How Do I Stop My Puppy Picking Things Up?

Puppies naturally investigate the world with their mouths, which means picking things up is a common part of puppy development. The challenge for owners is teaching the puppy what is appropriate to pick up, what should be left alone and how to release an object safely when required.

This focused GPK9 online lesson explains how to manage and train a puppy that repeatedly picks up household objects, without relying on shouting, punishment or unnecessary confrontation.

You will learn how to understand why the behaviour happens, manage the environment, teach appropriate alternatives and gradually develop your puppy’s ability to make better choices.

What This Lesson Covers

Understanding Why Puppies Pick Things Up

Learn why puppies investigate objects through their mouths and how exploration, chewing, teething, excitement, boredom and environmental stimulation can influence the behaviour.

Preventing Unnecessary Opportunities

Learn how appropriate household management can reduce opportunities for your puppy to practise picking up inappropriate objects.

You will learn how to consider:

• Shoes and clothing
• Small household objects
• Cables and potentially dangerous items
• Children’s belongings
• Accessible household areas
• The puppy’s current level of freedom

Teaching Appropriate Alternatives

Learn how to provide suitable toys, chews and activities so your puppy has appropriate objects to investigate, carry and chew.

The objective is not simply to tell your puppy what not to do.

It is to teach your puppy what it can do instead.

Teaching “Leave”

Learn how to gradually teach your puppy to disengage from an object before picking it up.

The lesson explains how to:

• Begin with easy objects
• Reward appropriate choices
• Introduce a clear verbal cue
• Increase difficulty gradually
• Introduce distractions carefully
• Avoid repeatedly saying the cue
• Return to an easier stage when your puppy struggles

Teaching “Drop” and Release

Learn how to teach your puppy to release an object appropriately.

You will learn why fair exchanges can be useful and why repeatedly grabbing objects from your puppy can create unnecessary conflict.

Avoiding the Chase Game

Some puppies quickly discover that picking up a sock, shoe or household object causes their owner to chase them.

This lesson explains how owner reactions can accidentally make the behaviour more rewarding and how to avoid turning object removal into a game.

Positive Reinforcement

Learn how food, toys, play, praise and other appropriate rewards can reinforce the behaviour you want to see.

The lesson also explains why your puppy’s individual motivation matters and why the same reward may not work equally well in every environment.

Managing Freedom

Understand the principle:

MORE FREEDOM REQUIRES MORE BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Learn how to increase your puppy’s access to the home gradually according to its ability to make appropriate choices.

If inappropriate object picking increases when freedom increases, you will learn how to recognise this as information and adjust the environment accordingly.

Controlled Areas

Learn how controlled areas can support puppy training while behavioural reliability develops.

The lesson explains the appropriate use of:

• Controlled spaces
• Playpens
• Crates
• Supervised freedom
• Gradual access to additional areas

These are management tools, not punishment.

Understanding Excitement and Tiredness

Learn why a puppy may pick things up more frequently when it becomes:

• Overexcited
• Overtired
• Bored
• Frustrated
• Highly stimulated

Understanding the puppy’s current state helps the owner decide whether to continue training, reduce stimulation, change the environment or allow the puppy to settle.

What To Do When Your Puppy Picks Something Up

The lesson provides a practical approach for deciding what to do when the behaviour happens.

You will learn how to consider:

• What the puppy has picked up
• Whether the object is safe
• Why the puppy is interested
• Whether the puppy can disengage
• Whether an exchange is appropriate
• Whether the environment is too difficult
• Whether the puppy needs reduced freedom

Dangerous Objects

Learn why potentially dangerous objects require a different response from ordinary household items.

The lesson explains how safety should take priority when a puppy picks up something potentially harmful and why physical confrontation should be avoided wherever possible.

Understanding Resource Guarding

Picking something up is not automatically resource guarding.

However, the lesson explains the importance of recognising warning signs such as:

• Stiffening
• Freezing
• Guarding an object
• Growling
• Snapping
• Increasing tension

You will learn why these behaviours should not be deliberately tested or challenged.

Building Better Choices

The ultimate aim is not to create a puppy that is afraid to investigate its surroundings.

It is to develop discrimination and behavioural responsibility.

Your puppy can learn:

“I can investigate my environment, but I do not need to put everything in my mouth.”

The GPK9 Training Approach

Throughout the lesson, you will learn to observe your puppy rather than automatically reacting to the behaviour.

The process is:

OBSERVE → INTERPRET → DECIDE → COMMUNICATE → OBSERVE RESPONSE → REASSESS

This encourages the owner to understand what is happening before deciding what action is appropriate.

If the puppy succeeds, the behaviour can gradually progress.

If the puppy struggles, the difficulty can be reduced.

If the puppy becomes overly excited or unable to respond appropriately, the environment can be adjusted and the puppy given an opportunity to return to a more suitable state.

Who Is This Lesson For?

This lesson is suitable for puppy owners who are dealing with:

• Puppies picking up shoes
• Puppies carrying clothing
• Puppies picking up household objects
• Puppies putting everything into their mouths
• Puppies running away with objects
• Puppies struggling to respond to “leave”
• Puppies that need to learn a release or “drop” behaviour
• Owners who want to increase freedom safely
• Owners who want to prevent object picking from becoming an established habit

What You Will Take Away

By completing this lesson, you will have a clearer understanding of why your puppy picks things up and how to teach more appropriate choices.

You will learn how to combine:

• Environmental management
• Positive reinforcement
• Appropriate motivation
• “Leave” training
• Release and exchange training
• Patience
• Consistency
• Gradual progression
• Observation
• Controlled freedom
• Behavioural responsibility

The objective is not simply to stop one unwanted behaviour.

It is to help your puppy become increasingly capable of making appropriate choices within everyday life.

Focused Online Lesson

How Do I Stop My Puppy Picking Things Up?

£7.99

A focused, practical lesson designed to help puppy owners understand the behaviour, manage the environment and develop safer, more reliable choices.