How can I train a full-grown untrained dog to stop eating garbage?

Question

He's an 8-year-old beagle. I am his secondary owner of 6 months - his primary owner has owned him since puppyhood. Apparently there have been failed attempts to give him some basic training in the past, most notably enrollment in doggy discipline school. (They gave a refund and expressed that he was not welcome back after the first day of training.)

I have started to read up on books and resources for training dogs as I feel he does need some basic training and I have come to understand that he has been unwittingly trained to lunge at garbage, put it in his mouth and swallow it as quickly as possible. He eats other animals' poop, any and all food he finds on the ground, sticks his snout into garbage and plastic bags at the slightest opportunity.

He has had very little training and little if any understanding of command words. I want to get started right away on correcting the garbage eating behavior as I am concerned he will eventually eat something that does something horrible to him. It is difficult to avoid garbage on the ground as we live in a city area that is extremely littered. (Even the parks have food garbage lying around from picnics.) I don't want to stop taking him on walks while I study basic training principles and canine communication - we are currently living in an apartment building and he has the run of the veranda, but that's not enough space for him is it?

Is it possible to start training him to stop eating everything he can reach in these circumstances? How might I go about it?

Answer 1

This is a perfect application of the "It's Yer Choice" game, coined by Susan Garrett. Since the garbage is a really big reward, I recommend starting with something less exciting (like a handful of food) so he can understand the game first.

Here's a YouTube video I found demonstrating the game being taught including a dog walking past multiple treat containers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipT5k1gaXhc

Phase 1

While your dog is in a low-distraction environment and on lead, take a handful of treats or food and show them to your dog so he knows you have them. Then close your fist around them and wait for him to sit. Do not move your hand away, don't say anything, just wait. Naturally, we will try to get at the treats. He may lick, bite, paw, whatever, and that's OK! If he gets aggressive or bites really hard, you may want to use something other than your hand to hold the treats, but it needs to be something solid you can open and close quickly.

The instant he backs off, open your hand. This is reinforcing to him (because now he sees how to get to the food) and he will probably come to get it. Close your hand to prevent access. Wait him out again until he backs up and open your hand again.

At this point the leash is to prevent him from just wandering off. When he sits calmly, begin to give him a treat, but only give it to him if he stays sitting. If he moves to help get the treat, put it back in your hand.

Depending on the dog, it may take a while, but eventually you'll be able to feed treats to a calm sitting dog.

You can apply the game to any situation and there are too many details to list them here, but the basic mechanics are always the same. Allow the dog the opportunity to get something inappropriately, restrict access to that thing if he tries, and give it to him when he's patient. Do not restrict access by pulling them back with the leash. Pulling on the leash creates what's called opposition reflex and actually makes him want the thing more.

Application

So how does not stealing treats out of your hand apply to not stealing garbage on the street? Set up the game in the same way using a garbage in a controlled environment inside the house. Use your foot and step on the garbage to prevent him from getting to it. You might want to start with something less exciting first. Once he's mastered it inside, try outside on your driveway.

Keep working at this with different environments. Use different kinds of trash in different environments. Dogs are bad at generalizing to try all kinds of goofy stuff. You want him to fail sometimes so he understands there are consequences. For now though, try to stay away from the trash as much as you can. You can even pick him up to pass it, but you don't want him pulling on the leash. This just creates opposition reflex and will make the problem worse.