How Honest Is Your Doodle?

[Camilla and Darwin]

I suppose the title isn't really a great one, because it's less about honesty and more about obedience. But a recent mishap with Darwin has made me ponder this. He has been trained to not go near the garbage can. Our garbage doesn't have a lid, but it hasn't been a problem because we always crate him when gone, and always watch him when home. Even when we aren't paying close attention, he hasn't tried to go near the garbage for a year or so. We have been very diligent in correcting him if he goes near it, and he is aware of that. He knows very well that it's off limits. 

Well DH and I were both in the bedroom hanging photos on the wall, and while we were in there Darwin went to the garbage and ate some stuff out of it. We caught him and he immediately knew it was wrong, he went into his crate and acted pathetic and sad. We were shocked because we can take a nap or leave the room and we are confident he won't go near it. He hasn't even come close for a long time. We assumed that over time, his training was solid enough that he was trustworthy. I guess this time the cream of chicken soup cans were just too tempting, and he really thought we wouldn't see him.

Will your doodle misbehave if he has the opportunity to? Is this a matter of him not being well enough trained, or is it really inescapable to have them go after something if the opportunity presents itself? 

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

Believe it or not, Bella just learned that, if she put her nose under the edge of the lid, she could knock the lid off and get to the trash more easily.

I guess that every dog, no matter how well trained, has its tipping point.

We now just make sure that all foodstuff trash goes into a receptacle, under the sink...the door has a baby lock on it. (Let her try to figure that one out!)

[2m42srv7vi6sq]

I wonder if he learned this from our "obediende Champion"! LOLOL

[Susan and Sasha]

Oh...What  A Fashionista!!

I mean...this could be sold in stores Everywhere!!  Lol...

It's the collar that Everyone would want...

It could go to work...and then...with the additon of pearl.s..it could take you to dinner...

What a Wonderfully Doodlely Invention This Is!!  (smile)

This could be called...The "I Got Caught...Plastic Doodle Collar"...

Hmmmmm...I think you could make some money on this one!!  Lol...

I So Love This Pic...It's Totally Adorable!!

Don't let Sasha See this One....so far...she doesn't get into the trash...

Don't get me wrong...She Loves to sneak socks...and she Totally Loves Paper Towels!!!!  Lol... and...sometimes a handtowel...or two!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sorry, but I have to say it; JD does not take anything that doesn't belong to him, ever. No matter how tempting it is, even when the opportunity presents itself. And I didn't train that. Maybe somebody did before me, he's been this way since the day he walked into my house at 14 months of age. He's had free-run since then, and the most he's ever done is take a tank top or PJ top out of my laundry basket to use as a Linus blanket if I'm not home. I leave meat defrosting on the stove top all the time and leave the house.

Wait, I lied. Once, he took the remains of a Boston Market turkey breast, complete with the container it came in, off the dinner table. We had gone out front for a minute after dinner, and didn't clear the table. When we came back in, two things were missing: the turkey, and the doodle.

We finally found the container from the turkey, licked clean, under the table. The doodle was harder to locate. He was hiding in the corner of my bedroom between my armoire and the wall, in a space too small for him that he had never ventured into before. There was no need to punish him, even if I'd been so inclined. He was so mortified, so shocked by his own behavior, that I practically had to comfort him.

Me, I got a little choked up. My guy finally trusted me enough to do something bad.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Poor JD. I suspect somebody trained him in the way Adina wrote about.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Covered garbage cans make life easier. I now have three step cans here.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

step cans are the ONLY way to go - bathrooms, kitchen, etc...I figure a $30 simple human bathroom can could save me thousands in vet bills :)

[Adina P]

Anyone who would put in the time to really train a dog probably isn't the person who used to own Jack. Jackdoodle is not a food hog.  When I visited Karen two years ago (has it been that long?) he was within inches of me eating crackers and cheese and he had NO interest in sharing.  MY DOGS?  They would have sat there staring and drooling and not taking their eyes off the potentially falling crumbs. 

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Our old lab mix, Simon, and our Springer, Gordie never, never got into the trash, never ate food left on a low table or even from a plate on the floor, never tipped a trash can, or stole a cookie from a baby.  I guess I thought all dogs were like that and then I got a doodle...... and then two doodles......

[Kathy Spyker]

This is what happens when I work too much and DH is away hunting. Lilly does not get her walks as much as she (and I) would like. In the last 2 weeks she got into the trash 4 times and she ate a stick of butter from off the counter.

I walked in the door and right away her ears went back and she hung her head..She KNOWS what she did was bad..but I love her and I know its my fault for not seeing she got her exercise.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

look at that face...........

[Carol and Banjo]

Banjo is a creature of opportunity.    He has us well trained.   We put our shoes behind closed doors.  I've moved the kitchen trash container under the sink behind closed doors.  We never leave food "unattended" on the table, all dish towels, pot holders and food items are placed well back on the kitchen counters, no socks left on the floor, laundry room door is kept closed, wood for the wood burning stove is placed in a rack out of his reach....ummmm....oh boy...hope I haven't forgotten anything!!!    My house has never been so well organized!!!    What puzzles me though is....one day he's a perfect angel....and we get all "proud" about how wonderful he is....and the very next day he's a whirling dervish.....running through the house with toilet paper streaming behind him, then grabbing papers off the desk...or a forgotten sock....or  whatever else he can manage to get his mouth on.  I haven't yet figured out what sets him off.