Sheltie 1 year old

Question
I have a just 1 year old Shetland sheep dog and he will eat pretty much any thing on the ground.  I keep the upstairs gated but occasionally he gets upstairs and he will eat plastic toys (ie Barbie, power rangers, marbles, legos ect.. Now if he gets one he runs down the stairs and hides with it chewing it down. He will go under the kitchen table with is back facing out.  He knows he took something wrong.  Any suggestions Thanks Joanna

Answer
Aside from keeping the items out of his reach, you could try a method of training called 'flooding.' Put him on a leash and training collar, and for this, I'm actually going to recommend that you use a choke collar. Normally I never recommend choke collars, but IF he gets an item in his mouth, you will need to use the unlimited slip feature of the choke collar to make him spit it back out. You cannot do this with a martingale style collar like a prong, because they do not tighten enough to choke the dog. You can use nylon or chain - whichever you prefer. The collar should be *just* long enough so that you can slip it over his head. It should be slightly snug as you do this, but once it's over his head, it will be loose around his neck. If you're using a chain collar, get the lightest weight you can buy in the length you need. You can probably use the lightest weight that's available, because Sheltie heads are pretty small.

It's extremely important to put on a choke collar correctly, otherwise it will not release after a correction, and will continue to choke the dog even though there is slack in the leash. To put a choke collar on correctly, slip the chain or nylon cord through one of the rings, and hold the collar up in front of you so that it forms a P. With the dog facing you, slip it over his head with the 'foot' of the P dangling down on the right side of the dog's head. Here is a visual for you:

First, holding it up in front of me, in a P, as best I could and hold the camera, too! *laugh*

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l190/runningtsjak/Obedience/Howtofitachokechai...

Then, correctly fitted on the dog. I am holding the ring that the leash will attach to.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l190/runningtsjak/Obedience/Howtofitachokechai...


This picture shows a collar INcorrectly fitted on the dog. Again, I'm holding the ring that the leash will attach to.

http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l190/runningtsjak/Obedience/Hownottofitachokec...



You will need a nylon or leather leash, as well. I'd recommend a 6 foot length leash.

I'm going to explain this in a nutshell. You may want to enlist the help of a local trainer that can walk you through the specifics.

Basically, what you're going to do is get a BUNCH of toys and scatter them all over the floor. Then, bring the dog in the room on the leash. Stop at the doorway so he can see all the wonderful goodies spread out just for him. *wink* Then, enter the room with him, and try to walk him around if you can, so that he's having to step over and around the toys. If you cannot do this, you may have to have him sit or lie down in the middle of them. If he goes for a toy, say "Ah ah!" and give a quick jerk upwards on the leash. Ideally, the collar should be at the top of his neck, just behind his ears. If he succeeds in snatching a toy, tell him "NO," one time, and lift up on the leash just so that his front feet come off the floor. Silently hold him there until he spits out the toy, and then immediately put him back down and praise him warmly, but calmly. You don't want to get him too excited, because then he won't be able to think. *laugh*

If you cannot take him into the room full of toys because of his excitement level, then put him in a sit-stay or down-stay and bring the toys to him. You will need a helper for this. Hold the leash in case he breaks position, and have your helper toss the toys, one at a time, all around him. If he breaks position to go after a toy, correct him verbally and with a leash pop.

Eventually you should be able to put him in a sit-stay or down-stay and toss the toys yourself, and then you should be able to walk him through a room full of toys without him bothering them.

I would still keep them put away, so as not to tempt him, but this teaches him that the toys are off-limits.