My doodle will be 2 yrs. old and is still eating tissues out of the trash?

[Robin, dalai, and Parker]

This is especially bothersome because I take Dalai to see my mother who is in a nursing home. I know how to teach "leave it" but I want her to not even "touch it". She is coming around to just about everything that we have learned from her obedience classes and was just wondering if anyone had suggestions to help break this nasty habit?

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Not me. Tigger, my two year old is still stealing tissues, paper towels,etc from the trash. Storm my last husky was still stealing tissues at 15. I think it is the smell of them as well as the texture. It is kind of ucky, but mostly human diseases won't live in a dog. Good luck.

[Melissa & Porter]

Porter likes tissues too, but not to the point where it bugs me...he has to be really bored and around people who are ignoring him to start rooting in the trash. (My three kids and I positively reinforced some behaviors with our attention. So at 1.5 yrs, he's finally getting "drop it," because I have finally convinced everyone not to squeal and chase him.)

Anyway, I have pretty good luck with "leave it" by using a "eh eh" sound when he is still thinking about doing something inappropriate. When you catch 'em in the thought, it is easier to stop the action. But you want to visit your mom and not observe your dog under a microscope...maybe practice with some yummy tissue-filled trashcans at home?

On a side note, I have this wacky idea that someday dogs will be used to determine the bacteria growing in the lungs of people with lung disease. My insurance company spends thousands of dollars a year culturing my sputum, and I tell you, the way Porter sniffs my tissues, I think he knows exactly what is going on in there. And as Maryann says, the dog doesn't get sick from the human boogies ;-)

[Robin, dalai, and Parker]

Thanks Melissa. I'll have to work on "leave it". Though, I usually find the tissues laying next to the trashcan tore up. That's a good idea about baiting her with fresh tissues and use "drop it" and "leave it".

[F, Calla & Luca]

My 2 year old loves tissues too. I think they are just irresitible to them.

[Sue & Willy Babe]

Wilson loves the tissues too he will search our pockets but on walks when he see's them I say eh eh he understands I think he should just eat our tissues and not someone else's ha ha ha ha

[Eva (Lilo and Rocky)]

he - my 5 year old dog still loves tissues and will sneak them out of the trash if I accidentally left the lid off... she carries them around in her mouth to hide them from me (the same way she attempts to hide mice or birds she's killed). Best advice is to give you Mom a trash can with a lid and make sure it's on when you visit her + don't let you dog roam around in the nursing home by herself :)

[1xar0x2rcx0li]

Training training training. This is what I did. I would set up a waste basket in the living room with tissues, maybe dipped in food to be yummy, and work on "leave it" while I would watch a movie. I would say the command when Hershey was within a foot of it, if she got closer I pulled her away by her leash. If she did leave it and came to me she would get a treat. She got it pretty quickly, leave the basket and go see dad. You can do this every time you watch a TV show, pull out the basket and train Dalai as you relax. "Leave it" does not have to have a distance requirement. I can sometimes see Hershey looking across the room at something she wants to pounce on, I can say leave it and she diverts her attention away from it. You can teach leave it for when Dalai starts looking interested in the waste basket.

[shelly]

I am going to try this too as Tori's favorite 'food' is tissues and paper towels! The tissues she eats mostly beak down but many times the paper towels (&napkins) come out uh-hem... log formed. Will call it a "poop and wipe load"

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I really think this is one of those "losing battles". They love tissues....they just do. So, I move the trash and keep them from getting to it. Guinness is always leashed when he's at the Nursing Home on Therapy visits so I tell him to "leave it" when he's around trash cans there and he always does, maybe because he knows there's no other option.

[laurie lehr]

Jasper likes tissues also , its like they know their not suppose to have it .

[Bernie + Aimee]

i would just try to keep the garbage out of reach

as others have said...dogs just love to eat tissues!

[Robin, dalai, and Parker]

We took Dalai to my daughter's college graduation this weekend and stayed a night at her apartment. Needless to say she was rushing room to room into all the trash baskets. Us girls just don't like our trash threwn around the house. I do plan on continuing with solving this problem by making the trash cans distasteful to her. Maybe bitter apple (that I haven't used before). Remembering to close bathroom doors and reminding others to do the same is a little difficult. I haven't given up yet on this though and I will let you know if I come up with something that works on my doodle. Thanks to all for your input!