How to Keep a Dog Out of the Trash

After a long day at work, there’s nothing better than coming home, sinking into the couch, and finally relaxing. But instead, you open the front door to find the contents of your kitchen trash scattered all over your home. Does this sound familiar? If so, know you’re not alone.

Content:

1. Choosing the Right Dog-Proof Trash Can for Your Home
2. Training & Behaviour Strategies to Stop Trash Diving
3. Extra Deterrents, Home Hacks & Room-Specific Solutions
4. Conclusion

Choosing the Right Dog-Proof Trash Can for Your Home

For dogs that love supplementing their diet with your trash invest in a trash can that is difficult to access and has some or all the following features:

• heavy base (can’t be pushed over unless your dog is bigger than you)
• locking lid to prevent opening
• motion censored trash cans are available that only the smartest of dogs will figure out to access your unwanted treasure (treasure in their eyes, trash in yours)
• hide the trash can, have one of your kitchen cabinets modified into a deep drawer big enough to store a trash can in. If your dog figures out how to open it, you can always put a child-safety lock on the drawer

Dr. J Jensen says: “Ingestion of garbage or carcasses is common in dogs. Usually gastrointestinal signs are seen, often summarized as “garbage enteritis.”

Training & Behaviour Strategies to Stop Trash Diving

First things first, make sure you are feeding your dog the right amount of food for their weight and activity level. Double check the feeding guidelines on the back of your dog food bag. A dog that isn’t getting enough food is more likely to go looking for it in undesirable places. If your dog is getting enough food and their deworming is up to date give your vet a call to discuss other possible diets.

There are many puzzles and toys available for dogs, and you can even feed part, or all, of their meal in them. This will not only stimulate your dog’s mind but satisfy their stomach. Some dogs will go rooting through trash just because they are bored and need more stimulation. Be sure to alternate puzzles and toys to keep it exciting for your pooch. If you work away from home invest in a remotely accessible toy such as the Petcube Play2 so that you can keep them entertained at random times during the day.

The Petcube App is a great tool that you can use to check in on your dog when you’re not home and play games with them.

Dr. Masson’s article on the Link between Foreign Body Ingestion and Behavioural Disorder in Dogs says: “Foreign body ingestion in dogs can threaten the animal's life and often result in an emergency surgery. The causes of pica (ingestion of non-nutritive substance) remain unexplored, although behavioral conditions including hyperactivity, impulsivity, obsessive-compulsive oral/ingestive disorders, anxiety or attachment related troubles have been implicated.”

Consistently train your dog with the ‘leave it’ command and reward them for ignoring the trash. If you struggle with this then contact a local dog trainer or behaviourist for some guidance.

Extra Deterrents, Home Hacks & Room-Specific Solutions

Certain flavours and scents can make your trash unappealing to your dog. You can spray the inside and outside rim with taste deterrents such as lemon juice, vinegar or hot sauce.

In the article Canine Smell Preferences – Do dogs have their favourite scents? It states: “Dogs have a particularly sensitive sense of smell; therefore, strong scents may be very intense, and not always pleasant, stimuli.”

It is always a good idea to manage your garbage content – don’t leave strong smelling food or meat in the trash can, take it out immediately to reduce temptation.

Baby gates are another way to keep your dog out of the kitchen and away from the most interesting trash.

Conclusion

Investigating your trash isn’t just a nuisance but can be quite dangerous for your dog. Consumed chicken bones or failed baking experiments laden with xylitol are very dangerous for your dog and would require immediate veterinary intervention. Prevention is always safer and better than cure.