[alphadoginthehouse]

You hit the nail on the head Fille.

When I had puppies it was my fault if they ate my shoes if I left them out after they chewed on them once. I had a dog who would get in the bathroom trash...I bought a trashcan with a swing-lid on it...worked most of the time.

The trash can solution only works if the dog/cat isn't pulling the TP off the roll. If that's the case, closing the door is the only thing that will work.

[Jack_Shepherd]

Originally Posted by FilleBelle

If your three-year-old puts her hand on the hot handle of a pot on a stove burner, you absolutely tell her not to touch the pot...but you also stop putting the pots on the front burners of the stove where your three-year-old can get to them, because you aren't going to watch her every second and she might forget what you thought you taught her.

You can train a dog to stay out of the trashcan, but one of the most integral parts of that training is going to be your presence. You will need to keep an eagle eye on the dog so that you can interrupt and correct the bad behavior, then redirect the dog to a positive one. It seems to me that you are not able to keep that kind of an eye on the dog, hence the reason it is able to sneak off and steal trash.

There's no shame in getting trashcans with lids or keeping the bathroom door shut or putting the hazardous waste in a different room or whatever. It isn't a "work around," it's a solution.

If your three-year-old puts her hand on the hot handle of a pot on a stove burner, you absolutely tell her not to touch the pot...but you also stop putting the pots on the front burners of the stove where your three-year-old can get to them, because you aren't going to watch her every second and she might forget what you thought you taught her.

Yes and no. If you keep something a seceret/mistory from a child they will try harder to find out why. I know I did . I see that as the same with my dog, if I keep the doors closed, ok that works 90% of the time but once it's left open he's going to want to go in there and find out why whats in here.

You can train a dog to stay out of the trashcan, but one of the most integral parts of that training is going to be your presence. You will need to keep an eagle eye on the dog so that you can interrupt and correct the bad behavior, then redirect the dog to a positive one. It seems to me that you are not able to keep that kind of an eye on the dog, hence the reason it is able to sneak off and steal trash.

This is were I am going wrong, I need to start catching him in the act so he learns to stay out of the bathroom/trash can. I need to keep a better eye on him.

There's no shame in getting trashcans with lids or keeping the bathroom door shut or putting the hazardous waste in a different room or whatever. It isn't a "work around," it's a solution.

Trash can with lids are a solution yes, the doors are a work around because like I said at some point someone will leave the door open and he will see his opertunity. OM NOM NOM.

[LuvMyAngels]

At least part of training a puppy is also training the humans that live with said puppy. 9 month olds can be terrors. I know, I have one...9 months, 126lbs. If given a chance, he will shred any paper he can get his mouth on...its far from limited to TP! Books, paper towel, notes from the kids' school, homework (yes my kids really CAN say "the dog ate my homework).

The way we get around it is watch him if he's loose in the house (which is most of the time). Ive also taught LEAVE IT, DROP IT, and OUT. If I see Buster going for an item he shouldnt have, he hears LEAVE IT. The MOMENT he turns away, he's praised. If I stupidly leave him unsupervised long enough to get something he hears DROP IT. The moment he spits it out, he's praised (we've also done a lot of "trade"..exchange what he has for something of higher value). He doesnt always have to be in the same room Im in. If I enter a room I dont want him in, he hears OUT and I expect him to turn his butt around and leave the room. Again, the moment he's out, he's praised.

[bobt]

Cesar Milan had an episode on exactly this problem. If I remember correctly he put the tissues on the floor and guarded them. Then he offered the dog some tasty treats, may have been chicken. When he was done, the dog didn't even care about the tissues on the floor. Cesar put a bunch of them on the floor. I'm working on a similar problem with Rawhide Agression and mine doesn't put such a high level of importance on the rawhides anymore.

As for the apple bitter, the only one it bothers is me. The mist gets into my beard and I taste for days. Yes, I wash the beard every day but the stuff is tuff. My doggie just licks it off. She doesn't like it but licks it off all the same. I sprayed it on some carpet and her leash and she licked it off. She had her surgery and we sprayed it on the bandage, off came the bandage and she even ate the whole thing. Luckily it came up during the night or we would have been making an emergency call to the vet. After 12 hours it wasn't digested a bit and came out in one piece just as she swallowed it.

[emily445455]

Originally Posted by Jack_Shepherd

Im not trying to train myself, im trying to train my dog. At sometime and some point we are going to leave the door open or a friend is going to leave the door open, this is not a solution to the problem this is a work around. I want to be able to train my dog to not go though the trash.

When the dog gets older, it will be less and less interested in getting things out of the trash. But for right now, it will save you a lot of headaches and time if you keep the door shut.

When the door is left open, then use that time to correct....but when the dog is a pup...the easiest thing and safest thing is to puppy proof the house.

[Kay Weber]

Can you move the trash cans into the room were you are - say the living room were you can supervise and teach him not to get in the trash can? Teach him trash cans are off limits... with you there to supervise and the cans being out with easy access - correct him whenever he approaches a can. Give him a toy -- or something else to do.

You will have to pay attention and correct him each and every time until he "gets it" otherwise he'll just learn to be sneaky. When you aren't able to watch him closely, put them up. But every time you can, bring them all out and train him to leave them alone.

[EarthMonkey]

We just stuck the trash can up on a tall box that is in the room. That way the puppy can't reach it. If he gets tall enough that he can reach it we will probably use the cabinet to put the trash can in.

[Zen]

Originally Posted by Jack_Shepherd

Im not trying to train myself, im trying to train my dog.

Sorry, but I see this comment as half of your problem. If you can't be arsed to be a responsible owner, the training will only be half assed anyway. Hell, my 9 year old autistic son learned to close the bathroom door in 2 weeks to keep our puppy out; are you telling me a grown man and woman have that much of an issue?