AND!! strange as it may seem she will if she gets in there pinch a pack out of the garage! so it is not a case of stealing a food that 'smells of tastes' better! she will steal her own food! But there is one thing you won't do! you won't stop the theiving! I'll put money on that!
> 
> and sorry! but if you mix something different and tasty in every night you have one a chance of making the dog fussy! or two encourage it to go looking for that food!
> 
> There are many many so called different reasons why a dog theives! This can include boredom, lack of exercise, previously starved! lack of stimulation - personally I don't THINK I believe any of em! imv A dog is a opportunist theif!


My information on this problem has come from a recently watched episode of "its me or the dog". Victoria Stillwell (i think she's called) met a dog with a similar sounding scavenging problem and her advice was to make it's already good dog food diet a bit more exciting with mix ins, to make the dog more physically and mentally stimulated, and to put away anything it could be rewarded by when scavenging. And it worked. And this was a dog that had learnt to open drawers to climb onto the work surface fully! He even opened the oven to get out whatever was cooking.

You only make a dog fussy about food if you're cooking whole meals for it with not dog food mixed in!! I'm only talking about a small handful of chicken or something to make it's dinner a bit more stimulating with different textures and flavours.

You can stop the thieving if the dog isn't successful. Its just a matter of working hard to make sure theres nothing he can get at and eventually he'll learn it's not getting him anywhere...


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2010)

Helbo said:


> . Its just a matter of working hard to make sure theres nothing he can get at and eventually he'll learn it's not getting him anywhere...


Erm! didn't I put that in my first post on the thread!
But don't worry! I'll know what to do when the problem raises it's ugly head again!! I'll call my mate Victoria!:thumbup:


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