Newly Adopted Grey Gathering Stuff/hoarding

[XTRAWLD]

LOL the pictures in this thread are really cute!

 

I'm laughing at the full cup of coffee, that really must have sucked, but it's so funny.

 

Remember, they don't know what is theirs or not. So I think at the beginning that's sort of why it happens. I also think they don't really get toys to play with or things for themselves at the track, so the house is full of all these things I could get my mouth and paws on!!

 

Ryder stunned us by hoarding at the beginning. I had to get used to putting things away properly. I often would take my socks off and lay on the couch, and swoop, there he was picking up my socks and bring them to his bed just to ignore them. My personal butler!!! I think a couple he was chewing but didn't destroy. I can't imagine that it would have tasted good either! If I forgot to pick up after myself, (I throw my clothes in the corner after work and change into something more not business like for the remainder of the day, and pick up the pile before bed), I would often find some article of clothing out in the living room, and it was the last straw when he grabbed my bra! I thought that would be super bad if we had guests over! He grew out of it, and rather quickly. I wasn't mad when he took my stuff (it was of course my fault for not putting it away), I often laughed and thought it was funny, but had to stop making it look like it was ok to do this eventually.

 

I would trade what he took for a toy. "Please Ryder, give me my bra back, here...uhhh...have a squeaky football, it's WAYYY more fun!!" LOL

Edited November 23, 2011 by XTRAWLD

[GreyTzu]

"I have no idea what you are talking about."

 

 

 

[Guest Wasserbuffel]

My Jayne is a bit of a hoarder too. She's stolen a few odd items like doorstop, nails and a paint brush.

 

Mostly, she just likes to steal things from people directly. Anything we're holding in our hands or a bag is fair game to her. We usually give her all our junk mail. She and DH often get into "fights" over items while we put away the groceries. He totally encourages her:

. One day they went back and forth with a 5lb sack of potatoes several times.

 

Luckily she doesn't chew anything that isn't papery. I just keep my books out of reach. At the moment we also have several rolls ove paper towels that are slightly beaten up because Jayne and DH decided to play with them while he was putting them away.

 

Stealing a rose:

 

Tried to steal a blanket, didn't quite make it to the crate:

[seeh2o]

When Carl first came home, he was a shoe collector, though he would do it in front of me usually in the morning.

 

I don't think it's just a greyhound thing my beloved lab, Chaka loved to collect things - she'd bring in nasty stuff from outside. My beloved chow/shiba inu mix, Sheila, liked to collect...underpants and leave them outside. Nice touch, Sheila!

[Guest snoopycomehome]

Sometimes we come home and Gypsy is missing her collar/tags. It is usually laying in the backyard. Finally, one day we saw Dragon take it off her and toss it aside.

 

Dragon likes our slippers and my fluffy warm socks. And when I take them back he barks at me.

He also helps put away groceries...he takes cans of soup and Raviolis and puts them in the dog bed. He also steals the girls favorite stuffed animals.

 

Oh...and he likes to take our 4 bathroom rugs and toss them about. Frequently.

 

Gypsy likes to pull out kitchen trash. Gross!

[GreytNut]

All of my hounds have been collectors to a certain extent, some more than others. Riley is the most hardheaded of the lot. He was so bad that he once stole a carton of nails while I was working on a project. I chased him through the house as he left a trail of nails behind him. Now he mostly hoards toys. He piles them into his bed and sits on them like a dragon guarding its treasure. That's fine... they belong to him.

 

It does usually fade with time. I think they are enamored with the idea of having things. At the track they didn't have things that belonged only to them. You can help alleviate the behavior by putting away things you do not want them to have, and by taking pilfered items back. Scolding only works if you catch them in the act.

 

Riley has no idea what we're talking about.

 

 

[silverfish]

Also ROFL here!

 

Yes, many of them do it, and yes it does tend to fade over time for most of them.

 

Yes, you need to be vigilant about putting things that can hurt them up high, and PLEASE don't forget things like asthma inhalers which can kill them (horribly) if they happen to puncture one with their teeth, and items with batteries in them (also very dangerous). If you keep asthma inhalers in your purse/bag, get into the habit of putting it into a cupboard or drawer each and every time you come home, and make sure your guests do, too.

 

For a new dog, I teach them to 'trade up' as one of the very first lessons. This means you exchange something they have (but shouldn't have) for something more desirable. As they let go to take the new thing, you say 'Drop it!' and they soon learn. MOST useful for when you're out on a walk and they pick up a chicken bone or a dead rat or something - and also for TV remotes, those pesky inhalers, anything dangerous your new girl might pick up and needs to let go of.

 

Try a small piece of cheese to trade with. Most dogs love it! But keep it for very special occasions so it stays highly desirable.

 

Naturally, none of my dogs have ever hoarded anything ...

 

 

 

 

Yeah, right..

 

(Jack did that himself, in that last picture. Very artistic dog, that. )

[DustysMom]

The good thing about having a hoarder is when you can't find something, you always know the first place to look for it All three of my greys were hoarders when they first came. Makes for some great photo ops