# Is there any way to train a dog to stay out of the dishwasher?



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

That pretty much sums up my question. I understand how tempting it is, all that tasty people food right there in an easily accessible box.

I started trying to give him a treat when he'd get down. But then I got to thinking maybe that's just training him to jump up, lick a dish, jump down and wait for a treat from me. Lol. I tried just gently removing him every time he jumps up there. Not sure how to proceed. I imagine teaching him a reliable off or down in a non-dishwasher scenario might be something to work on first?

I can try a distraction, like give him a kong or a big crunchy treat that takes a while to go through, but I was wondering if there's a way to just teach him that the dishwasher is off limits.

We are starting an obedience class tomorrow evening, but I thought I'd ask for advice here too.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I have this issues too and here's what I've done.

Teach a good "leave it". Dog heads towards dishwasher, "leave it", he backs off, give him a treat.

Teach a sit/stay as well. Once he backs off and you give him a treat, ask him to sit and randomly reward him for sitting and not bothering the dishwasher. 

It helps to initially have one person doing the dishes and another doing the training, but eventually you can do the dishes while occasionally rewarding him for sitting, and after a while he might even lose interest since he doesn't get to lick the plates anymore.


----------



## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

Spazmelda said:


> That pretty much sums up my question. I understand how tempting it is, all that tasty people food right there in an easily accessible box.
> 
> I started trying to give him a treat when he'd get down. But then I got to thinking maybe that's just training him to jump up, lick a dish, jump down and wait for a treat from me. Lol. I tried just gently removing him every time he jumps up there. Not sure how to proceed. I imagine teaching him a reliable off or down in a non-dishwasher scenario might be something to work on first?
> 
> ...


You have to teach your dog "Leave It". Most basic obedience classes cover that behavior, at least to the point of leaving things alone on command

"Leave it" - and other types of food refusal training - is fairly straightfoward for most dogs. I'm not saying it's easy - but you've got a pathway to success if you're willing to put in the time for it. So you can, for example, teach most dogs not to go into the dishwasher and lick the plates. 

But if your dog is one of those that is _highly_ food motivated, this kind of training can be VERY challenging because it is not possible to offer a motivator that trumps food. Actually, what you do in very general terms is to offer an 'acceptable' food reward - one that only you provide - in place of each and every one of the 'unacceptables' - the ones in the dishwasher, in the garbage, on the ground, in a stranger's hand, etc, etc. It's not straightfoward training for those dogs, and each situation has to be trained separately and with a lot of patience.

If you want to see how it's done, just do a web search on "food refusal training".

You do have to be careful because you DON'T want to get rid of the food motivation completely (Yes than can happen if it's not done right and with too much aversion). 

Good luck with your dog.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Very interesting. Leave it is mentioned in the class materials for the class we will be taking, so hopefully I can get some good tips. I was working on leave it the other day, by doing the drop a treat on the floor, saying leave it, and then putting my foot over it until he sat down and looked back up at me. Then I'd give a better treat. He seemed to get the hang of it, but I think it will take a lot more work, especially to translate over to other things, like the dishwasher.

Okay, thanks a lot. We will work on it!


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Oh, and I can probably also get my daughter to do the leave it training while I load the dishwasher. I'm sure shed prefer to do that than help with the dishes.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Spazmelda said:


> Very interesting. Leave it is mentioned in the class materials for the class we will be taking, so hopefully I can get some good tips. I was working on leave it the other day, by doing the drop a treat on the floor, saying leave it, and then putting my foot over it until he sat down and looked back up at me. Then I'd give a better treat. He seemed to get the hang of it, but I think it will take a lot more work, especially to translate over to other things, like the dishwasher.
> 
> Okay, thanks a lot. We will work on it!


Yep, that's the basic idea. It will take time, but if you keep working on it you can definitely generalize. Once Watson was good with food, I took other high value items (like my scarf and gloves) and work on those with "leave it". 

I recommend doing it the way you are (you can also hold it in your fist and wait until he backs off) for a couple weeks, saying "leave it" each time he backs away. Only after a couple weeks of practice would I try the command before he's actually doing the behavior, and see if he offers what you want. if he doesn't get it, go back to saying the cue as he's doing the action for a bit and try later. You don't want to move on to using "leave it" as a cue until he really understands what you want.

ETA: For now, with the dishwasher, you could have your daughter hold his leash far enough away that he can get close to the dishwasher, but can't lick anything. When he stops pulling towards it and looks back at her, she should say "yes" and give him a treat. This way he'll be learning, but won't have the chance to self-reward by licking the dishes. Once he's better at the "leave it" you'll be able to do it without a leash.


----------



## ditto1958 (Mar 18, 2007)

Dogs began to do this about 30 years ago when dishwashers first became common in people's kitchens. Back then the dishwashers were not as good as they are now, and dishes had to be scraped and rinsed well before loading, or else the dishes would not come clean. Lots of folks who were sick and tired of washing their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher started breeding dogs who liked to lick the food off the dirty dishes. Saved a lot of tedious work. 

These days, even though dishwashers are so good that rinsing is no longer necessary, most dogs still have this trait. Best bet in the future is to find a dog from a country where dishwashers are not common.


----------



## Willowy (Dec 10, 2007)

ditto1958 said:


> Dogs began to do this about 30 years ago when dishwashers first became common in people's kitchens. Back then the dishwashers were not as good as they are now, and dishes had to be scraped and rinsed well before loading, or else the dishes would not come clean. Lots of folks who were sick and tired of washing their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher started breeding dogs who liked to lick the food off the dirty dishes. Saved a lot of tedious work.
> 
> These days, even though dishwashers are so good that rinsing is no longer necessary, most dogs still have this trait. Best bet in the future is to find a dog from a country where dishwashers are not common.


Haha! So true!

I figure it's a free pre-wash . I don't try to stop them. That's what the hot cycle is for!


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

ditto1958 said:


> Dogs began to do this about 30 years ago when dishwashers first became common in people's kitchens. Back then the dishwashers were not as good as they are now, and dishes had to be scraped and rinsed well before loading, or else the dishes would not come clean. Lots of folks who were sick and tired of washing their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher started breeding dogs who liked to lick the food off the dirty dishes. Saved a lot of tedious work.
> 
> These days, even though dishwashers are so good that rinsing is no longer necessary, most dogs still have this trait. Best bet in the future is to find a dog from a country where dishwashers are not common.


LOL! 

(10 characters)


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Willowy said:


> Haha! So true!
> 
> I figure it's a free pre-wash . I don't try to stop them. That's what the hot cycle is for!


I wouldn't really mind if he just did it with the dirty dishes, but he always seems to have to check out the clean dishes too, just in case I guess.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

elrohwen said:


> ETA: For now, with the dishwasher, you could have your daughter hold his leash far enough away that he can get close to the dishwasher, but can't lick anything. When he stops pulling towards it and looks back at her, she should say "yes" and give him a treat. This way he'll be learning, but won't have the chance to self-reward by licking the dishes. Once he's better at the "leave it" you'll be able to do it without a leash.


Good idea! I will definitely try this.


----------



## TorachiKatashi (Sep 29, 2010)

I'm not sure I understand the question... Is your dog somehow opening the dishwasher door?


----------



## Canaqua (Sep 27, 2011)

TorachiKatashi said:


> I'm not sure I understand the question... Is your dog somehow opening the dishwasher door?


Yeah, I don't get it either. Does the dog open the dishwasher? If so, just latch it. Our dogs only put their noses in the dishwasher while I'm loading it and the door is open, in which case, I just shoo them out of the kitchen, like I do when I'm cooking and they are underfoot.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

No, he climbs in the dishwasher when I'm loading it. I push him down or lift him out and try to send him away, but he comes right back. I've only had him for a little over a week. I'm sure I'll figure something out.


----------



## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

ditto1958 said:


> Dogs began to do this about 30 years ago when dishwashers first became common in people's kitchens. Back then the dishwashers were not as good as they are now, and dishes had to be scraped and rinsed well before loading, or else the dishes would not come clean. Lots of folks who were sick and tired of washing their dishes before putting them in the dishwasher started breeding dogs who liked to lick the food off the dirty dishes. Saved a lot of tedious work.
> 
> These days, even though dishwashers are so good that rinsing is no longer necessary, most dogs still have this trait. Best bet in the future is to find a dog from a country where dishwashers are not common.


This is great. Thanks for the laugh!


----------



## Poly (Sep 19, 2007)

TorachiKatashi said:


> I'm not sure I understand the question... Is your dog somehow opening the dishwasher door?


I'm sure the dog is doing it while the dishwasher is being loaded. Most people do close their dishwasher door before running it :wink:

And clean dishes don't hold much attraction.

But that does bring up an interesting training point. Sometimes, the best way to "correct" an undesirable behavior is to remove the circumstances that prompt the behavior. That really isn't teaching anything, of course. But if the behavior is really dangerous, it's safer to just make sure the dog can't do it. Especially with a puppy that doesn't remember from day to day.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Doesn't anybody teach a simple wait or stay command anymore. 



> I just shoo them out of the kitchen, like I do when I'm cooking and they are underfoot.


Imagine that shooing them out of the kitchen, what a novel idea. Hmmmm, I wonder if the dog gets his/her feelings hurt, if so it's a possibility the dogs in years to come could have nervous breakdowns. Oh My.


----------



## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Yeap. My dogs are not allowed in the kitchen. I have taught them "out" and when I say that command, they will leave the kitchen and wait by the door, or will go off and do other things


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Well, to give myself credit, it's not that the brilliant concept of shooing him out of the kitchen never occurred to me. 

I've been trying that and he just keeps coming back and back and back. It's a battle of endurance at this point. I suppose if I keep doing this and he repeatedly fails to get the reward of licking the dishes, he will eventually give up... In a few years...


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

wvasko said:


> Doesn't anybody teach a simple wait or stay command anymore.


I've had the dog for just over a week now and we are going to our first obedience class tonight. I have never trained an animal before and that's why I was here asking questions. My last pets were ferrets and they are not the most trainable animals.


----------



## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

Spazmelda said:


> Well, to give myself credit, it's not that the brilliant concept of shooing him out of the kitchen never occurred to me.
> 
> I've been trying that and he just keeps coming back and back and back. It's a battle of endurance at this point. I suppose if I keep doing this and he repeatedly fails to get the reward of licking the dishes, he will eventually give up... In a few years...


Took about an hour to teach "out of the kitchen" with our current dog. We just walked the dog to the threshold, "out of the kitchen", then if the dog tried to go past the threshold we blocked by stepping in front of the dog, of course the temping item (in our case dinner on the table) was sitting out. You just have to be up for the session when you start it. 

Or you may have a dog that has the dishwasher licking so ingrained that you will have to battle this the rest of its life :wink: 

I'm sure you will figure something out.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Spazmelda said:


> I've had the dog for just over a week now and we are going to our first obedience class tonight. I have never trained an animal before and that's why I was here asking questions. My last pets were ferrets and they are not the most trainable animals.


Sorry did not know the dog was a brand new rascal, you have already taken 1st step with obedience class. I would have suggested waiting 30 days to help build more bond with dog but make sure you tell trainer he's new to you and your home.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

He was very good in the class! The star pupil. I'm so proud! 

Unfortunately he got car sick on the way there and back. Urg. I'm googling how to address this now. Lots of interesting info, but I'm feeling like its not going to be easy to get over. I'd been doing short trips (5-10 min, with a fun destination) and those were going okay, but puking scared and anxious in the car once a week isn't going to help his car anxiety.

I hope we can get it resolved because he really loved the class. I should search this board for suggestions I guess.

Oh, and we worked on 'leave it' tonight, after a little bit of leash attention work. It was really interesting.


----------



## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Glad class went well. Sounds like he's going to be a great dog.

For car sickness, some folks recommend ginger. I looked for ginger cookies / car sickness recipes and they didn't really seem to have enough ginger to be worthwhile (e.g., 1t ground ginger in a 30 treat batch). We talked to our vet and he recommended dramamine for longer trips. You might call your vets office and see what they recommend. He also suggested exactly what you're doing - short, frequent trips in the car. Katie eventually outgrew her car sickness


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Thanks. Glad to hear that Katie outgrew it. That makes me feel better. After doing some more reading I think I will do the following:

Not feed him before the trip (duh)
Cover the seat with a towel 
Bring my daughter to keep him company and keep him distracted, also so she can learn from the class
Crack a window or two (something about the air pressure inside the car)
Take him out to the car a few times without going anywhere, just to play around in there

I'm worried that drugs would make him too knocked out to do the class, but it'd definitely worth a call to the vet to see if there's something for anxiety that won't make him groggy.


----------



## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

Not feed him before the trip (duh
Cover the seat with a towel 
Bring my daughter to keep him company and keep him distracted, also so she can learn from the class
Crack a window or two (something about the air pressure inside the car)
Take him out to the car a few times without going anywhere, just to play around in there



If I may add one more thing, we had to make sure our pup was looking forward in the car to prevent carsickness when she was young but big enough to look out the window.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Hoe did you accomplish getting him/her to look forward? I was looking at car harnesses online last night, wondering if that would help with the forward facing. If I have DD in the back to kind of help control him and maybe a harness?


----------



## troglodytezzz (Oct 19, 2010)

I'd simply teach "go to mat" (and have the mat placed across the room) and ask for it when the dishwasher door is open. With a bit of work I bet you could use the act of opening the dishwasher door as the cue for "go to mat".


----------



## WonderBreadDots (Jun 26, 2012)

I have an SUV and at first I would have the dog in the front seat with the window cracked so she would sniff the fresh air coming in to keep her focus forward and I would drive around my country subdivision (it is a one mile circle). We would do this a few times a day for a few days then, one of my kids or husband would sit in the back seat with her with the window cracked and try to keep her from looking backwards while the car is in motion. Then, the final step would be to put Tula in the back of the SUV and have someone in the backseat keeping her focus forward then when slowing to a stop she could look where ever she wanted. Took a few weeks but now she can be in the car and stick her head out the back of the SUV with no problems. 

As a oopsie side note, I was reversing down a long driveway and Tula was looking out the front window and YAK! all over the gear shifter and between the seat and center console. The bright side of that story is I got my car professionally detailed and it was like having a new car again!


----------



## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

Spazmelda said:


> Thanks. Glad to hear that Katie outgrew it. That makes me feel better. After doing some more reading I think I will do the following:
> 
> Not feed him before the trip (duh)
> Cover the seat with a towel
> ...


Good ideas! Can I suggest adding paper towels, plastic bags, and a pet-safe cleaner to your list? 

Katie wasn't affected at all by the dramamine. She was just as alert and playful as normal, but all dogs (and people) react differently. Your pup is very young, right? We started giving Katie the dramamine at about 6 / 7 months (we got her at 5 1/2 months) and she seemed to outgrow the carsickness at about 11 months. 

There is a prescription med (Cerenia, I think) for motion sickness/nausea in dogs. That might not have grogginess as a side effect. For general anxiety, some folks have mentioned using Thunder Shirts and / or something like Rescue Remedy with good outcomes.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Excellent. Something to work on.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

cookieface said:


> Good ideas! Can I suggest adding paper towels, plastic bags, and a pet-safe cleaner to your list?
> 
> Katie wasn't affected at all by the dramamine. She was just as alert and playful as normal, but all dogs (and people) react differently. Your pup is very young, right? We started giving Katie the dramamine at about 6 / 7 months (we got her at 5 1/2 months) and she seemed to outgrow the carsickness at about 11 months.
> 
> There is a prescription med (Cerenia, I think) for motion sickness/nausea in dogs. That might not have grogginess as a side effect. For general anxiety, some folks have mentioned using Thunder Shirts and / or something like Rescue Remedy with good outcomes.


I always keep paper towels in my car! LOL. Two kids...

I'll call the vet today and see if they have any suggestions for a med. Lenny will be 6 months on the 8th. We got him about 2 weeks ago. I don't think his previous wonder took him on many car trips, but she did say he got sick when he did go in the car. Maybe I'll just try the Dramamine at home one day and see how it affects him (ill call for the dosage of course).

At least maybe if I can't eliminate the vomiting I can come up with a better plan than spewing all over my car seats. Bleh.


----------



## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

Many dogs will out grow the car sickness. Mia was horrible in the car until she was around a year but now rides anywhere like a champ. It sucks though.

As far as the dishwasher, I'd either teach him to not go in the kitchen or to go somewhere else. We trained Summer to wait outside of the kitchen when I lived in my apartment with my roomies.


----------

