Did they work well enough to be worth the guilt? I bought a single unit to keep Horse the Wonder Dog from breaking into the fridge, and I’m not thrilled with the accuracy of the device so far. Plus, I feel like a giant sadistic pig when the thing goes off and poor Horse tries to figure out why he suddenly has what appears to feel like a wasp at his neck. (Please don’t tell me I’m an SOB for buying the thing. You don’t know what it’s like to have a dog who can–and does–open the fridge and eat so much that he has to have his stomach pumped. Today he got into the freezer and ate two pounds of frozen fish fillets plus a box of pork sausage patties. I’m trying to save his life and my sanity here. And the last time I tried to secure the fridge with a lock, the person trying to install the latch drilled into a coolant line and destroyed the fridge. Trust me, I’ve been dealing with this for YEARS.)
Anyway – any experience, good or bad? I’m putting this in IMHO instead of GQ because I want your opinions, not factual info.
Again, I beg of you – if you haven’t used the product, please don’t respond just to tell me I’m a sadist. I don’t need it, and I love my dog very much. I just can’t deal with another five years or so of coming home to a ransacked kitchen and a dog on the verge of terminal bloat.
Thanks for your kindness, all, however, as I have said, this is a problem of YEARS duration. He is too large for a crate (it would take up too much of my tiny house, and I can’t crate him for that long. He is a very tall, very large lab and weighs in at around 78-82 lbs when in shape, more when he has been binge eating. Plus, he was already an adult when I got him.) Baby locks are useless. The adhesive isn’t strong enough and the lock isn’t sturdy enough to withstand teeth and claws. As I said, I have tried other things. MANY times. That’s why I am asking the specific question in the OP. Sigh.
This seriously sounds like an intense behavioural issue that training would solve. Labs are very high energy dogs with an insane oral fixation issue. They need things to chew to eat, to occupy their mouth. At this point, all that Zone thing is accomplishing is confusing the poor thing. If you keep it up he’s going to turn neurotic, never knowing when the thing’s going to go off or what’s triggering it. I highly suggest contacting a licensed dog trainer with your problem to see what you can do to train him to stop doing this. A dog already being an adult when you get him does not mean they can never be trained. Crate training is a very good option and despite peoples’ belief otherwise, it does not have to be a huge crate. Something big enough for him to stand and lay down in is perfect. With alot of patience you CAN crate train an older dog. You just need to be commited.
How about just a coupla chains and padlocks? Don’t know what your fridge is like, but when I was a kid the parents of some friends of mine kept the fridge and freezer padlocked by just putting a chain around the fridge and freezer compartments and padlocking them each closed. They fed the chains under the handles on each compartment so they couldn’t slide down. That would certainly work on my fridge too, if I had this problem with my dogs.
Personally I don’t see a problem with the training device if it works for you. My neighbor (a vet) has the invisible fence installed which works on a similar principle and it works great.
All that said it might be wise to reconsider the training aspect as many others have suggested. Labs, like Golden Retrievers, are high energy dogs. Almost every common problem with these dogs can be solved by one thing: exercise. If you’re at all like me though you don’t have enough time in the day to do it enough. Ideally you’d take the dog on a long, brisk walk in the morning and again in the evening with lots of stimulation in between. More likely you work all day, are too tired to get up early for a morning walk, and maybe don’t always have time at night either. Its a tough situation that has no quick fix.
I’m curious to hear how the collar shocking approach works, please let us know!
Well he’s already stated how it’s working. it’s not. Because it’s going off randomly when the poor dog is nowhere near the fridge. This is definately a case for training and not a ‘quick’ and effortless answer that many owners seek from items such as shock collars.
Assuming the fridge has a door handle(s) why can’t you just use an inexpensive, flexible bicycle cable lock (like this) , loop it through the handle and attach it to a lock hasp (like this) screwed into the floor or a wall stud? Adjust the placement of the hasp so the line is tight.
We bought some shock pads to put on the bed to keep the dogs off when we are not home (one [I know who you are] destroyed/shreaded, a couple of expensive sheets and pillows). They are about 20”x40”. Powered by a 9 volt battery. Three power settings. I tried it on myself a number of times before choosing the medium setting. We put them under a sheet on the bed and they still worked fine. In this way, the dogs did not know if they where there or not.
It’s not a strong shock at all, but is a surprise, and uncomfortable.