Dogs will pick things up in their mouth, but some objects are too precious to take the risk of being swallowed (a diamond ring!) while others could cause physical harm. It is however a familiar scenario to many people that a game of chase ensues, where the delighted dog runs away, object still in his/her mouth, and is delighted that he’s discovered a new way of getting your attention.

For safety’s sake every owner should teach their dog to drop objects. Ideally, you have taught your dog to learn how to drop things.

Imagine this:

Your dog steals your favourite designer shoe. Dreading that he chews it, you jump up with the intention of whipping it out of his mouth. The dog, however, has other ideas. Seeing he has your attention he trots across the room. Muttering ever louder exclamations of “Give it here, you mutt!”, you set off after him. Wagging his tail, without a care in the world, he takes off through the house, pleased with himself for inventing a new game called chase.

The problem here is that the dog’s bad behaviour (picking up the shoe) has been rewarded with your undivided attention. The dog is fully aware you want the shoe back, but equally it’s worth a lot to him as a bargaining chip to keep you interested in the game. But, even greater problems lie ahead, because the pattern is set for the future.

OK, in a one-off truly serious situation, such as the dog has a packet of medication in his mouth, you may be forced to make a lunge for the dog, but as a way of dealing with this problem in general it won’t work in the long term.

Instead, you need to beat him at his own game. Pretend disinterest while you get his absolute favourite all-time chew toy. If you want to up the ante, then smear some scrummy pate on the outside of the chew to make it extra appealing. Then, make sure he can see you, and pretend to play with the toy. In fact, have such a good time that you forget all about him (you don’t really, but he doesn’t have to know that).

What you’re aiming for is a confidence trick where you make him believe you have something of higher value than that old shoe. If he believes the shoe is worthless but there’s a yummy chew toy on offer,  he’ll soon let go of the shoe without a game of chase.

Oh yes, have the dog sit before you give him the toy, so that he’s being rewarded for the sit and not other (bad) behaviour.