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Generally, I treat behaviors that are directed toward childrens’ toys similar to the way housebreaking issues are taught – using “dog god” corrections. This discussed here: http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/Corrections/cms/dogtrainingcorrections.html
This I would also never do unless the family was actively enforcing and communicating the rules taught in the pack structure section here:
http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/PackStructure/cms/PackStructure.html
If the structure isnt taught in that step – the dog can be left confused why they are not allowed to take control of the childrens toys. Dogs shouyld know to only chew objects handed to them.
As for food I would suggest teaching a formal “leave it” supervised for about one month if the food is held by children – before doing “dog god” when the dog thinks you are not looking. This will prevent the dog from mistakingly thinking that it is the interaction with the child that is causing the correction – when it is really the food stealing that is the problem. If food is just on a counter top I would go directly to “dog god” unless if you are training a working dog that may have to jump on countertops then do a “leave it” with the food on the countertop – then a “dog god”.
Same idea here with jumping on children. Teach first – then “dog god” later so the dog doesnt get confused as to thinking the child causes a correction. With jumping I generally do an “off” command or a “sit” command though since “leave it” i technically teach as to mean complete disengagement with bthe objectr of focus.
None of the “dog god” stuff is necessary when dealing with one on one interection with handler of course. It is all personal communication and rules – but we cant expect children to enforce anything so if we are supervising we treat them like an alpha mother would treat her pups and be protective against overly assertive interaction toward them. If you expect behaviors to exist when you are not supervising there is no definite way to do this unless using the “dog god” to always be there in the dogs’ mind and follow this until it has become a habit (see golden rules section)for at least a month before thinking of taking the guard down.
This method of training is flexible, but what we are looking for is to make sure we have the correct things in place for troubleshooting to make it so one we can troubleshoot and two we make it easier on the dog.
Obviously, we wouldnt try anything obedience or housebreaking based unless we were satisfying the dog’s restless spirit in step 6. We would be setting the dog up for failure if we didn’t. Step 5 extremely important too for obvious reasons or else we dont even have a starting point to work from.
Hope this answers your questions. Feel free to share your thoughts since the method is made to evolve with anything that works better and remains as respectful and fair as possible to the dog.
Good to have you on board!
