# No Solution for Keeping Dog Out of Garbage?



## giapet (Jan 14, 2012)

I've been searching around for tips to keep a dog from getting into the garbage, not so much at home but when she's at my partner's office (where there are a half-dozen small garbage bins at perfect nose height, generally with food garbage in them)?

I was shocked that there weren't more threads about it, and the only advice I could find was to dog-proof the garbage...but we can't really force the partner's coworkers to dog-proof their bins. (There are other dogs that visit the office regularly- 3, in fact -but they apparently don't try to get into the garbage, apparently.)

Is there really nothing to be done? Off-putting sprays (like for furniture) or something?


----------



## doxiemommy (Dec 18, 2009)

There is a bitter apple type spray that some people use to stop a dog from chewing on things. I guess you could TRY that. But, it doesn't exactly fit your situation. Plus, some dogs like the bitter apple spray. Also, you have to keep re-applying until the dog gets the hint, so that the trash always tasted gross. 

Is the dog allowed to roam the office freely?


----------



## Gally (Jan 11, 2012)

The reason there aren't many answers is that the safest and easiest way to fix the problem is to dog proof the garbage. If this is an office setting, is there food the garbage or just things like tissues? If there is no food you'll have an easier time of training.

I'd try the bitter apple spray as a management tool while also working on training a really solid "leave it" command. If she finds leaving the garbage more rewarding then stealing from it she'll eventually stop leaving it alone without being asked. Your partner might want to ask her co-workers to put anything dangerous or organic in a central bin under a sink or in a can with a lock.


----------



## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

The problem with the garbage training is that by the time people ask the question, their dog has been richly rewarded BY EATING garbage so many times that it's extra-super hard to fix the problem.

How to garbage train a dog: Get a dog. Leave lots of boring, empty garbage cans around. Never have good things in them. Teach the dog to leave the empites alone. Then, never leave great stuff in them when the dog is unsupervised. When the dog is supervised, teach him no. When the odg is NOT supervised, remove either the tasty garbage or the can itself or the dog will learn to self-reward in garbage.

This really is the answer for the most part.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

> The problem with the garbage training is that by the time people ask the question, their dog has been richly rewarded BY EATING garbage so many times that it's extra-super hard to fix the problem.


and how in doG's name is that possible. The "so many times" part.


----------



## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

Somebody posted a picture of a locking trash can, seems like your best bet


----------



## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

To Wvasko: If a dog has eaten "good garbage" a dozen times because trash has been left for him to forage repeatedly, the behavior is harder to change...

Was that what your question was asking?


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I bought a locking garbage can- $129 and muggsy figured out how to rip the lid straight off in three days. Then he coffee grounds and nearly died. After that, I kept the garbage on the deck. 

This time around, I got a shorter dog.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

trainingjunkie said:


> To Wvasko: If a dog has eaten "good garbage" a dozen times because trash has been left for him to forage repeatedly, the behavior is harder to change...
> 
> Was that what your question was asking?


No I was just questioning the supervision of dogs able to get to the garbage that many times. Not judging just wondering how it is possible.


----------



## trainingjunkie (Feb 10, 2010)

Ahhh, that makes sense!

FWIW-- My kitchen garbage is out in the open! Never been eaten! But I put my dogs up when I'm not home.


----------



## Sasha1/2 (Dec 22, 2011)

Is it possible to ask coworkers to discard food waste into a bin with a lid? Honestly, I don't allow my staff to toss food into waste paper baskets because it makes our office smell offensive for customers. Another alternative is to keep your dog on a leash -- an umbilical is ideal for this -- when you are visiting the office.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

trainingjunkie said:


> Ahhh, that makes sense!
> 
> FWIW-- My kitchen garbage is out in the open! Never been eaten! But I put my dogs up when I'm not home.


As long as you don't expect me to make sense with all things.


----------



## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Sasha1/2 said:


> Another alternative is to keep your dog on a leash -- an umbilical is ideal for this -- when you are visiting the office.


 
This is the BEST way to keep you dog out of the coworkers garbage.


----------



## SassyCat (Aug 29, 2011)

There's not much you can do if the dog is always messing around trash cans other than preventing him. And yeah, not all dogs do this. You could try and limit his movement I guess.


----------



## Bordermom (Apr 28, 2010)

Can your partner put in an xpen or something so she's not wandering off?


----------



## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

wvasko said:


> No I was just questioning the supervision of dogs able to get to the garbage that many times. Not judging just wondering how it is possible.


Just to be fair to me, Muggsy figured out how to open doors with his nose- and he could do it very quietly. I really never saw that one coming.


----------



## wvasko (Dec 15, 2007)

Amaryllis said:


> Just to be fair to me, Muggsy figured out how to open doors with his nose- and he could do it very quietly. I really never saw that one coming.


As I said not judging you or anybody else but after any dog (and any owner involved with the dog) does something 10 times or more there is a huge problem. That's just the part I don't understand.


----------



## Canaqua (Sep 27, 2011)

In an office setting, unless it's a small office and you are the boss, there's probably not a lot you can do other than secure the dog somehow to prevent it from wandering into cubicles and offices to hunt through trash cans. If you are the boss, just tell your employees not to throw food into their office trash...not a bad rule anyway, because I've worked in offices that had mice going through the trash! We then started putting all our lunch waste into the big, kitchenette, bins.


----------



## giapet (Jan 14, 2012)

Alas, he is NOT the boss, although it is a pretty small office, and completely open-- no cubicles or offices.  But thanks!


----------



## ds231 (Nov 11, 2012)

I love my dog, I take care of my dog but I live in the country and every time I take the garbage out for pick up I am stuck picking up garbage the following morning because some moron in the neighborhood can not control their dog. I have tried everything. I have bought "animal proof" cans, it chews the latches off, I have tried the bug spray, bleach, amonia, pepper spray, pepper flakes, heck I even tried injecting the hottest pepper sauce I could find into the table scraps. I tried to bungy cord the lids but then the garbage men will not pick it up. I bought the biggest heavest can I could find and even tried putting a concrete block on top of it so that if it knocks it over it would hopefully fall on the dogs head and at the least give it a head ache, nothing works. I wanted to put a large sign out warning that I was going to start putting rat poisoning into my garbage so if the idiot can not keep their dog home they will not have a dog. But was told by law inforcement that would be an admission of intent and against the law. The dog does not wander in the day so local dog pound was no help. I am at my wits end. I live alone with my 87 year old mother and I am disabled so picking up garbage weekly is a little more than just a nuisance. I even tried taking it directly to the dump, however they informed me they do not accept normal household garbage. Please if anyone has any ideas I am willing to try anything. And yes I have thought of staying awake all night out by the road with a shot gun but like in the case of poisoning I can not do that to the dog as it is not his fault, if only shooting the owner was an option. I am wondering about ipecac. Does anyone know if it would be safe to use on a dog? I don't mind making him sick so that he will think twice about my garbage next time but do not want to harm him. In fact I truly feel sorry for the dog if it is left to fend on it's own. I don't know if it is hungry or just does it for the fun. For a while I even tried putting food scraps in a seperate bag and sitting them beside the can along with some dry dog food so if it was hungry it would have something to eat but yet again that failed. There has to be something that can be done other than to destroy the animal. I can have a trapper come out and trap the animal and then animal control will take it in but then they will destroy it as a nuiance animal, again not fair to the dog. So if anyone has any ideas that I have not tried yet or if anyone knows waht the ipecac would do to it I would love to hear from you. THanks


----------



## 3doglady (Jul 31, 2011)

In an office setting, I would go with a leash or X-pen, but at home, Galaxy was really bad with trash cans. I ended up getting a stainless steel step-lid can and putting a child-proof lock on it. The outside cans were Brute brand with lock tight lids and bungee cords across the top for extra protection. My other dogs never even considered picking through the trash.


----------



## RoughCollie (Mar 7, 2011)

Aidan can unlock our Simple Human locking trash can, which is in our kitchen. I turn it around so it faces the wall. When we have particularly tempting trash in it (like chicken bones), we take it out immediately. My solution at my office is to put the trash cans on the desk, conference table, or any surface too high for him to reach. The entire situation is a PITA, but there are only family members at the office, and we are used to him. Aidan, of course, loves bitter apple and 3 other kinds of dog repellent, so I'm not wasting any more money on those products.


----------



## RonE (Feb 3, 2007)

Check the timeline, please.

The office garbage issue was last January. Now there's a new "OP" with an outdoor garbage problem.


----------



## seaboxador (Sep 23, 2012)

Partner? Bins? Office? How about some context for what you're talking about. I can't follow what you mean. Is this your business partner or life partner? Is the dog going to a big office? Why is it wandering around the office? Etc.


----------

