Stopping Gargabe Collection & Countersurfing (no punishment allowed)

FourIsCompany

*Ugh!*

Actually, you can teach your dog to say "ugh", too, also through positive training.   Can you imagine how cute it would be to teach them to do it when they see "garbage"?  I think that would be a great alternative behavior to teach instead of counter surfing.  Thanks for the wicked cool idea.  I am going to try it first on Sioux (she already sneezes on command - I could alter the sneeze a bit, or just attach a different cue).  Perfect!  I can just see it now - dog heads for counter, you say "keep out of the garbage" and the dog snorts in disgust.  ROFLMAO

spiritdogs

 

FourIsCompany

*Ugh!*

 

Actually, you can teach your dog to say "ugh", too, also through positive training.  

Is there any nationally recognized behaviorist or trainer that works solely from fullfilling the needs of the dog?  From my previous post here, I seem to moving into that direction and the behaviors such as countersurfing or raiding the garbage, and now with my new foster, a Chow mix wtih aggression issues, these behavior are secondary to the real cause, a unsatisfied need (and it is not always exercise).  I don't understand all this human interference with something as basic as satisfying a nourishment need.  Presently, I have Danes, a hound, a lab mix, and now a chow mix with no countersurfing or raid the garbage issues.  Maybe a separate thread on this subject. 

spiritdogs

you can teach your dog to say "ugh", too, also through positive training.

I bet you couldn't teach her to say what I had written there before I replaced it with "*Ugh*".

And your dog performs a sneeze on cue, huh? How cute and entertaining for you. Maybe you can make her sneeze, say, "Ugh" and then puke. Wicked!

I'm quite sure my dogs don't think they are given enough to eat, DPU. I restrict their food intake for their health, the same why I restrict my own food intake. Just cause the dog feels it has a "need" for something doesn't mean it's good for the dog to have it.

DPU are you honestly inferring that people with garbage raiding dogs are not feeding their dogs enough?

spiritdogs

Actually, you can teach your dog to say "ugh", too, also through positive training.   Can you imagine how cute it would be to teach them to do it when they see "garbage"? 

No, not really...I am satisfied that my dogs stay away from the trash.....no need for any circus tricks.

houndlove

DPU are you honestly inferring that people with garbage raiding dogs are not feeding their dogs enough?

Quickly because I don't want to go off topic but we are advised not to follow dog food labels because they are inflated.  Are humans so arrogant in their thinking they can control a dog from tailtip to nose and all its inner workings?  We are told to exercise the dog and if there is a behavior problem, up the exercise.  Makes the dog stronger and If you keep the food intake the same the dog will react by seeking out food opportunities, sleep longer, poop less (maybe)...anyway the dog is going to adjust to its circumstances and environment in order to satisfy the need.  If you are successful in stopping the behavior, the dog will adjust somehow to satisfy the need. 

It maybe that the dogs are not being fed enough or the dog does not trust where its next meal is coming.  To me, the dog is trying to balance itself.  What that balance is, is what the experts and us are all debating. 

You have to believe me when I tell you that it does not matter how much I feed Marlowe, he does not have an off switch. I have seen him eat until he began vomiting it back up because he couldn't fit any more in there. He gets fed twice a day at the same times every day, he knows when his next meal is coming. We feed a high quality kibble and I don't even know what the bag says to feed because I take my cue not from that but from how my dogs look. I keep them fit and lean but not skinny. As you know from having large breeds, too much weight on their joints is not a good thing. They get supplemented with raw, they eat many of their meals out of toys that satisfy their urge to hunt down and work for their food. Conrad finds all of this very satisfying and while he does eat with gusto he's not like Marlowe. Who knows, maybe very early in life Marlowe suffered some kind of food deprivation that imprinted on him a need to eat and eat and not stop until everything there is to eat is totally gone. That was kind of not my doing. But this is the dog I have got and I know that he's actually not all that unusual as dogs go. He is a very satisfied little pup. But he can hear a bag of treats opening from a sound-proofed bunker, I promise you.

Maybe we all get the dogs we deserve. I myself am not that great at knowing when to say when with food. I just like eating. I like the taste, I like the process of it, I like the social aspect, and sometimes I don't really stop when I should.  

DPU

Quickly because I don't want to go off topic but we are advised not to follow dog food labels because they are inflated. 

DPU

Are humans so arrogant in their thinking they can control a dog from tailtip to nose and all its inner workings?

DPU

It maybe that the dogs are not being fed enough or the dog does not trust where its next meal is coming. 

Obviously you haven't yet lived with the type of dog that just enjoys eating. Enjoys food, and doesn't seem to know the meaning of "full". Some dogs, like people, just like to eat. Period. And yes, sometimes that want to eat can stem from other things, like boredom, or stress, or perhaps even some other need. But some dogs also seem to like to eat for the joy of eating, and maybe for the effects that eating brings (activating the parasympathetic NS and releasing those relaxing hormones and neurotransmitters).

I agree with houndlove and Kim. I feed my dogs the amount of food it takes to keep them in good condition. If they start looking thin I give them more, if they start looking pudgy I give them less. They don't get to decide how much food they need because they are not capable of making that decision. I've had picky dogs that had to be coaxed to eat, and now I have one that lives to eat, and one that eats enthusiastically and is not at all picky, but is just not obsessed with food like her half brother is. That's just how they are.

Kim_MacMillan

Obviously you haven't yet lived with the type of dog that just enjoys eating. Enjoys food, and doesn't seem to know the meaning of "full". Some dogs, like people, just like to eat. Period. And yes, sometimes that want to eat can stem from other things, like boredom, or stress, or perhaps even some other need. But some dogs also seem to like to eat for the joy of eating, and maybe for the effects that eating brings (activating the parasympathetic NS and releasing those relaxing hormones and neurotransmitters).

I am not the one that experiences these "food" problems.  I am trying to understand why you all have these problems and I do not.  I am also trying to figure out why you all have created all these behavior modification strategies just so the dog eats what you all think is the right amount and the dog does not.  There has to be a reason.  All my residence dogs and foster dogs enjoy food but they don't create behavior because of food. 

DPU

Kim_MacMillan

Obviously you haven't yet lived with the type of dog that just enjoys eating. Enjoys food, and doesn't seem to know the meaning of "full". Some dogs, like people, just like to eat. Period. And yes, sometimes that want to eat can stem from other things, like boredom, or stress, or perhaps even some other need. But some dogs also seem to like to eat for the joy of eating, and maybe for the effects that eating brings (activating the parasympathetic NS and releasing those relaxing hormones and neurotransmitters).

I am not the one that experiences these "food" problems.  I am trying to understand why you all have these problems and I do not.  I am also trying to figure out why you all have created all these behavior modification strategies just so the dog eats what you all think is the right amount and the dog does not.  There has to be a reason.  All my residence dogs and foster dogs enjoy food but they don't create behavior because of food. 

I think your just lucky you haven't acquired a dog who has that drive yet.  I think the drive is created by the dog doing it once, finding it rewarding and repeating the behavior.

Have you ever had a food motivated dog?  Have you rescued a dog who likes your counters and food bags?  If not, your lucky.  If you have, WHAT DID YOU DO TO CHANGE THAT BEHAIVOR?

I am 49 years old, lived and grew up on a farm - had tons of dogs growing up, none were garbage dogs.  In my own adult life I have had 4 dogs, prior to my Swissy and two dogs after - non were garbage dogs.  Why?  they just weren't.

 Likewise of the three dogs I've owned only one has been as food-obsessed as Marlowe. All have liked food, none have been picky and all would help themselves to something yummy left out in plain sight if it was a situation they assessed to be safe to take the food, but none have been the "eat until you pop" kind until Marlowe. Dogs are just individuals. You've been lucky, so good for you. I also seem to remember that you kennel your fosters when no one is home. That makes a huge difference to determining whether or not they discover that the garbage can or the counter tops are a pretty good place to get a mid-day snack.

Though having a food-obsessed dog does not automatically equal a dog who dumpster-dives. Marlowe would stand on his head and sing the national anthem for a stem of kale (no, really!), but I've managed the situation to the point that I don't have counter surfers or garbage-divers and I don't manage much any more beyond not doing things that would be so incredibly tempting that these dogs would have no prayer of passing it up if no one was around. The garbage can is out, I can leave things on counters. Our kitchen is small so counter space is at a premium and it is heavily used.  

DPU

I am not the one that experiences these "food" problems. 

DPU

I am trying to understand why you all have these problems and I do not.

DPU

I am also trying to figure out why you all have created all these behavior modification strategies just so the dog eats what you all think is the right amount and the dog does not.

DPU

There has to be a reason.