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Our shoes

4K views 14 replies 8 participants last post by  selzer 
#1 ·
We've had Rudy the Rescue for about 6 weeks, and he is definitely relaxing with us. He is delightful. He was very cautious and never "stole" things before, so I'm happy that he feels he can show his devil side. One behavior puzzles me, and I wonder if this is a GSD thing. If one of us is gone outside, or even in another room and not accessible, he will steal a slipper or shoe from the closet and mouth it while lying outside the front door or closed door. Doesn't destroy it, just slimes it up real good. We have had a conversation about not going in the closet, so now he goes to the front door and selects his slipper or shoe from there. Is this typical behavior? He did also steal an apple, but that was a whole different thing. Previous to the last 2days, he has never counter surfed, never begged or even entered the kitchen when we were eating, and has only stolen that one apple. Maybe I have a false sense of security about the food...
 
#2 ·
Some GSD's do strange things.

Lisl removed the shoe laces from my running shoes twice and from a pair of casual shoes once. Didn't chew on the shoes, she just removed and chewed the laces.

Strangest behavior I've ever seen. She hasn't done it again since she was around six months.
 
#3 ·
Some GSD's do strange things.
I concur. Sofie only sleeps with her head on a "pillow" (it can be anything, including another animal!), Yann has taken to stealing my 2 year old's raggedy Ann doll....he doesn't destroy it, just runs the yarn through his teeth, I guess it feels good. They're weird.

~*~*~*~
Furbabies:
Sofie Rose born 08/2012
Yann von Erzengel born 02/2006
 
#5 ·
it's not a breed thing. it's a training thing.

We've had Rudy the Rescue for about 6 weeks, and he is definitely relaxing with us. He is delightful. He was very cautious and never "stole" things before, so I'm happy that he feels he can show his devil side. One behavior puzzles me, and

>>>> I wonder if this is a GSD thing. <<<<

If one of us is gone outside,

or even in another room and not accessible, he will steal a slipper or shoe from the closet and mouth it while lying outside the front door or closed door. Doesn't destroy it, just slimes it up real good. We have had a conversation about not going in the closet, so now he goes to the front door and selects his slipper or shoe from there. Is this typical behavior? He did also steal an apple, but that was a whole different thing. Previous to the last 2days, he has never counter surfed, never begged or even entered the kitchen when we were eating, and has only stolen that one apple. Maybe I have a false sense of security about the food...
 
#6 ·
I didn't say she chewed on the shoes. She removed the laces.

She hasn't gone near them since with no training at all. I couldn't catch her doing it so I couldn't make a correction. She stopped on her own.
 
#7 ·
i posted in your thread but i was referring to the OP.
i think any kind of chewing, counter surfing, scratching
the walls, destroying property is a training issue.

I didn't say she chewed on the shoes. She removed the laces.

She hasn't gone near them since with no training at all. I couldn't catch her doing it so I couldn't make a correction. She stopped on her own.
 
#10 ·
Our rescue has been guesstimated by the shelter as 5 years old, assumed to be used as breeding stock for the puppy mill he was rescued from. We got him about 3.5 months ago. I have found that he liked to "borrow" my slippers in the same way, not chewing, just mouthing them and only when we were gone or hitting the snooze button for a few extra zzzs if he wasn't telling us he needed to go out. He didn't steal my winter boots, but for a while did the mouthing, licking, sliming? thing to the fake fur trim as well. My slippers had fake fur trim too. Not sure if it maybe was a comfort thing, reminding him of the other dogs he was with or the puppies he created while he got used to us and this larger space or a texture thing or what, but I'd put my slippers in a drawer when not in use for ease after we let him know they weren't his and he hasn't mouthed my boot trim in at least a month now from what my boyfriend and I noticed so far. May have to test with the slippers again to see if he's over that. Probably good to remind your pup it's not theirs, but the behavior could possibly go away on it's own from what it seems like with us and at least one other on this thread. Keep an eye on the behavior and see what other's have experienced and suggest. I'd be glad to have any extra insight for us too.

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#12 ·
Koshka used to take one of my slip-ons nearly every night, so I'd get out of bed and be all, "Koshka, where is my shoe?" nearly every morning. He was just taking it out to the kitchen and using it as a pillow, so I'm assuming he liked the smell of my feet? (Ew, lol.) Since the kitchen floor was cooler to lay on than our bedroom floor, I guess he wanted something that smelled like me with him out there. Or maybe he just wanted to make sure I couldn't sneak off without him, since he had my shoe.
 
#15 ·
I think it is a security thing too.

Feet sweat. Possessing the shoe of a person that the dog is starting to feel safe with, kind of makes sense. I had a couple of bitch puppies that decided my left slippers were to be molested and ruined. They got three of them. Always the left one. What's up with that??? I mean, who cares if they match at home, but you can't wear two right slippers!

I also have a small bear that sits on my desk in my bedroom. It can be wound up and plays Jesus Loves Me. But the dogs don't know this. They just know it is mine. Every time I am house training a puppy, I start by keeping them in the room with me, and then I start letting them have my bedroom at night when I am sleeping.

So far, every one has taken the bear off my desk but none of them have eaten the bear. This is amazing because they can go through stuffed animals like nobody's business. But they all seem to have decided the little bear is not to be eaten.

One day some youngster is going to eat the bear. I know this. But it is pretty surprising that it has made this long.
 
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