Max of course has a keen sense of smell and so anything that has a smell that he likes is something that he will find rewarding. To some these smells can be gross like the trash can or dirty socks, but to a dog that might be just a day in heaven. If you do not catch a dog doing these unwanted behaviors right away they will continue to do them as they think of this as a way to get a reward for free. Dogs do not put a label on a reward like humans do. Humans think that a reward for a dog is them being able to get a dog treat that they would not normally get, but this is not true for dogs.


The best thing you can do is catch them doing this unwanted act and stop it right there. Do not yell no at the dog, this will only scare him or her and they might continue this behavior just not when you are around. Instead try making a noise that you can use every time they are doing something that you do not want them to do. They will not become scared of you if you use a sound like shhh to show that you do not like what they are doing.

Once they leave the item alone then you can give them a different type of rewards and praise them for the behavior that you are looking for. You have to make sure to catch them in the act because it does no good to yell at them about something that they did in the past. They will not know what you are yelling at them for and might revert to hiding from you.

It is best to give praise for a job well done and so when they leave the item alone give them a better option than getting these unwanted rewards for themselves.