Why We Call My Father-in-Law’s Fancy Steaks “The Poodle Special”
A few years ago, while our family was visiting my in-laws, my father-in-law decided to treat himself to a beautiful fancy steak. This was not just any steak, this steak was truly top-tier; aged wagyu, carefully seasoned with garlic and rosemary, cooked in butter, and rested to perfection. *cue angelic voices singing*
And then, unfortunately for him, he set it down.
Right on the very edge of the counter.
Now, here is some important context: my in-laws have always had smaller dogs. Sweet, lovable, and the more crucial detail here, not tall enough to casually browse countertops like a buffet line.
Enter Belle.
At the time, Belle was a 9 month old standard poodle. Belle has incredibly long legs. Belle also has opinions and a strong belief in her heart (and stomach) that an unattended steak surely cannot be anything other than a personal invitation for her.
So when that steak was placed precariously on the edge of the counter within easy reach of a nosey poodle, Belle took it upon herself to enjoy one of the most luxurious meals of her life, leaving the plate itself clean and still on the counter.
My father-in-law came back, looked at the counter, paused—and immediately assumed my husband had eaten it. Which, to be fair, felt like the more reasonable explanation at the time since the true thief had already fled the crime scene. It wasn’t until further investigation that we found Belle, very pleased with herself, loudly licking her lips with a stomach stuffed full of steak.
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I learned an important lesson that day
Here’s the thing. Belle wasn’t being “bad.” She wasn’t plotting. She wasn’t testing boundaries. She wasn’t trying to ruin anyone’s dinner. She simply did what dogs do: she took advantage of an opportunity that made perfect sense in her world. She saw a beautiful steak, that in her eyes, no one was eating. She decided to take one for the team.
Because from a dog’s perspective:
Food within reach = available
No human actively near it = available
Success = repeat behavior
The issue wasn’t the young nosey poodle, it was the setup
We often assume our dog should “know better,” and although sometimes that can be true, assuming our dogs “know better” calls for some introspection. Our dogs learn from what consistently works for them, not from what we wish they understood. If we have created an environment that makes the “wrong” choice incredibly easy, then it is nearly impossible to make the “right” choice. Belle didn’t need better obedience training at that moment. She needed a different setup.
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Check our environment first, then focus on training
In puppy class (and often in private lessons), we talk a lot about setting our pets up for success. Before we ask our puppy to make better choices, we have to make those choices easier to do and have it be rewarding.
Steak theft prevention could have gone many ways and should look like:
Keeping food pushed far back on counters
Using baby gates or crates during meal prep or mealtimes
Supervising dogs in tempting environments
Preventing access instead of constantly correcting
With our puppies, setting them up for success comes in many forms:
Puppy proofing our homes - putting the dangerous or tempting things out of reach
Utilizing crates and babygates (including having them comfortable with those boundaries/barriers)
Making sure our dog has plenty of outlets for them to burn energy
Not putting them in environments that they are not yet prepared for
Practicing training foundations and then applying them in your daily routines
Belle became an expert counter surfer that day. That steak was incredibly rewarding and reinforced her comfort of checking the counters for food that we definitely had to work on for a long time.
This is why prevention is key for puppies. We give the skills and boundaries they need while they are young so we don’t accidentally reinforce bad habits.
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We still laugh about “The Poodle Special.” But it’s also one of my favorite real-life reminders that dogs are always learning from what works—not what we wish they understood. If you want a well-behaved dog, don’t just focus on teaching commands. Start by asking:
“What is my dog being set up to do right now?”
Because sometimes, the difference between a “good dog”and a “bad dog” is just where you put the steak.
