# Staying out of the trash!



## cheaderbug (Jan 12, 2012)

What is your strategy to keeping your V out of the trash! Especially in the bathrooms! Currently we are just keeping the door closed to the bathroom, but every now and then he gets in there and races around the house with tissues in his mouth! As for the kitchen he seems to be wanting to jump up and get in there now that he is bigger. Any suggestions?


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## SweetCaroline (Jul 26, 2011)

Hi!

We started with closed bathroom doors, then graduated to little trash cans with lids - the metal ones that you open with a pedal at the bottom - like these ones only smaller: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brow...2P/Stainless+Steel+Step+Can,+5L.jsp?locale=en

There is always the possibility that your dog will figure out how it works however ours lost interest in trying to get in it and as he has gotten older, he doesn't even bother.

Hope that helps!


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## SteelCityDozer (Aug 25, 2011)

We have all bathroom trash in cabinets and kitchen trash can is by Simple Human has a slide lock. Wow. I forgot we even did all that to keep him out. Ideally we should have taught him to stay out. But we have enough battles otherwise.


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## kellygh (Oct 25, 2010)

We have taught Pumpkin "leave it," and i can give her a "tssk" if i catch her going into a bathroom; however, no amount of effort to date has squashed her love of rooting in the bathroom trash. P loves to eat tissue, & she got a big score yesterday......a candy wrapper : We have not yet been able to solve this issue outside of staying vigilant.


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

Tissues are like V crack for our little girl. The only thing that really works is keeping the bathroom door closed and/or the trash can empty. You should see her go nuts when she gets a fabric softener sheet from the laundry trash can... I can barely keep from laughing as she does her little pony prance with it.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

Visitors have often asked why the bathroom trash can is on top of the toilet tank...


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I guess I've surrendered on this issue... Kobi is not too bad, he will sometimes go through the trash, but as long as there are no q-tips in there it's pretty safe. However... q-tips are exclusively the dog's property in my house, as far as he is concerned : Thankfully he likes to chew things to pieces and the q-tips do not harm him.


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## Mischa (Feb 17, 2010)

A friend of ours has a V that loves eating paper. We've always been lucky in that respect, but kick our selves as Lola (friend's dog) eats paper near the trash cans, Mischa is off in the woods hunting down dog poo! 

We keep a few waste paper baskets around our home and have no issues there.

Being inside it should be a bit easier to control.
Keep a plastic water bottle with 7 pennies it, near any trash cans. Dog goes in, it gets a shake right next to its ear.


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I admit it--I gave up on this one. That was one battle I didn't feel like fighting, so all trash cans are kept in cupboards or up high, if they don't have lids.

Jasper loves tissue and paper as well. I don't know how I did this, but I taught him NOT to go after the toilet paper while it's still on the roll. That can stay out and the bathroom door open, and he won't touch it. I wish I knew how I did that. Of course, he does get the cardboard when the roll is empty. He gets very excited for that 10 seconds of shredding!


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## Ozkar (Jul 4, 2011)

Ozkar and Zsa Zsa have always been fine and not interested at all in the bins. But little Astro was a bin hound when I first got him. I just kept up the gentle no's when I caught him with his nose in it and tried to avoid leaving anything which smelled too tasty in there. He has now grown out of it at 11 months. I don't think I have caught him with his nose in the bins for months now. 

But, tissues are a huge treat for a dog. Tissues must have an amazing texture to them and a used one is even better as it has your smell on it.


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

Savannah comes to work with me, so paper is not and can not be a plaything for her. Since I knew from day 1 that she would be in my office and would not distinguish between my papers and trash, I never gave her cardboard boxes to play with, cardboard rolls to chew, or paper wads to chase.

I will preface my trash specific reply by saying I posted this once before and was soundly berated by one of the other forum members. Before you decide to use this response, you may want to do a search and find her objections. They were not relevant to me or my household, but her objections may be relevant for you.

With that in mind, I read about this strategy in one of the training books - can't remember which one. Dogs and puppies want to please their owners so much that they will avoid anything that displeases you. If you absolutely need him to stay away from the trash, then the next time you catch him in the trash can, walk calmly over to him, gently put him behind you, and yell at the trash can. 'Bad trash can! Bad trash can! Don't tempt the puppy!' Calmly turn to your dog and tell him what a good dog he is. Turn back around and yell at the trash can some more. You have to be convincing. If you bust up laughing because you feel ridiculous, it will not work. It will also only work on a few things - you can't be mad at the whole world. And it is object specific. Just because your kitchen trash can is bad does not mean the bathroom trash can is bad. You have to pick 3 or so objects and yell at each of them as the opportunity arises.


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## kristen (Oct 18, 2011)

jld640 said:


> 'Bad trash can! Bad trash can! Don't tempt the puppy!'


OMG I almost busted a gut when I read that! I would never have thought of that. Will keep it in the back of my mind should the need ever arise. I bet the hardest part is staying straight faced! lol


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Like anything else. It requires training with allot of repetition. We used a spray bottle combined with the leave it command. I could have a steak in the trash and he will not touch it. Now, if I leave the room for an hour.... :


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

We are having the same problem. We call Riley "Trash Dog". He is not super tall and will stick his head in so far his front paws come off the ground trying to grab stuff. We have tried every technique we've seen on here and online. Nothing has worked. We will keep trying, but in the meantime, like many others, we put the trash out of his reach if we can't be in that room. Now we have a brand new fetish. Shower poofies. If Riley disappears you can bet you can find him in a shower with the shower curtain closed going to town destroying the net poof. We keep the door shut, and he lays outside with is head hung low or tries to butt his body against the door to get in. Eventually he gives up. He just thinks everything in the house is his right now, but we'll just keep working with him.


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## cheaderbug (Jan 12, 2012)

Yes Zeek was the same way thinking that everything was his. However with repetitive enforcement that it was not, he is definitely learning you can tell. So dont worry things will come around. I was in your shoes with pillows! However we have also decided that bathroom doors just need to stay closed! ha


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

When we brought Sophie home, we put the trash bin out in the garage which is adjacent to the kitchen. Sophie never really knew what a trash bin was until she was about one year old when we put it it back in the kitchen. Now she doesn't even pay attention to it unless we are cooking and throwing things out. Then she needs to double-check (sniff sniff) the stuff we are throwing out to make sure it really is trash  She might sniff the bin but never goes in it or even attempts to open it. I think the saying "out of sight, out of mind" really worked in our case


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