What a stealer !
You can see a bill of 10 $ on the floor ; what do you do ?
Do you look around ? Do you pick it up ? Do you leave it ? Do you drop it at a police station ? Do you put it in your wallet ?
If you pick it up, keep it, and use it, knowing that it was not yours, that you had found it on your way, are you a thief or an opportunist ? According to the law, in France, you are a thief for it must have belonged to someone (who is entitled to ask for it during three years).
Nonetheless, you did nothing but seize an opportunity, which you thought with no negative consequence for you on the spot, which even turned out to be beneficial ; thus you are likely to do it again if the same opportunity happens.
After all, if nobody told you that bill should have been given to the Police, and, that on top of that, you get an advantage…
For dogs, it's the same !
a bit of chicken is on a coffee table
dogs do not conceive the support as something with a particular meaning, unless the humans give it one
no being is watching over that bit of chicken
no instruction was given to the dog
he was never taught that when the humans are away, the food must not be touched if on the table.
That bit of chicken is exactly that bill of 10 $ from the previous example.
Dogs do not steal ; they are considered doing so just because we deem as our own what they took. They plainly benefited from an opportunity and a lack of skills adapted and generalized to various contexts.
Several arrangements and/or tricks can help you ; amongst others :
✅ a gate when you are eating
✅ having him eat in the meantime as you are
✅ teaching him to leave the food in many circumstances and rewarding him for doing so.
He'll know what behaviors are expected and how beneficial it is for him to give up on the visible and easily accessible food.
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