What do you think about this method to punish/teach a dog?

My dogs loves chili peppers(I caught them eating the peppers off the vine). I don’t think this method would work with them.

My dog likes spicy curry, so your method would not work at my house.

The chili I described there would be green chili,and it’s known for its ‘punishing’ spiciness.

How does this keep your dog from picking up something it just finds in the grass outside and eating it?

I can see where that would work.( lot of work when you can keep them inside) Remember the movie, “Cool Hand Luke,” when Luke got the two boys to give him some pepper..loll.. If you didn’t see the movie, this will mean nothing.

Sadie, my dog in the avatar, will never have that opportunity. She stays inside and in my backyard, mostly inside. Too many things can happen outside.

@marinelife I’m not sure that all dogs will eat every object they find on grass. The writer here explain the way to prevent a house dog(where the yard of the owner would be clean/out of foody object) from eating a food thrown by strangers.

@BoBo1946 Sounds funny. I haven’t seen that movie yet. But maybe you could give me a short synopsis about the story that correlate with this method if you don’t mind. I will appreciate that.

I think it’s silly and cruel.

@tinyfaery Why? The way I see the writer try to teach us is that spiciness won’t kill a dog,and this could be a good way to teach a dog since dogs are able to learn from experience and they will avoid bad experience. Most owners,without been told will give their dog water after doing this method. They didn’t train their dog with roughness,and certainly not for fun.

This method is supposing the poisoned item would be of a meaty nature. Maybe not.

What if it is a poisoned donut or cookie. Most dogs love sweets, and they can smell very well…they might avoid a piece of spicy meat but a can of dog food or other food item might not be rejected.

I think it’s a waste of time and energy for the most part.

But..I don’t own a dog or live in a neighborhood that might harbor a pet poisoning person.

My old cat loved Wasabi, and the new ones, well…they don’t like treats, so someone would have to get really creative and toss them a poisoned lizard. lol

If one ever has to go on vacation and leave a dog at a kennel, teaching the dog not to take food from strangers doesn’t sound like the best plan. If the dog has to stay a night at the vet’s office, same thing.

Think back to the movies where strangers use poison food to lure the dog, presumably to break in or harm the person who is no longer protected by their canine companions. In my world, this just really doesn’t come up very often (never).

When training search dogs, we want them to take food from strangers (this is how they learn, early in the training sequence, to get their reward). My dogs do very well with the “leave it” command and are rarely out of my range of knowing what they are doing at all times.

@Kayak8

I agree. Seems a bit like ‘overkill’ to me. ( no pun intended.)

I am sure there are a few people circulating around that do randomly and for no reason poison dogs or cats, but…I think more often it would be in relation to problem barking or other behaviors that have fallen upon the deaf ears of the owners.

I don’t know…just seems a little paranoid and drastic to me.

@Doctor_D here is a link to the movie! http://www.filmsite.org/cool3.html

Luke, played by Paul Newman, is on the run from the law and they are chasing him with bloodhounds. Luke stopped to remove his leg irons with the help of two boys and while he removing the irons, he gets one of the boys to get some chili pepper, curry, etc. To say the least, it was hilarious when those dogs started smelling of that peppers.

One of the greatest movies I’ve ever seen @Doctor_D ! Check it out.

@BoBo1946

I love Bloodhounds!

@Coloma they are wonderful dogs. Great with children!

@Coloma Good point. But a little bit of spiciness won’t poison your dog. I’ve never seen/people in this country have never been known to give sweets to their dog(since they believe that dogs don’t like sweets),and outsiders will throw meat as ‘bait’ most of the time (since the believe the same thing( that could be the reason why the writer suggest this idea,maybe it’s more suitable for my people.

@Kayak8 That is also a good point. But if you read the second method,you can assume that the owner have taught the kennel owner to use both hands if the owner want to leave their dogs there. I don’t think that these would be the best method in this situation,but it’s effective enough to keep silly people from their action. Maybe you know other better method in this case.

@BoBo1946 A ha ha ha…! Thanks for your reply! It’s so funny.

@Doctor_D check the movie out…it is a great movie!

@BoBo1946 I would love to! But it was made on 1967 and I don’t think that people in my country will sell such movie these days,and I just can’t afford for online shopping now.
It’s a good movie after all.

oh…got’cha!

It seems like a lot of effort to go through to prevent something that, at least around here, has little chance of happening. If we had a dog, I probably wouldn’t bother with it unless I had a neighbor that clearly hated the dog and seemed to want to do it harm. At the same time, I’d concentrate on changing any bad habits my dog had that were responsible for creating such hatred. If people train their dogs, keep them on their own property, and don’t let them bark incessantly, I highly doubt the dogs would be at risk for this kind of poisoning.

We had many dogs throughout my childhood and early adult years, and only in one case had complaints from neighbors. That particular dog was just too big and energetic for our home and yard (my parents found her as an abandoned puppy and took her in, not knowing she’d get to be the size of a great dane). After she escaped a few times, which led to visits from the police, my parents found a new home for her out in the country. We kept in touch with her new owners and she seemed very happy and never got into “trouble” again.

I agree about keeping dogs under control.

I love all animals but, barking dogs drive me crazy!

I am lucky that in my rural area it is rare for dogs to be wandering, once in a great while my far neighbors two labs get out and wander around for a few hours, but they are not harassing any wildlife or livestock.

In this county it is legal to shoot any dog worrying or harassing livestock.

Big signs are posted along the highways stating this law.

Out here dogs are not likely to be poisoned but they are likely to never come home again.

Most people make sure their dogs are confined to their properties.

Our two are kept indoors year-‘round. We have a fenced backyard; they go out there dozens of times per day. My H just completed installing a doggie door on a french door so there’s no glass showing anymore. Oh, well. It took him all day to do it and he constructed STEPS for them to go up before they jump inside!

I don’t see this as an important issue. The odds of it ever happening are simply not worth the trouble.

Is it really that big a problem, that common a problem that people throw poisonous or dangerous food into other people’s yards to mess with their dogs? So common that you have to find a work-around? I’m no expert on dogs but the ones I have known will either eat the most amazing, most disgusting, most bizarre crap and there’s not much you can do about it or they don’t. Though, of course, there are certain things that you have to make sure you don’t have around the house or that you feed to them yourself, if they are one of the more trusting, casual, dumb dog types and not of the “I will eat disgusting crap if I want to and you can’t do anything about it” variety.

@lillycoyote

Yes all of my dogs were food stealing gluttons, and cat poo lovers! :-/

I always said they should make cat poo flavored medicine for dogs.

I had one hound that took an entire 3 lb. pork roast off the counter and it was gone without a trace in the 2 minutes I had left the kitchen!

He paid dearly for that with a serious case of pancreaitis (sp) and a serious vet bill.

My dogs would never have been trainable to ignore food of any kind. haha

They included a coonhound, german shepherd and queensland heeler mix.

I would place my efforts into training, as a dog with good behavior is less likely to develop enemies. The things you talk about make no sense to me…wouldn’t want any part of them.

Just one more thing before i “hit the hay!” Would never hurt my dog in anyway, shape, fashion, or form to teach them a lesson. Dogs, like people, respond to love…much better.

@Coloma I’ve never had a dog of my own but I’ve known quite a few of them and one of my most educational experiences with dogs was when I looked after my roommate’s dog for three weeks when he was out of town and that creature was amazing. He was a deaf, albino, Australian shepherd and one day I had him penned up in the kitchen, while I was at work and came home to find that he had gotten into his bag of dog food and the kibble was spread out all, all over the kitchen floor as though he had placed each piece individually, that he had eaten almost all of a wooden spoon, eaten half of a bag of uncooked rice, including the bag and had eaten about ⅓ of a small plastic alarm clock and had thrown up in two spots. He threw up? After that kind of day? Imagine that! After that, I penned him up in the basement. You don’t even want to know what happened down there. I would have left him outside for the day but we didn’t have a fenced in backyard and my roommate didn’t see the need for one. It was a rental, but I was young, and didn’t anticipate dog sitting and at that point hadn’t decided that if you have a dog and rent, you should rent a place with a fenced in back yard. Even my roommate referred to him as “the devil dog.”

@lillycoyote Did that rice pose a problem when it expanded? Wow.

@MissA I think he must have thrown the rice up, I don’t know. All I could think about when I came home and saw all that was “God! Effing dog!” and the fact that he had eaten the clock (it looked a little like this), or at least part of it. It wasn’t food, it wasn’t even food related. It was a plastic clock and it was plugged in when he ate it! How would I have explained that to my roommate? How was I going to get through the next two weeks? How was I going to make sure that a dog that would eat a plastic clock that was plugged in was still going to be alive when my roommate got back into town?

@MissA I doubt the rice survived long enough to expand. Try pouring stomach acid (or Coca cola) on a spoonful of rice. It won’t expand, it will dissolve.

@YARNLADY I must confess, my rice lab experience is very limited! I was thinking about how they changed the wedding ceremonial rice throwing because of birds. Apparently, it could cause their little tummies to blow.

Perhaps birds and dogs don’t have similar gastric issues.

@lillycoyote That had to have been a horrible experience…how did it end?

@YARNLADY It wouldn’t have mattered anyway, since the dog was demon-possessed and thus not subject to the same laws of nature that a corporeal creature would be subject too.

I think it’s extremely unlikely that dogs would be exposed to people deliberately poisoning or luring dogs with food.

I think it’s much more likely that you’ll get friends (mostly kids, but I’ve seen adults do this) who think it’s funny to watch a dog eat Cheetos or something and keep feeding the dog until he yacks and has the runs all night.

It would probably be easier to train the people not to do this than train the dog this complicated rigomorole about not eating at certain times. I mean, they are DOGS. They are scavengers. There is a piece of their brain that tells them to eat or try to eat everything that has a remote chance of being edible. No matter how smart they are, this part of their brain does whatever it can to make sure the dog eats as much stinky nasty junk as possible.

Whoah… Bit of a long one this. Please bear with me.

I dont think you have to go as far as using chilli water (some dogs like it, some will hate it) etc but I understand where you are coming from, and what you are trying to acheive.

Why not try Noise Association instead..?

Much simpler, less messy, but noisier.

Find a noise that your dog really HATES. A large rattle, or a loud clang (bang a saucepan or something). A horn. You may have to try a few out on him first…

Then, as you were going to, get your friends to chuck the food over the fence. As your dog goes in to get it, just as his mouth opens up – bang that drum!! But only do it once (the short sharp shock treatment).
One loud bang should distract your dog immediately, and make him look at you. Call him over and praise him – give him a treat if you like.

Important that you must only make the noise ONCE, which is why you must make it very loud. If you do it again and again it will just become noise to your dog and he will learn to ignore it.
You will need to practice this over and over and over again. Everyday! For as long as it takes. Praise him every time he gets it right…. give him a right ‘Good Boy!’

Have patience and eventually your dog should learn to avoid going into grab food that’s chucked over the fence (he wont want to hear that noise).

But you should still continue to practice this method so he never ever forgets – although you can probably cut down the practice to maybe once a week, or a fortnight (like a refresher course).

Your second idea however, I dont really get at all.
You seem to be asking him to associate all these things together…

a) chilli water or meat or whatever..
b) how many hands are giving him the food
c) and strangers

Your poor old dog. Try not to set him up for failure (not saying that your method will fail, but it seems too complicated work)

Why not try the noise association method again. Keep it simple and it should work too.

Ask your friends again to try and feed him. Then get on that drum and BANG!

By the way, your friends dont have to be strangers. The point of the exercise is to associate the NOISE with NOT TAKING FOOD… so shouldn’t matter if they are friends or strangers. Basically you are teaching your dog, that the only one who should be giving him food is YOU! You are in charge, your the boss!

Your dog should always be supervised, by yourself or a friend you trust. If you follow these methods be sure to pass them on to the person looking after him. Otherwise they might not know what to do…

But how very sad it is that you have to protect your dog from people who will poison him.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

I would just walk my dog on a leash and say no every time he sniffed some food outside. Also if I dropped something on the floor that is food I tell he no as well. Now he just looks at it and sees it on the floor and looks to see if its ok for him to eat it. If it is. I pick it up and drop it in his bowl. He knows that anything in his bowl is fully acceptable unless its a treat.
I guess it helps that he is a picky eater as well. As for treats. I’ve gotten him use to only one treat so when other people go to feed him anything else he sniffs it and walks away.
I use to have friends offer him food and I would say no. So he walks away on his own now when they offer him.
It may be longer. But I think peppers may do harm to certain breeds. I have a maltese and his stomach is sensitive to certain foods. Its possible I may cause him physical harm. I don’t think this is a kind way to teach your dog.

Scaring my dog from food wouldn’t work, he’s too food obsessed. The chili stuff or any stuff for that matter that would make his mouth burn- I wouldn’t be able to do it, I can’t stand to see him uncomfortable or hurt.

@Neizvestnaya My dog thinks everything he gets from humans is great.

@YARNLADY unless someone literally beats my dog then he thinks they are there to play with and please him, all handed out is taken as a treat. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body, he’s just not very bright and I’m okay with that. He’s ornamental, pure love.

I think the sudden sound idea will work. My dog hates popping noises. He heads for the backyard whenever my kids play with a balloon or when I start peeling open a Pillsbury biscuit tube. A balloon or inflated paper bag would thus be a good negative reward for eating unauthorized treats.

@Doctor_D I just read your question again. In my opinion, to punish a dog using food is about the lamest idea this girl has ever considered. I urge you to not subject your dog to chili water or any other form of abuse.

I have heard of this being successful as a conditioning/training technique, although used to keep your pooch away from ALL edible temptations may too broad a goal for it to work. One point I would like to make is that punishing dogs is both cruel and futile (do not mean to imply this is your intent and know you also included the word teach). This is not directed at you, but any negative behaviour displayed by dogs is not calculated or fueled by ill intent. It comes from fear, anxiety, feeling threatened, or simply not knowing any better. They do not have the cognitive abilities to understand the reason for such mistreatment and it will only serve to scare and upset them.
As long as the heat used to train them through conditioning is not so extreme it will cause pain or lasting discomfort, I don’t see it as abusive. I can appreciate the reasons for your concern – the reality is there are some twisted people who do use bait to poison animals.
I would suggest a couple of added safety precausions. Do a sweep of your yard every so often to make sure there is nothing there that may harm your dogs. When you have them out for walks or at the park, keep a close eye on them and watch for anything that may tempt them. Aside from possible poisoned food, there are also things like chicken bones pulled from garbage bags, pools of anti-freeze, etc… that could hurt your dogs.
Good luck :)