How do I stop my dog from getting into the cat food and litter box?
The dog needs to associate something unpleasant with the catfood and the litter box. Punishment after the fact is not helping because the dog does not associate his actions with the punishment. Whenever the dog touches either the catfood or the litter box, you can try one of two things. Neither will hurt the animal. Have a sprayer near you so that you can spray water into his face when he touches what he shouldn’t. Second choice is to take a tin can and put some pennies in it. When you see the dog near an area where you don’t want him, shake the can so that the pennies rattle against the sides. The dog will soon begin to associate an unpleasant feeling or unpleasant noise with his activity and will avoid them. It is worth making the effort as Labs can live to be 15 years old. They are also eager to please.
