A very nasty habit that your dog might develop is to dig into the trash cans for food. It doesn’t matter how well fed your dog is. Once he has developed this habit, keeping your trash can tidy will be a thing of the past as you can see them digging into the trash day in and day out. If you are one of those unfortunate dog owners who have such a problem, here are 4 solutions that you can use to overcome it.

Method #1: Buy the best dog proof trash can

There are many trash cans in the market that claim to be dog proof. However, to be really secured, you need the best. Some dogs are very intelligent and they can figure out how to use their snout to open the trash can lids. Hence, when you are looking for a dog proof trash can, buy the one that is really secure. My recommendation is this SimpleHuman, 40l step back trash can.

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Yes, it is expensive for a trash can but you don’t ever have to worry about your dog opening your trash can ever after. For a peace of mind, I think this dog proof garbage can is worth the money.

What makes this trash can dog proof?

• It can be locked so even if your dogs can knock it over, they can’t get to the food. Over time, this will discourage them from trying.
• It has a slim design so you can slot it in narrow places where the dog can’t have the space to knock it over.
• It is heavy and requires you to step on the pedal to open the lid. Medium or small dogs should have trouble doing this.
• Protip: Add 2 bricks to the bottom and your dog will not be able to knock it over unless he is really big.

Method #2: Lock down your trash

If you want to spend some money on buying a dog proof garage can, try this method. It is basically a DIY method that mimics the locking mechanism in the above product. You can use a couple of mechanisms including bungee cords, velcros or even strong magnets. Decide on which of them is strong enough the hold the lid of the trash can such that your dog can’t open it. The best thing about using this idea is that it will only cost you about a couple of dollars.

Method #3: Spray stuff on your trash

You can try spraying sour apple or cayenne pepper on your trash. These stuff doesn’t cause any harm to your dog but they will deter them.  They acts as strong negative enforcements that eating from the trash can is bad. After a couple of sprays, your dog will probably leave the trash can alone.

Method #4: Use a mouse trap

The idea here is not physically harm your dog. What you are going to do is to lay the mouse trap upside down on the trash can lid. When the lid is disappeared by the dog, it will snap immediately, fly off in the air and frightens the dog.  This is a kind of behavior modification technique that will deter the dog from doing things you don’t want it to.

The only downside is that it can be dangerous to your kid as his or her fingers can get caught in the mouse trap.

Conclusion

There are probably other methods that will teach you how to keep the dog out of the trash but I think these 4 works. Being a lazy person, I would of course recommend Method #1. However, for the more budget conscious, the other 3 methods work as well.