Hi guys. Ginger and I have a problem, and I guess it is a bigger problem than I wanted to admit. She is a toy thief. It started about a year and a half ago I guess, where she started stealing her friends toys. When we would go over to a doggie friends house she would try to take one of their toys with her when it was time to go. One time we were all in the back yard at a friend's house and she took one of Hudson's toys and kept walking to the gate with it like she was ready to leave with the toy. I, of course told her no and took the toy away from her. A little later I see her doing something by the fence, I look, and she has the same toy and she is trying to shove it under the fence. Okay, that is problem #1, problem #2 is balls at the park. I always take a ball for Ginger to play with, but she wants everyone else's balls. She will run after any ball that is thrown and very often gets there before her friend (there are two in particular that I am thinking of). Now, if told Uh-uh or leave it she will. Or if the other dog growls or butts her she will leave it. But it is a constant battle. I think we really annoyed one of our friends at the park this weekend because she kept getting to the ball first. I kept trying to distract her with her own ball, and even had the friend she was watching throw her ball. Ginger didn't want her ball, she wanted the other one. So is this just normal doggie behavior, or is there something I should be doing? I will also say when we have doggie visitors to our house, Ginger has absolutely no problem with sharing her toys and even the treats she has "buried" around the house. When at the park if another dog gets to her ball before her, no problem, no barking, growling or anything like that. So I don't think it is a dominance thing, I just think it is because it is something new or different to her. What should I do?
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