Loreley

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thanks will keep at it, looks like we're doing it the correct way :)

See thats the problem alot of the time we don't even know stuff is missing and only realise when it has been gone for a day or 2. So in essence she is being ignored lol. This now has progressed to her not always leaving balls in their place like she use to so often we have no idea that something has been taken.....

My daughter's Koolie x Whippet was a rescue who came to us around 5 months of age. She is an extremely bright dog who learns very quickily. My daughter took her to a 'teenagers puppy training course' (the teenage is referring to the dog age not the daughter age). Dizzy came out of this 10 week course very well trained with one exception. The trainer explained that to get a dog to stop stealing items which Dizzy was starting to do, do not punish, but 'swap' for another article this apparently gives the dog something of higher value that way you can retrieve the nicked item. Only one problem, Dizzy now swaps on her own. She is very ball motivated so there is nothing more highly prized than her ball. Trouble is I walk into the bathroom for instance and there is a ball in the middle of the floor - so that means that Dizzy has found something she likes and traded one of her balls for it. It was kind of cute to start with but has become somewhat of a worry, you never know what she has taken (particularly if there is something that may cause injury) and despite everything that I can think of I cannot work out how to stop this behaviour. If she thinks she can get away with not leaving a ball in its place she will also try this, I have seen her sneak out on tip toe with an empty chip packet gingerly clutched in her teeth from my daughters waste basket in her bedroom. I know this is a game to her which she obviously enjoys but would love to curb it somewhat. My other daughter now has resorted to close her bedroom door because she is sick of losing makeup etc and finding balls in their place. She is actively played with, taught tricks, exercised regularly. Any advice would be oh so much appreciated.