Dear Matthew: I recently read one of your columns dealing with someone's pet digging through their trash. I had the same problem with dogs and cats getting into my plastic garbage bags when I put them out by the street for the garbage truck to get.
I came up with the idea of sprinkling the bags with pepper - black or red, whichever you like. You don't need a lot, just a little bit.After I did that, the animals didn't come near my bags but went to others. It would work in the house or in the garden around flowers and plants.
Hope this will help others as it has me.
- Evelyn of Utah
Dear Evelyn: You can buy commercially made pepper dog-repellent spray at the local pet store, but it sounds like the old-fashioned grocery-store variety is working just as well for you. As long as it isn't harmful to the animals, anything you can put on your trash that will make them think twice about digging in is worth trying.
Dear Matthew: My neighbors have two dogs and five cats. How can I keep these animals off my yard without building a fence, which is out of the question right now? Can't these animals be trained to leave their droppings in their own yard?
The dogs are more of a nuisance than the cats, but still, wherever there is loose soil, like my pansy bed, the cats like to take advantage of it.
Someone suggested mothballs, and that seemed to help some with the cats, but it hasn't at all with the dogs. After cleaning up after the dogs, I wash the spot thoroughly with a hose, but they just choose another spot.
If you could write out the instructions for training them to use their own property, I could give it to my neighbors, and hopefully, they would take the time to do it.
Any help or suggestions you can give me would be much appreciated.
- Tired
Dear Tired: Well, one option would be to follow the advice of the previous letter and coat your lawn in ground pepper. That's probably a bit extreme, though, and even then, it may not work. And besides, what would people think if they saw you outside, marking your lawn with a pepper grinder?
It seems to me this is more of a people problem than a dog problem. If your neighbors are letting their animals run loose, chances are, there's no way you're going to stop them from wandering into your yard. While it is technically possible to train a dog to stay within a certain, non-fenced area most of the time, it's not 100 percent effective. In other words, if your neighbors turns their backs, the dogs are likely to go wandering off again.
My advice, then, is to ask your neighbors to construct a dog run in their yard. The best way would be to fence in an area of the lawn and put their dogs in there when they want to go out.
Another option would be for them to run a line between two trees and attach the dogs' leashes to these lines. That way, the dogs will have limited mobility around the yard. This setup should be done with care, however, lest a dog get tangled and choke. Tell your neighbors to consult dog-training book for more details.
It's your neighbors' responsibility to ensure that their dogs remain in their yard. Try to tell them that in a nice way, and hopefully, they'll respond quickly.
Dear Matthew: I would like to know how I can train my cats to stay inside. Our condo association has decided that all pets must be on a leash when outside, or they must stay inside. My cats were all strays, and they love to be outside for a while, especially on nice days. I've tried to keep them in, but they rush out the door anyway.
- Paula in Centerville, Utah
Dear Paula: I'm afraid my advice is going to be short and sweet. You're just going to have to try harder to keep them inside. Since the average life span of an outdoors cat is 10 years less than one kept exclusively indoors, your condo is actually doing you and your cats a favor.
Now, if you want your cats to still experience the joy of outdoor excursions every once in a while, you could try buying a cat harness and leash. It's not as silly as it sounds - it actually works. While it takes cats a little longer to get used to leashes than dogs, most eventually do.
So, be careful when you open the door to go outside, and ignore your cats' plaintive wails as they ask incessantly to be let out. Eventually, they'll stop complaining.