Let's have a look at the "Food Thief". Before we get into this, I want to tell you a little story about a Bouvier des Flanders we had several years ago, named "Woolly Bully". Woolly was an enormous dog that loved the kids and family and spent a great deal of time with us.

Woolly loved food. Too much. Unfortunately, I hadn't trained him against stealing food at the time the birthday cake incident occurred. It was the birthday of one of the kids and we were getting ready for a family celebration. I'd worked all morning on the birthday cake and it was truly a work of art. I proudly placed the cake on my vintage cake stand and put it in the dining room in readiness. It was sure to receive many "oohs" and "aahs".

Woolly was playing with the kids in the playroom. They liked to put barrettes in his bangs and he would sit for hours allowing them to "make him pretty". Woolly strolled into the kitchen a short while after I'd put the cake on display. He had something pink in his beard. Closer examination revealed icing. That's right – the whole cake was on the dining room rug with big hunks taken out. Yep, I had to call Ron's Mum with a request that they stop by a grocery store on their way out. Woolly had enjoyed the cake immensely. Fortunately it wasn't chocolate, so I didn't have to worry about possible chocolate poisoning, but he had to worry about my bad mood.

The Food Thief might be hungry, he might think he's hungry or he might be bored. He might have gotten attention for stealing food – did you ever have a good game of chase after he took something illegally?

First things first. Have your veterinarian conduct a health check to be sure he's getting all the nutrients he needs. Is he on medications that might be stimulating the appetite? Maybe he should be given smaller meals more frequently.

Does the candy dish have to stay on the coffee table? Could it be moved to a higher location which would be less tempting to Buddy? Does the cat food have to be in that low cupboard? Childproof latches on low cupboard doors will make it difficult for Buddy to rummage around in the cupboards.

If it's the cat's dishes, put them up where the cat can get to them, but Buddy can't. If it's the litter box, put it in a separate room with the door propped to just cat size. Or tie the door tight against the opposing door jam with just enough slack to allow the cat through, but not the dog. If the dog is as small as the cat, then how about a baby gate? If the cat can get over the gate and the dog can't, you have a solution to the kitty litter dilemma.

The worse experiences are those when Buddy has something that could really do harm. Try to work with Buddy in advance so if you have a bad situation, Buddy will know it's okay to give it to you.

Don't chase!

If Buddy has had experiences with you chasing, it may take some work to train Buddy to come to you rather than run away. Try offering a trade. Work on this using a ball. Give him the ball and then show him a really delicious piece of food. Ask him to bring the ball to you and drop it at your feet or into your hand. When he as much as takes a step toward you, praise and give the treat. Remember baby steps. You won't have 100% success the first time you try this. The idea is to teach Buddy to walk to you and drop whatever it is he has in his mouth or at least allow you to remove it.

If you can't get Buddy to walk toward you, maybe you can teach him to allow you to walk to him. If you are calm and walk slowly toward Buddy saying something along the lines of "What do you have?" "Oh, let's see" you can slowly take hold of Buddy's collar and slowly reach into his mouth to remove the object (ball during training). If Buddy has had an experience of you grabbing, while in a near panic, he will try to swallow quickly. Calm and cool wins the race.

Try the "Monster cans" for the dog who insists on stealing food from the table. Take a couple of empty, clean soup cans with the lids still attached. Drill a small hole in the bottom of the cans. Knot about a foot of heavy string and run it through the hole so the string is attached by the knot to the can. Take some pebbles and put them in the can. Close the lid and tape it securely shut with electrician's tape or duct tape. Now tie the "Monster Cans" to a piece of "bait". Buddy will come along, check to see that the coast is clear and grab the piece of cheese (or whatever) near the edge of the table. Since he isn't aware that the monster cans are attached to the cheese, he will think the sky is falling when the cans come falling off the table and onto the floor. A word of caution. Be sure to use heavy enough string that Buddy can't swallow the cheese and string as well. The idea is to startle Buddy. You want him to think twice before grabbing food off the table again.

Additionally, teach Buddy to take food from your hand gently and with care. He doesn't need to grab the food and grabbing should be discouraged.

Remember --

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