When it comes to the dog, I take this as a teaching moment. I gently ask Quill to release the shirt. When she does, I praise her. I do not punish her or criticize her for her shirt thieving behavior. Instead, I reward her for what she is doing right. I am kind and patient, and she is curious and happy to learn. And it works. This little dog quickly learns what is expected of her and she begins to do the right thing.
From the moment a dog becomes a pet, the collar is part of her new reality. It is the primary marker that this dog "belongs" to someone: the collar holds ID tags with names, phone numbers, and addresses, and it lets strangers know that a wandering pup isn't lost to the world-just misplaced.