You hear it from the other room. A thud, a clatter, then that very specific silence. You walk into the kitchen and there is your dog, standing in a pile of coffee grounds and paper towels, looking at you like you are the one who made the mess. If this happens at your house more than once a month, you are in good company. Here is why dogs keep getting into the garbage can, and what actually helps.
Your dog is not being bad. Your can smells like dinner.
Dogs live by their noses. To you, the garbage can is where things go to be forgotten. To your dog, it is a buffet with a lid on it. Chicken bones from Sunday, the wrapper off a burger, the scraps you scraped off the kids’ plates. Every one of those smells is coming straight out of that can, all day long.
And here is the part most people miss. Even after the bag goes out to the curb, the can itself keeps smelling like food. Every leaky bag and every splash that ever hit the bottom is still down there. We wrote about why that buildup gets worse as the year goes on. So you empty the can, put in a fresh bag, and your dog still acts like something good is in there. From where your dog is standing, something is.
What is in there can actually hurt them
A tipped can is not just a mess to clean up. A lot of what we throw away is on the ASPCA’s list of people foods pets should not eat. A few of the usual suspects:
- Bones. In the ASPCA’s words, dogs “might sustain injury or obstruction to the gastrointestinal tract when ingesting bones, which could be serious and require surgery.”
- Anything with xylitol. That sweetener shows up in gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste, and the ASPCA warns it can cause low blood sugar and even liver damage.
- Grapes and raisins, which the ASPCA links to kidney damage.
- Onions, garlic and chives, which can damage red blood cells.
- Chocolate, coffee grounds and anything with caffeine.
- Raw meat scraps, which can carry Salmonella and E. coli.
If your dog got into something and you are worried, call your vet. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is also there at (888) 426-4435.
What helps
You are not going to train the nose out of a dog. What you can do is make the can a lot less interesting and a lot harder to get into.
- Keep the lid shut, every time. An open lid is an invitation.
- Put the can where the dog is not. Behind a door, in the garage, or in a cabinet if it fits.
- Take the tempting stuff straight out. Bones and meat trays go to the outside can right away, not tomorrow.
- Get the smell out of the can itself. This is the one people skip. A fresh bag does nothing about what is stuck to the bottom, and a garden hose mostly moves it around.
Take away the smell, take away the reason
That last one is where we come in. That black buildup inside your can is mold, and it does not survive a 200+ degree wash. We clean it right at your curb with no harsh chemicals, just hot water and an eco friendly sanitizer with a fresh scent. We come on your garbage day or the day after, once your cans are empty. You get a reminder the day before and the morning of, and you do not need to be home. If you are not happy, you get your money back. It is all on our promise page.
A clean can that smells like nothing gives your dog one less reason to go digging. How often you need it depends on your house. Dog and a baby? Every 4 weeks. Just the dog? About every 8 weeks. Neither? Every 12. We lay that out in this post.
Give the pup a break
Ohio Clean Cans has been cleaning cans since 2018, more than 110,000 of them across 284 neighborhoods and 59 ZIP codes around Cincinnati, with a 5.0 rating and 500+ five star Google reviews. Whether you are in Mason or anywhere else on our routes, pick a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or one-time cleaning on the service plan page, or sign up in a couple of minutes at order.ohiocleancans.com. Your dog will still beg at the table. At least the garbage can will be off the menu.