Jennifer McCarthy - World Class Dog Training: Articles - Recycling Household Goods to Solve Behavior Problems

Want to solve canine behavior problems with your old household goods? Here are some great ways to re-cycle unwanted items into a dog trainer's bag of tricks from the trade…

"Can of Pennies"
Works for: Barking, digging, crotch sniffing, begging, howling, jumping, food stealing, cat or animal chasing, stalking, jumping on furniture, etc.
How to make it: Take an empty soda or beer can, fill 3/4 with pennies or spare coin change, put duck tape over the top.

How to use it: Dogs hate the noise that this makes when you shake the can very loudly. If for example, a dog is jumping up on someone, I would shake it several times to shock them, and put a command to it such as "Off!" If you did it load enough, the dog will get what your saying. If your dog goes off to another room for a minute, speak dog- ignore them for five minutes after you've made the statement. You can use the can as loud or as soft as you want too but you need always to shock the dog to get a response. If you shake the can too gently or let your kids play with it, they'll get used to the noise and then it won't work. Don't try to warn them with it either-keep it very black and white, all or nothing because to a canine, that makes sense.

Other items you cam use in the same way: An empty Altoid box with some pebbles in it makes a great shaker can on the go. Also a coffee can, martini shaker, etc. If your dog is absolutely resilient to loud noises, try banging a pot with a large spoon.
"Squirt Bottle"
Works for: Barking, digging, crotch sniffing, begging, howling, jumping, food stealing, cat or animal chasing, stalking, jumping on furniture, etc.
How to make it: Take an empty squirt bottle, fill with water and put a teaspoon of vinegar in it. Shake up the bottle so they fluids mix and put the squirt bottle onto "stream".

How to use it: When a dog starts barking for instance, take the bottle and squirt the water directly in their face. Put a command to it such as: "Quiet!" They hate the smell and will usually stop whatever they're doing. Just make sure to ignore you've made it clear that that behavior is unwanted.

Other items you cam use in the same way: A hose, bucket of water, squirt gun, etc.
"Tabasco Sauce"
Works for: Feces Eating
How to use it: Take the Tabasco sauce and place a little on the dog's poop. One taste of this, and they'll think twice about coming back for seconds!
"Tin Foil"
Works for: Keeping dogs off furniture, counters, etc.
How to use it: Place the tin foil on your furniture or counters. When a dog jumps up and their paws hit the foil, the noise will scare them off.
"Kite String"
Works for: Teaching a dog to go off-leash, a loose line to control your dog when they feel like nothing is attached to their collar.
How to use it: Tie some kite string to any type of collar or training equipment. Use gloves so that the string doesn't hurt your hand when you yank on it. Cut the string down to smaller and smaller sizes to eventually have your dog go off leash. If you use no tension on the line but little jerks, your dog will feel like nothing is attached to control them.
"Mouse Pads"
Works for: Target practice using operant conditioning or clicker training.
How to use it: Take a mouse pad and use a clicker and treats to have your dog hit the target with his nose or paw. When he hits the pad, he hears a click and then gets a treat. The target can be slowly cut down in size until the dog learns to touch or hit another object instead of the pad.
"Water Bottles"
Works for: Teaching dogs to carry weight in backpacks.
How to use it: Fill water bottles slowly over time to increase the weight load in your dog's back pack and increase endurance.
"Potato Sacks"
Works for: Tug of war games.
How to use it: Take a potato sack, roll it up and play a fantastic game of tug of war with your dog. Remember to win about 75% of the time to instill that you are the leader but if you win all the time, your dog will get bored and not want to play.
"Bells"
Works for: Teaching your dog to hit bells on your door to let you know when it's time to go outside to use the bathroom.
How to use it: Take some bells and place on your door knob that leads outside. Make sure your dog can reach the bells easily. Before they are allowed to go out, teach the dog to hit the bells with his nose. Pretty soon, he'll tell you when it's time to go potty!
"Crying Baby Doll"
Works for: Preparing a dog for a new baby.
How to use it: Spend fifteen minutes a day using the same smells as you're going to use on your baby such as power, wipes and diapers. Treat the doll as if it were real. Have it cry, burp and change it's diapers. The more your dog is exposed to these mock situations, the easier it will be when your new arrival comes home!