SurvivingInfidelity.com Forum Archives

our new dog we got in April was a rescue, I am pretty sure she was neglected prior to her coming to the rescue. Well anyways, she has adjusted quite well accept for one thing, she gets into the garbage and when you try and scold her about it she gets pissed. She doesnt so much to me anymore, but my kids and even my husband will try to get her out of there and she will sass and even snap at them. I have taken to having to put the garbage can on top of the fridge, just to get out of site out of mind. Now she isnt this way with her food or bones or toys just the garbage.

How can we get her to stop thinking it is hers, we just got new kitchen cabinets and she has toothed them to get into the garbage. I have always said, I my dog bites someone they are gone, well I hate to see her to go someone who doesnt like her like we do, she is a good dog otherwise

Try a new garbage can? Like if yours is metal/silver get a white plastic one or vice versa? Put it under the sink or in the pantry/laundry room/garage if it's right there. We have an outside door in our kitchen and keep a garbage can outside actually so the smelly stuff doesn't make our house stink (we have a kid in diapers still). We still have a garbage can inside too but we don't have a garbage crazy dog either

Good luck!

I'd also work on your husband and children being dominant with the dog in other situations so she doesn't start trying to be like this about anything else.

Was she rescued from the street? My dd has a rescue dog. She has had him for 3 years and he still does things that we attribute to the streets - like taking a roll of paper towel or toilet paper or box of kleenex - shredding it and piling it into a nice comfy place to sleep. Now the dog has beds, sleeps with my dd & her H, etc. But leave paper around and he seems to need that *comfort*

So maybe she learned to be aggressive/possessive about garbage fighting for survival on the street? Not a solution, but maybe a reason. Sorry.

Digging in garbage is a self-rewarding behavior thus it's really difficult to break. The reality is that you will have to ensure that the garbage is stored in a container that she cannot get into. I put mine under the kitchen sink.

The other element of her behavior is the possessiveness. Your dog isn't "pissed" she is "owning" the garbage and challenging others. Does she also have food aggression? Will she do this if you try to take her food or get near it when she is eating? The way to address that is with training where you reaffirm her position as subservient to the rest of the pack. Sometimes basic obedience will train this right out of a dog, sometimes you have to get a more serious trainer involved.

She does not have food aggression. we got her from a shelter and the shelter said she was left there in a cage over night in the middle of winter, so we are not sure of her background. Right now I have the garbage can on top of the fridge.

Okay so it is just garbage and that is good. Think about a permanent solution for placing the garbage can - something with a strong lid or behind a closed door. Again, it is self rewarding (the food or whatever they're after) so it's *very* hard to rid them of the behavior.

I would still strongly urge obedience training for the dog. This reaffirms its position in the family. Any time a dog shows aggression towards a human it should be addressed immediately and seriously. If you address it early, then you can prevent a very serious problem from developing.

My ridgeback is very food driven and that includes any in the trash. First I bought a steel can with a pedal lid on it. Worked for awhile but eventually she got in. Now I keep the trash can in the pantry. Much better.

I have seen dogs have aggressive tendencies. Even my border collie mix I rescued as a very young pup, who is almost never aggressive, is aggressive over her chewies. It seems very out of character but it is her one trigger, though it's only toward other dogs, never people.

She needs to see your husband and kids as dominant. One of my rescues food guards and while she has never snapped at anyone, she does growl at certain people who she thinks are below her on the pecking order if they get too close to her food. She doesn't like it when I pet her near her food but she knows better than to growl.

Establishing dominance can be quite a process and it requires consistency. Don't ever hit or smack the dog as it will make the problem worse.