Lab stealing from neighbours

ABEasy

Hi, I've a 9 month lab who steals from my neighbours. So far he has brought back flower boxes (after emptying on neighbours drive), clothes, axe, riding ropes (horses), a door mat and loads of other pieces of rubbish. It's kinda getting embarrasing now, even though the neighbours have been very nice about it. So how do I stop him stealing (or teach him to steal something good, cash, tv's, etc..... only joking). And is this a regular thing for pups/labs??

Thanks

Our lab used to do this and brought back the maddest stuff

I dont remember how we dealt with it, she seemed to grow out of it

faw1tytowers

Labs like to retrieve. Little gifts for you lol. I presume you lie in the country so he can roam.

ABEasy

faw1tytowers wrote: »

Labs like to retrieve. Little gifts for you lol. I presume you lie in the country so he can roam.

Yea, in country alright, have forrest behind us and a horse trainer across the road, so he's kept busy all day. Neighbour with the horses reckons he thinks he's a foal, he's up playing with the horses that much. When we get home in the evening all he does is sleep in front of the fire, shattered from whatever he's been up to during the day...

andreac

Keep him contained properly. Its not responsible to let your dog roam.

ABEasy

andreac wrote: »

Keep him contained properly. Its not responsible to let your dog roam.

Why not let him roam

ISDW

ABEasy wrote: »

Why not let him roam

For one thing because its against the law. What if he caused an accident crossing the road?

andreac

ABEasy wrote: »

Why not let him roam

Are you serious?? Its very irresponsible to let your dog roam, he could get stolen, cause an accident, cause trouble with livestock. Also, as ISDW, its against the law too.

ABEasy

ISDW wrote: »

For one thing because its against the law. What if he caused an accident crossing the road?

Against the law, really. A dog roaming private land is illegal?

Don't really want to get into the pros and cons of keeping a dog tied up. So back to the original question, anyone got any advise on teaching my dog to stop stealing.

shinikins

ABEasy wrote: »

Against the law, really. A dog roaming private land is illegal?

ABEasy wrote: »

Yea, in country alright, have forrest behind us and a horse trainer across the road,

Sorry ABEasy, but you have already stated that the horse trainer lives across the road, so you would be breaking the law by letting him roam. Unless the road you are referring to is a private laneway and then its not an issue.

The only way to break the habit is to reprimand him when you find him with something he shouldn't have. Us a stern voice and tell him no, ignore him for a while and keep doing it as long as he is behaving badly. He doesn't need to be tied up to be properly contained, perhaps you need to look at your boundary fences/hedging and reinforce them to keep him on your own property.

Bog Bunny

Hi, I am fairly new to this forum and have been lurking for a while to get the feel for the lay of the land, so to speak. I have a few assorted dogs and am very interested in dog behaviour.

They say in farming circles that good fences make good neighbours. And that holds true for doggy owners as well. Your pup stealing stuff from 'across the road' is not a training or un-training but a management question.
You should really have your property or at least a part securely fenced off if you leave him without supervision all day. It is irresponsible to the public but it is even more irresponsible to the dog himself to let him roam. The mischief-stealing can easily become a life-long habit because even adult dogs like to have fun and entertain themselves, especially when their owners are absent for many hours. The root cause is boredom.
The way a dog's mind works it is absolutely futile and actually counterproductive to reprimand him in any way for stealing when you don't catch him in the act. He just doesn't get it. All he knows is that for some reason unbeknown to him you are in a bad mood. That will only teach him to keep his distance, not come when called, be generally wary of you, distrust you. Life will not be very much fun for both parties then.

Training hints when puppies steal;
if you cannot intervene because you are not present when he does it, no chance of training.
The only way you can shape his behaviour away from stealing is to supervise him and when you see him attempting to pick up something he shouldn't you can divert his attention to something he is allowed to do and at the same time praise him for being so cooperative.
You'll find that he will enjoy doing something nice with you (playing fetch for instance) and will not need to go make up his own games wiht his own rules.

luvdogs

Have to agree, its not responsible to let your dog roam all day!!!
you are liable if he causes an accident etc as well as annoying other people!! you dont have to tie him up, just secure your garden!
why did you get him if you do nothing with him all day?
for me, i could never not, know where any of my dogs are at any given time!

to stop the stealing.....stop the roaming!

The Sweeper

ABEasy wrote: »

Why not let him roam

Because he's stealing from your neighbours, and it's causing you sufficient worry that you've decided to seek out advice on an internet bulletin board to stop him stealing from your neighbours because it's, in your own words:

kinda getting embarrasing now, even though the neighbours have been very nice about it

As for playing with your neighbour's horses - your dog could end up badly injured after getting a kick from a horse that doesn't appreciate his attentions. What you going to do if that happens? Say he has a shattered pelvis one day because one of the adults double-barrelled him during a particularly boisterous game. Ooo - here's a good one - say the adult horse also injures one of their legs doing the kicking. What then?

There's only one person legally liable for both of those vet bills - and that's you.

andreac

ABEasy wrote: »

Against the law, really. A dog roaming private land is illegal?
Don't really want to get into the pros and cons of keeping a dog tied up. So back to the original question, anyone got any advise on teaching my dog to stop stealing.

Yes, really. Your dog is not roaming on private land, hes trespassing on other peoples property and on a main road.
As another poster said, you dont have to tie your dog up at all. Get proper fencing up, gates etc.
The only way to stop him stealing is to keep him properly contained.
I actually cant believe you think its ok to let your dog roam

ppink

to be honest like the posters above said it will be nearly impossible to stop him without being there. it sounds like he is having the time of Reilly (in his eyes);)
I would ask you though, you say the neighbours have been really nice up to now but it will wear a bit thin? I would think it was cute to a point but after I had flowerpots overturned,"clothes, axe, riding ropes (horses), a door mat and loads of other pieces of rubbish" stolen from me randomly, I would probably be ready to flatten the dog or the owner!
All these things are fine until someone just gets fed up to the teeth of it and then who suffers...the dog? the neighbours?
I dunno but for me I would be containing him, have him out in your place when you are there to manage him?

As an aside if I was to hit a dog on the road belonging to a person who constantly let him roam I would seriously consider sueing the owner for every penny I could and give it all to charity.

ISDW

ABEasy wrote: »

Against the law, really. A dog roaming private land is illegal?

Don't really want to get into the pros and cons of keeping a dog tied up. So back to the original question, anyone got any advise on teaching my dog to stop stealing.

You said the dog is stealing from the neighbours, so he is leaving your private property and going onto other peoples. You also said he crossed the road to go to the horse trainer.

Nobody here has mentioned tying him up. You can't teach the dog anything if you're not there with him, so the only way to prevent him doing it is to not let him go out to do it.

Fence your property or build him a run, walk him before and after you go to work, he'll enjoy the exercise much more with you than just roaming around the countryside by himself. And, you can teach him while you're walking.

Its amazing how quickly neighbours aren't quite so friendly when real damage has been done, if your dog causes a horse to be hurt, things would be very different. Does that neighbour train just his/her own horses, or other peoples?

I really don't understand this school of thought that if you live in the town or city you have to keep your dog under control, but if you live in the country its fine to just let them roam. This country just has one set of laws, which apply to everyone, not one set for urban dwellers and one for rural dwellers. I live in the country and don't see why I have to dodge the loose dogs when I take mine out for a walk on a lead, or why my son and the other children around here take the risk of a nip on the leg as they cycle around the roads. I'm not saying your dog would bite a child, but some people are scared of dogs, and don't want to meet loose dogs while out and about.

I am curious, as you've taken the time to post on here about this, what did you think people were going to suggest? Surely you know that you have to be there with the dog to teach them something Did you think someone might have some way of remotely teaching the dog? Thats not sarcasm, I am really interested in how you think a dog can be taught something with no human interaction there.

alexa5x5

Have to agree with other posters. Plus aren’t you worried that he could get knocked down whilst crossing the road to get to the horses? Or even kicked/stood on accidentally by a horse? If it was me I would be out of my mind worrying about what kind of trouble he was getting up to roaming.

Also I imagine your neighbours are being polite (since they are your neighbours) since these are relatively new occurrences, but I suspect there patients will eventually run thin, especially the horse owner.

The situation sounds idyllic (in theory) for a dog….lots of places to have fun and have adventures, but I’m sure you want what’s best for your new dog, maybe you could think about what some of the other posters have suggested.

Bog Bunny

ABEasy, you are quiet about the valid arguments against letting your dog roam and the questions raised in the various posts. Are you considering your options?
For the sake of this nice puppy, I hope you do. Otherwise it will be just another case of animal neglect....

Eibhin

Or a whopping vet bill for either you or your neighbour

ABEasy

luvdogs wrote: »

Have to agree, its not responsible to let your dog roam all day!!!
you are liable if he causes an accident etc as well as annoying other people!! you dont have to tie him up, just secure your garden!
why did you get him if you do nothing with him all day?
for me, i could never not, know where any of my dogs are at any given time!

to stop the stealing.....stop the roaming!

I have tried to secure the points I know he is getting out, but he just finds another way. I'm on about 1.5 acres, bordered by ditches/trees so securing the garden is not a practical option. I don't believe in having him tied up/ locked in all day.

In relation to 'why did you get him if you do nothing with him all day?'. Get off ur high horse will u, I'm on here looking for practical pet advise not to be lectured... but for the record I got him because I love animals and enjoy their company, however because I work I don't have the time to spend the whole day with him. I do however bring him for walks/have him in in the evenings and weekends.

Thanks everyone for the practical advise, I know I can't reprimand him if I don't catch him in the act, thats where I'm caught. anyone other ideas??

ABEasy

Bog Bunny wrote: »

ABEasy, you are quiet about the valid arguments against letting your dog roam and the questions raised in the various posts. Are you considering your options?
For the sake of this nice puppy, I hope you do. Otherwise it will be just another case of animal neglect....

I wasn't near a computer for the past few days hence the lack of response, I am serious about training my dog hence I'm on here asking for advise. But I don't believe in tying him up, securing the garden is not a real option. Because I'm not home during the day and don't catch him in the act I can't reprimand him. Are there any other options, do they grow out of this (he does seem a little less active lately-no new items for past week or so).

In relation to the roaming, I've discussed this with the neighbours a few times, they are happy to have him around the place. I will keep asking them, so if they do get annoyed they will let me know (but I hope to have this sorted before then). For any 'what if' vet bills/car damage bills I'll pay them if they occur.

luvdogs

im not on a high horse actually, i too love animals and when im not at home i leave mine safe and secure not roaming free....sorry if this sounds like you think it does ,but theres nothing you can say that will make me think its ok to leave your dog running free when you`re not at home?
if you cant secure your entire property then build a big enclosure for him for when you cant be with him...its the responsible thing to do!

Cherry Blossom

ABEasy wrote: »

For any 'what if' vet bills/car damage bills I'll pay them if they occur.

OP, the Jack Russell that lives next door to me killed a mare in foal last year, it cost the owner of that dog €3,500. His dogs disappeared for a while but miraculously reappeared when the man that was leasing the field moved the rest of the horses. Funnily enough he (the owner of the horses) had no objection to the dog running round after his horses before this happened either. If it were one of mine there is not a hope in hell he'd have gotten off that lightly. If I ever discover one of his dogs on my property he'll be for it, I don't care what it's doing or not doing.

I'm pretty sure three and a half grand would have been more than enough to provide a decent fence to keep the dog in.

It's more a case of 'when' than 'what if'.

Bog Bunny

ABEasy wrote: »

I have tried to secure the points I know he is getting out, but he just finds another way. I'm on about 1.5 acres, bordered by ditches/trees so securing the garden is not a practical option. I don't believe in having him tied up/ locked in all day.

In relation to 'why did you get him if you do nothing with him all day?'. Get off ur high horse will u, I'm on here looking for practical pet advise not to be lectured... but for the record I got him because I love animals and enjoy their company, however because I work I don't have the time to spend the whole day with him. I do however bring him for walks/have him in in the evenings and weekends.

Thanks everyone for the practical advise, I know I can't reprimand him if I don't catch him in the act, thats where I'm caught. anyone other ideas??

There is really no other option or advise than securing your pup in a safe area. Build him an enclosure that incorporates the house and from where he can watch and observe what's going on. I am sure he has a favourite spot near the house.

Unless you are independently rich the vet bills or compensation claims your roaming pup may incur will make the once-off expense for a proper enclosure look like peanuts!

Do you have him in the house at night?

toadfly

ABEasy wrote: »

For any 'what if' vet bills/car damage bills I'll pay them if they occur.

So you think its ok for your dog to roam as long as you have enough money to pay the bills?

Does it not bother you that you dog could be killed on the road, kicked by a horse and in a ridiculous amount of pain? He could cause an accident where someone else could be killed/seriously injured? You are ok to have that on you?

Build/buy him an enclosure, you have enough room to get him a good sized one. Give him a filled kong/toys etc, an insulated kennel and he'll be fine while you are gone.

Tranceypoo

I don't understand. On the one hand you are an 'animal lover' as you say, but on the other hand, your casual, off-hand attitude to this situation absolutely baffles me. Your dog is free to roam around wherever he feels like during the day whilst you're not around. As other posters have said, he could cause an accident, be in an accident, so much could happen to him, he could be stolen, especially if he isn't neutered (is he?), he could get the scent of a bitch from miles away and be off and then you've just contributed to the dog population in this country, as an animal lover I'm sure you realise that that number is already sky high and doesn't need adding to. Your neighbours are being very nice and patient at the moment and it's nice to know you can cover any potential vet bills for damage to their horses/dogs or your own dog but really, do you want it to get that far? Could you have on your concience that a horse/dog or God forbid person died/was injured, because you couldn't be bothered to build your dog a proper, secure run and make sure it had enough excercise before you set off for work.
Honestly I'm shocked, I literally could not sit at my desk all day and get on with my tedious job, knowing that my dog was roaming round the place getting up to God knows what. Please take the advice on board and listen to the experiences of other posters and build your dog a secure run, get up an hour early and take him for a walk before you leave for the day, take him for a walk when you get home, no matter how tired you are, last night I came home with a pounding headache but there he was at the door waiting for his walk and I had to do it, even thought I just wanted to get into bed and put the duvet over my head!! The freezing wind got rid of my headache in the end!!

BengaLover

Agree with posters who said its irresponsible to let your dog roam.
YOUR dog, needs to be where you know it is and can keep an eye on it.
Our neighbours next door ( we live in the countryside) let their dog roam since they got it as a pup last xmas.
Its shat in ours and everyone elses gardens, chased my cats, bit 2 kids, impregnated 2 female dogs and kept us up all hours barking.
This dog was poisoned a few days ago - I can only guess by an irate farmer/dog owner.
Its dead now.
Anything could happen to your dog, and if its on someone elses land/property then its only time before someone decides to take action against it.
Sorry to sound harsh, but it really makes me mad when people get dogs and just let them wander and roam all day long.

tropics

OP I also have a Lab he is almost 2 now.
From my own experience they are very curious and at times not too smart about what they put in there mouths.

For example, I had to rush him to UCD Vet hospital on a Sunday night around Christmas because he chewed my TV remote while I was in the shower (my fault for leaving it in his reach). I though he swallowed a battery luckily he did not (I found it 3 weeks later under the washing machine).

I would be most concerned about what could happen to him if I allowed him out on his own. There are countless things in yards that can harm dogs; I have seen the result of a German Sheppard who got on the wrong side of a pony. He had to have his hips wired up.

Another danger of allowing your dogs to roam in the country is farmers. They are within rights to shoot your dog if it attacks livestock. Would that not give you cause for concern?

Would you not just build a large enclosure for him, it is safer for him, safer for the horses, safer for road users and gives you peace of mind during the day.

mikemac

ABEasy wrote: »

Yea, in country alright, have forrest behind us and a horse trainer across the road, so he's kept busy all day. Neighbour with the horses reckons he thinks he's a foal, he's up playing with the horses that much. When we get home in the evening all he does is sleep in front of the fire, shattered from whatever he's been up to during the day...

If there was a mare in foal the owner will want that dog off their land.
And if that owner had sheep your dog would have been shot by now, lambing season isn't far off. And the local garda would say it was your own fault if you complained

seamus

Seriously, we're not far off off lambing season at all. If a farmer even gets a whiff that your dog is going to bother his ewes in the slightest, he won't hesitate to get the shotgun out.

That's a warning for anyone who lets their dog roam in the country. A friend of mine lives at the foothills of the Dublin mountains, had a red setter which used to be able to get out the garden and they thought nothing about it. One weekend they were also minding her parents' lab, the two dogs went off for a stroll. A few hours later, there's a knock on the door from a farmer with two dead bodies in his jeep and photos of the sheep the two dogs killed.
The dog had been getting out and roaming for a couple of years before this without incident. Needless to say they were devastated and still blame themselves.

As said above, it's not a case of "if", it's a case of "when".

Tranceypoo

seamus wrote: »

Seriously, we're not far off off lambing season at all. If a farmer even gets a whiff that your dog is going to bother his ewes in the slightest, he won't hesitate to get the shotgun out.

That's a warning for anyone who lets their dog roam in the country. A friend of mine lives at the foothills of the Dublin mountains, had a red setter which used to be able to get out the garden and they thought nothing about it. One weekend they were also minding her parents' lab, the two dogs went off for a stroll. A few hours later, there's a knock on the door from a farmer with two dead bodies in his jeep and photos of the sheep the two dogs killed.
The dog had been getting out and roaming for a couple of years before this without incident. Needless to say they were devastated and still blame themselves.

As said above, it's not a case of "if", it's a case of "when".

Also, you're going to have to compensate the farmer for his loss of livelihood, on top of the shock and devastation of losing your dog.

Zapperzy

Just want to mirror everyone else's view. As well as worrying livestock and possibly getting shot and a large bill and a dead dog handed to you, there is also the risk of him causing a car accident.
You will be liable for any damages (there was a thread a while back from someone in the same position, think the dog was killed and they had to pay damages to the car), but what if he caused an accident where someone was seriously injured or killed? No amount of compensation will pay for that. Remember the ad on tv for road safety where a dog runs out on the road and causes a car to swerve and kills somebody, well that ad should also have stated something about people who allow their dogs to roam on public roads.

My cousins allowed their pup to get out onto the road until it got ran over by a tractor one day, they had to get it's jaw wired into place again costing quite a considerable amount of money.

Iv been out riding horses and have had loose dogs run up and start running underneath the horse between it's legs. Not all horses are so calm and used to dogs, plenty will just double barrell the dog to oblivion. There is also the risk of the dog chasing the horses (or any type of livestock) and getting them so worked up that they run into some wire fencing and get caught up in it (which can cause serious injuries or kill them). As someone said it's lambing season so farmers will have no hesitation in shooting a dog seen anywhere near their sheep, some will not even wait until the dog is seen to be worrying the sheep, they will just shoot the dog as it's passing through their land.

Dog theft is a huge problem which is not yet widely known about, people seem to think dog thieves only target unusual or expensive breeds which is not the case. My friend's neighbour's labrador was stolen about 2 years ago, they never seen him again.

The only option is to keep the dog contained within your property while you are not there to watch him. No matter how much training you do with him, while you are not there to call him back he will still wander off if he sees something that catches his attention.