What is your dog’s most problematic behaviour?

I was thinking about Harlan and appreciating what an awesome dog he has been to work with, and I have always just remembered Harlan has being such an easy puppy.

And then I remembered that Harlan has separation anxiety that I have been working through for years with him. It’s been a total challenge and, while there is a lot of improvement, it’s a touchy subject that hasn’t had the most straightforward path. Lots of accomplishments and also several setbacks.

But then I remembered back even further to Harlan’s worst problem at all. His intensity in motivation for food. This brother is sneaky. One time I watched him through a small window from outside. My partner and I had just baked a ton of cookies and set them to cool. We stepped outside briefly and watched him get up from his bed, look around to see where we went, do a perimeter check and look in every room in the house before he went into the kitchen and jumped up to snatch the cookies. I had set him up because he had successfully done this the week prior and ate all of my cookies. Counter surfing is the worst and thankfully this is no longer something I worry about.

He also used to attempt to steal food -from my mouth-, or my hand on its way to my mouth. Or from my plate. Once, he managed to snatch a Hagen daz ice cream bar from my hand, swallowed it WHOLE, and then pooped out the stick 5 days later (thankfully! And also thankful that he is now extremely polite around food haha)

And all of that being said, I still look at that little pest and think “omg you are just the sweetest angel and the best most handsome dog man ever who could never do bad things and deserves all the best treats.”.

Tell me about your dogs nuisance behaviour and share your stories!

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