Okay, so for starters King and I have been best buds now for 4.5 months. I rescued him at 8 months and he’s an amazing boy to have. This morning however when left unattended for 45 minutes somehow managed to work his way into the garbage. This isn’t the first time (however) most other times he’s watched me throw my leftovers into the trash causing him to salivate over it until I have to do something (he’s smart). Most of the time I’ve left things on top of the garbage to keep him out (GF) forgot when she left for work. He chews her things only (I swear it’s because she doesn’t give him enough attention or none at all). So I haven’t crated him because I’m in sole belief he chooses to chew her stuff because of that. Back to the garbage. Should I crate him for misbehaving to teach him a lesson? What should I do to teach him it is not okay to eat or rip my garbage apart. (He does not beg for food) so that’s why I’m so confused what the obsession is with eating my trash. He doesn’t chew household items after a month of me training him to stop that.. I leave him unattended for hours sometimes with something usually over the garbage. What I’m asking is (Do I crate King because of the trash when I leave now?) I’m just honestly so disappointed in him (he’s 1 year old.) but he’s made such strides for improvement that this makes me want to back up and show him how good he honestly has it?
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Garbage fiasco
- Thread starter Erequisit
- Start date
- Sep 10, 2025
- 151
- 152
Ok, a few things stand out to me:
In my opinion young dogs should not be left loose when unattended. Before thinking about why your dog is eating garbage think about it from this point of view:
If the dog can't practice bad behavior then he can't develop bad habits.
Personally my dogs sleep in their crate until they are at least one year old and remain crated when unattended until they're two years of age - As a general rule of thumb.
I would reconsider your opinion of the crate. There's nothing to feel bad about when crating your dog. The benefits are many.
Now, let's talk about the dog eating out of the garbage. I would use this as a teaching moment for the dog. You can achieve a lot with this situation and these are the type of situations we should actually look forward to with young dogs.
I would set the dog up here. Put him in a situation where he is tempted to get into the garbage. When he finally gives in and gets into the trash I would mark with a stern "NO!" and then go and physically remove him from the can. BUT, I would leave everything as is and give the dog the freedom to chose what to do next. If he goes back towards the trash, again mark with "NO" and then remove him from the garbage. Again, leave everything just the way it is.
If he again goes into the garbage, mark with "NO" remove him from the trash but this time, repeat "NO" and give him a tap on the nose, a little neck scruff and repeat "NO" again. The physical part isn't meant to cause any pain or discomfort, it is meant to express your displeasure and apply a punishment that the dog will understand. Remember dogs are non-verbal and communicate through body language and physical touch - primarily.
If this is the first time you're applying a punishment that the dog understands as punishment he may try to hide in obedience or offer a submissive position like showing the belly or raising a paw. Do not accept that. Repeat "NO" and follow up with a tap on the nose or a neck scruff. The dog must understand he's in trouble and he can't get out of it.
After the punishment event, ignore the dog for a few moments. Eventually you can reconcile with the dog. Nothing crazy, a gentle pet and soft praise is more than enough.
After this I would be surprised if the dog gets back into the garbage. However, let's set the dog up for success. Situate the garbage can in a way that it's impossible for him to get into, crate him when left unattended and provide him with something to chew on to keep himself occupied.
Other people might not agree with this or do it another way and that's totally cool. This is how I handle things like this and it works for me.
In my opinion young dogs should not be left loose when unattended. Before thinking about why your dog is eating garbage think about it from this point of view:
If the dog can't practice bad behavior then he can't develop bad habits.
Personally my dogs sleep in their crate until they are at least one year old and remain crated when unattended until they're two years of age - As a general rule of thumb.
I would reconsider your opinion of the crate. There's nothing to feel bad about when crating your dog. The benefits are many.
Now, let's talk about the dog eating out of the garbage. I would use this as a teaching moment for the dog. You can achieve a lot with this situation and these are the type of situations we should actually look forward to with young dogs.
I would set the dog up here. Put him in a situation where he is tempted to get into the garbage. When he finally gives in and gets into the trash I would mark with a stern "NO!" and then go and physically remove him from the can. BUT, I would leave everything as is and give the dog the freedom to chose what to do next. If he goes back towards the trash, again mark with "NO" and then remove him from the garbage. Again, leave everything just the way it is.
If he again goes into the garbage, mark with "NO" remove him from the trash but this time, repeat "NO" and give him a tap on the nose, a little neck scruff and repeat "NO" again. The physical part isn't meant to cause any pain or discomfort, it is meant to express your displeasure and apply a punishment that the dog will understand. Remember dogs are non-verbal and communicate through body language and physical touch - primarily.
If this is the first time you're applying a punishment that the dog understands as punishment he may try to hide in obedience or offer a submissive position like showing the belly or raising a paw. Do not accept that. Repeat "NO" and follow up with a tap on the nose or a neck scruff. The dog must understand he's in trouble and he can't get out of it.
After the punishment event, ignore the dog for a few moments. Eventually you can reconcile with the dog. Nothing crazy, a gentle pet and soft praise is more than enough.
After this I would be surprised if the dog gets back into the garbage. However, let's set the dog up for success. Situate the garbage can in a way that it's impossible for him to get into, crate him when left unattended and provide him with something to chew on to keep himself occupied.
Other people might not agree with this or do it another way and that's totally cool. This is how I handle things like this and it works for me.