# Hiding treats...



## ChiFan (Jul 6, 2007)

We don't have this problem with Sasha, but I was curious to know if any of your chis hide treats. Our Trixie is terrible! We have to give her treats that can be devoured in a few minutes because she will go off and hide them if it takes her longer than that to eat them. Thins like rawhide bones, etc. She will wander off, whining the whole time, with the bone in her mouth. Eventually she'll find a spot and "bury" the treat (hide it under a blanket, pillow, etc) and then she'll get SUPER protective and slightly aggressive of the item. She'll even jump out and nip and Sasha or us if we walk by her hiding place.

She hid a bone in her kennel the other day and I went in to pet her and she almost took my hand off! Once the item is out of her possession, she instantly goes back to being the super-calm and lovable Chi she is.

She has some "issues" from her past owner (we adopted her from the local shelter) and maybe this is one of them. We've worked and worked with her but it hasn't seem to improve... she is SO super protective of her treats.

Anybody else run into this problem? Or anyone have some advice on how to cure her from this possession problem? It is ONLY with food/bones and not toys.

Thanks!


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## Soozie (May 15, 2007)

Zoey is a treat hider. As well as a thief and hides her bounty. We never know where we will find our things! Hubby scolded her once for removing his coaster (for the 10th time) and guess what, we found the coaster ripped to shreds. Cesar says they don't think like that but I think they do. LOL
Hugs,
Soozie


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## Rah (May 3, 2007)

Haha my Baby does that! I love watching her bury things in folds of material, how she nuzzles the material over the treat! We've found her food behind pillows, down the back of sofa pillows, in her bed creases, in my boyfriends trousers! She tried to bury her treat in ME once! She was standing on my back, with the treat in her mouth, digging into my back! xD

Thankfully, she's not possessive of her treats unless she's actually intending to eat them right away, and i'm trying to take them from her mouth. Since she was a pup though, i've always petted her and praised her when she's eating - so maybe she's used to me being around her food? 

Maybe you could try pretending to nibble at the treat before you give it to her? That's a dominance thing though - I have no idea how it would relate but that's what i'd do. Saying 'It's my treat! I'm just letting you borrow it now that i've lost interest in it...'


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## Mac-Chi (Feb 5, 2007)

Harley has always hid his treats from himself ~ big little dummy. Now he hides more than ever since we got the new pup. Ha-ha, the new pup finds those treats x 2 at a time & runs like a demon is after him...well that would be Harley.


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## Mac-Chi (Feb 5, 2007)

It's funny how they do that (hide treats)


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## Alisha (Mar 11, 2005)

Bella & Poco do it alot & Bella is so possesive of her food even though she won't eat it she just taunts all the other dogs by putting it in front of her and they can't come anywhere near her :lol:


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## *Tiff* (Aug 7, 2007)

oscar hides his treats rocky doesnt, he just eats them unless he gets tired of them. but oscar hides them if they will take a while to finish but hes not possessive of them, i could take it away from either of mine and they wouldnt dare growl at me  im the boss they arent


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## Pauline Leland (Oct 9, 2006)

Boop just leaves them on the floor. Is that because she's an only child?


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## sullysmum (Mar 6, 2004)

Yes Rosie hides her treats in her bed, and saves them for when she is hungry, but Sully and Fynn now know this and whenever shes not in her bed they pinch one or two.


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## BellaLina's Mom (Mar 16, 2007)

Bella hides her long lasting chew treats that take a while for her to finish. She'll hide them somewhere in the house. She never growls or puts up a fuss when my husband or I accidentally finds her chew treats.


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## scout (Sep 6, 2007)

If your dog is upset when you take a treat away, you need to make her think it is a good thing when you take her treat and that she'll get it back. I am working with Scout on this right now. Take the bone away and then give her a really really yummy treat that she can eat in one bite, something that she likes even better than the bone. Once she is done eating the treat, give her the bone back. Repeat a few times and then take a break and let her chew on her bone for a while. Do this whenever she gets a bone. Pretty soon, you can cut back on the yummy treats and only give them sometimes. Then your chi will think whenever you take her bone that it is a good thing because she might get a really yummy treat. If she doesn't, then she will get her bone back anyway. Scout will not growl at me for coming near her bone, but she will growl at other people and animals. So I am working on this with her while the cats are around, so she can make two associations at once. After she is reliable with that, I will have someone else do this exercise with her so she can learn it goes the same with other people as well.


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