My adopted dog of 3 weeks moves my shoes around

Question

A few weeks ago we adopted a beautiful 2-3 year old puppy: an equal mix-breed of collie and Shepherd, named Wishbone. The shelter said they got him from another shelter out of state. All they knew was he was a stray living on the streets.

He is a huge cuddle bug and we adore him so much. When he thinks he is in trouble he rolls over on his back for belly rubs. Just a gentle giant.

Well, for the recent two weeks, Wishbone steals my husband’s and my shoes. He never chews on them, just moves them. We have 3 kids that interact with him daily and they don’t have their shoes stolen.

My husband and I work opposite schedules and long hours but someone is always home with him, always.

Why does he do this?

Answer 1

My dog used to steal my socks. He didn't steal anybody else's socks. And I encouraged it by chasing after him and then playing tug-of-war to get the socks back. After a few months, I grew tired of that game, and I discouraged the behavior by ignoring it. He would steal my socks, dash out the door, and then look back to see whether I would get up and chase him. I tried to not even make eye contact when he did that. I'd go find my socks later after he'd forgotten about it.

It took a couple of weeks before he completely gave up trying.

We have new games that we play now using his toys, not mine.