[Jemascola]

Hey, everyone. I've got a puppy named Holly that's part Beagle and part Labrador, although we like to think that she's more on the Beagle side than the Lab. Anyway, we've been having some issues in discipline with her. It seems no matter how many times we've told her no, she keeps doing what she wants to. For instance, she keeps digging into the garbage and pulling things off tables. Does anyone have any advice for dealing with a rather stubborn dog? Thanks.

[4dogs3cats]

She is a beagle. They are famous for garbage diving. I can tell you that my garbage sits in my laundry room on TOP of my dryer. You can try getting one of those heavy metal garbages, but the truth is, they are scent hounds. When they smell something they want, they go for it. Theyre very controlled by their stomachs too!! lethal combination! beagles are one of the hardest breeds to train, they are very stubborn.

[Annamarie]

if she keeps doing the behavior while you're telling her no, you need to teach her what no means. shake a can full of pennies, squirt her with a water bottle, or pull her away from what she's doing and say NO! firmly.

[4dogs3cats]

Just be carefu, you dont want to make her too jumpy. i tried the loud noise with my beagle and all it did was scare her.

[Annamarie]

if it were me? i'd rather scare my dog so that they won't repeat the behavior. eating trash can be deadly not to mention a really disgusting habit. my dog is jumpy as well but the can full of pennies didn't scare him too bad. in fact after a few times he completely ignored it. however now if we put a pop can near something we don't want him to touch, he won't touch it lol

[rosemaryninja]

As 4dogs3cats said, beagles are notorious trash-diggers. Even when I bought a trash can with one of those foot pedals you had to step on to open the bin, they managed to figure out that one of them had to stand on the lever while the other one got up on its hind legs and pulled garbage out. I now keep my trash can inside a kitchen cabinet, with the knobs of the cabinet too high for them to reach.

If your dog is ignoring you while you're telling her "no", you may need something else to grab her attention. If she's jumping on counters, move directly where she can see you and give the "No", then put her down by her collar. Regarding the can of pennies, it works on some dogs but not on others. I know it might work on one of my dogs, who is a lot more assertive and headstrong, but I know if I tried it on my other girl, who is much less so, she would just become very fearful.

However, if your dog is ignoring you and trash-digging after you've said no, for example when you're not around, this is totally normal. Dogs follow the principle that whatever gets them a reward (food, play, toys, etc) works. That's why positive reinforcement is so successful. Digging in the trash or grabbing food off counters is very self-rewarding for dogs. They dig, they get yummy stuff; they jump up on counters, they get yummy stuff.

It's really, really difficult to train out this kind of behaviour with ANY dog, let alone a hard-headed breed like the beagle, because just one mistake can ruin any training you've done. It's much easier to just manage your environment so that these things are not accessible.

[RonE]

And if it were me (it is, actually - Plotts and labs love trash at least as much as beagles do) I'd pick my battles.

It's simply easier to make the trash inaccessible than to teach a dog to ignore it.

My late lab had only two bad habits (three, if you count rolling in sun-dried carp.) One was digging in the garden while looking for a cool spot on a hot day. So we put a fence around the garden. The other was emptying the kitchen trash and sorting through it looking for goodies. So we put the trash in a covered container.

Certainly, there are many behaviors worth teaching a dog to avoid. The trick is to decide which ones are worth the time and effort.

[blackrose]

I've come to the point where I never say the word, "No" to my dogs. If I don't want them to do something, I "Ah-ah!" or "Hey!" loudly and step towards them and, depending one what they are doing, will sometimes clap to startle them.

Chloe has quickly learned that if she is doing something and I say, "Aat!" that she is to stop imeadiately.

The problem with the word "No" is that too often people use volume to try to get their dog to stop rather than tone. Volume is good to startle a dog, but corrections are all about tone rather than volume.

I agree with everyone else - when you have a hard headed dog, the best kind of cure is pervention. Chloe was an awful counter surfer and no amount of correction was changing it. I could get her to not do it when I was in the room but when I was out....everything was fair game. So we gated off the kitchen. No more countersurfing problems! Blackie and Rose are trash hounds. We have very heavy trashcans as a result.

[Love's_Sophie]

Spraying the can with Keep Away, or some other pet repellant may deter her as well.

If you can place your garbage under your sink that may help with the 'dumpster diving'

As far as tables, and counters, perhaps it is time to invest in a gate to keep her out of the kitchen all together, or a crate, so that when she has gone in there and gotten into something, she gets 'time out' in a kennel for a while. It may not work with a hound though, because of that 'nose' for trouble!

[Jemascola]

Those are some good ideas. Thanks, everyone!