Keeping Your Dog Out Of The Trash

Dogs that spend a lot of time outdoors can sometimes cause problems depending on what you have in your yard. One common item that your dog will destroy is your trash, or garbage bags. There is a reason why a dog does this; it is searching for a prize, which is food. Sometimes your dog may want something different to eat and the best place to find free food is the garbage. A dog does not know that it is not allowed access to the garbage because the garbage seems to be there for it. For example, when you put dog food on the ground for your dog to eat, it happily eats it, so it thinks the garbage is there for the same reason. There are a few safe and not so safe ways to stop your dog from tearing your garbage bags.

The easiest way to stop a small dog is by getting a trashcan with a lid and a lock. If you get the kind with a lock, the dog cannot knock the garbage can over and make the lid come off. If you do not want to buy a new garbage can, there is another effective way to handle this problem, just use some bleach. Get any kind of bleach from the grocery store and pour it into your trash bag after you put in some trash. You do not want to pour it directly on bag, on the outside or the inside, because the dog may eat the bag to break into it. After you pour about 1/4 cup of bleach into the bag, place the trash bag in its normal spot and wait until your dog goes to it. Once the dog gets a smell of the bleach, it will get far away from the smell in the bag. If these methods do not work for your dog, you can always hide the trash from the dog until the garbage truck arrives.

If you have some free time, you can set your dog up and teach it a lesson about tearing your trash. Busy people come home to trash that has already been ripped by their dog and after seeing this, they yell at their pet. The problem is that the dog does not know why its being yelled it; it has to be yelled at while it is doing wrong. Whenever you get some free time, set your trash out as usual and wait until your dog bites, then tell it to stop. This method will take a while, but the dog will get the idea over time.

Some people have also used the mousetrap method, which involves putting a mousetrap into a garbage bag upside down. This method works by startling the dog after the trap goes off, however this method is not safe. A dog's nose is very sensitive and if it somehow is snapped by the trap, the dog's mood is going to be greatly affected. Although people claimed that their dog has never been hurt, it is still dangerous and has a risk.

Another effective, but harmful way, to keep your dog in the yard, away from your trash and even off the street is by using an invisible electrified fence. You should really think before you consider buying this type of fence, because if it is not used properly, it can scare your dog. Someone once tried to get their dogs comfortable with the new invisible fence too fast and did not read the directions. Instead of putting the collar on the lowest setting for minimum collar shock, this person used the highest setting. After doing this, the dogs went to the shock zones and were shocked and remained scared to leave the yard for days. Invisible fences are not for everyone, so if you have the cash, buy a normal fence to keep your dogs in the yard instead.

Keeping your dog in the yard and away from your trash is quite easy depending on your dog. You can use a garbage can with a lid and lock, bleach, or just hide the trash. You should seriously think before you use mousetraps or an invisible fence because these methods can hurt your dog.