Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: My dogs are ALWAYS digging in the TRASH!!!

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Posted by Richard Greco (Member # 2032) on 06-16-2004, 01:16 AM:

How can I keep my 2 dogs from knocking over my kitchen trash can? They always knock it over when we are gone from the house. I don't have a lid for it and there is no way to seperate the dogs from it aside from putting in the closet.

Any Ideas?

I just love picking up already eaten food....

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 06-16-2004, 02:08 AM:

Dogs will eat anything. Even if they are well fed, they still like the garbage bin. To them, it is a dessert. [Smile]

They think a toilet bowl is a big drinking fountain, and they really love those little chocolate marshmellows in a baby's diaper. Then, they will come and give you a nice sloppy kiss and wag their tails, and commence to lick their private parts.

But you will agree that a dog is the most loyal friend you could ever have, they will protect you. Most will snarl and show their teeth in a big mean smile if they think someone will harm you. You are their whole world.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-16-2004, 03:02 AM:

Abandon your dogs across town.[av=c]

Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 06-16-2004, 05:16 AM:

You might try booby trapping your garbage with some tabasco laden paper towels. I havent tried it but the puppies for dummies book says it works. [beer]

My puppy... Dewey:

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-16-2004, 06:20 AM:

Conceal larger dogs in the trash can.

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-16-2004, 08:05 AM:

To you, it smells like shit... To a dog it smells like Chanel No. 5! [Big Grin]

The key to training/punishing a dog is immediacy instead of intensity. Dogs have the attention span of a (proverbial) two year old kid. If a dog does something bad and more than 90 seconds goes by before the punishment occurs, the animal will NOT make the connection between the two events. Likewise, if a dog does something GOOD and you don't praise it within a few seconds, you might as well not waste your time.

In your case, when you aren't home, there's no way for you to punish the dog in person the moment it digs in the trash can. By the time you get home (Hours later) there's no association between the dog's action and the punishment it gets. You must either remove the temptation from the dog, remove the dog from the temptation or figure out some kind of trick to "automatically" punish the dog when you aren't home.

Years ago, I had a cat that liked to dig in the trash can. First I got a covered can but the cat learned to knock the can over so the lid would fall off and the garbage would spill out. At that point it was like a giant buffet for the cat!

After several attempts at punishing the cat to no avail I finally booby trapped the trash can with a bucket of cold water. I set the can in a corner so that it was difficult to tip over. IF it did tip it was going to go in the general direction of the cat who tried to tip it. Then I balanced the bucket of cold water on top of the can so that the slightest touch would cause it to spill onto the cat.

I was laying in bed, early the next morning, when I heard:

"Thump! Thump! SPLASH!! Me-oooo-ow!!"

I went out to the kitchen to find a drenched cat standing in a puddle of water. If you've ever seen a wet cat, you know the look I'm talking about.

I never had a problem with the cat digging in the trash can again! [Big Grin]