[Sosoprano]

When Boswell was a pup, we consistently discouraged him from licking dishes in the dishwasher. Sometimes he’d try to sneak a slurp if he thought I wasn’t looking, but generally he was pretty good about it, and he always left clean dishes alone.

We’d begin doing the same with Pippa, with about the same results--until Watson came on the scene. He is an absolute maniac for food and will leap onto the door of the dishwasher or wriggle his head in between the plates from the sides--anything just to get a taste. Pippa thinks this is great fun and now joins him in an enthusiastic assault of the contents every time the dishwasher is opened. :banghead:

I’m getting really tired of fending them off and am tempted to throw up my hands and say, “Fine, have at it.” It just doesn’t seem reasonable to crate them both every time I want to add a glass or spoon to the machine.

What do you guys do? Is the dishwasher off limits for everyone here, or have others given up the fight, too?

 

[akgolden]

Mine sneak a lick here and there but usually if they get close I give a sit and stay command and they just sit their drooling till I am done then I let them get a few licks in before closing the door. Only time I keep them completely away is when the dishes are clean.

I don't know how my parents Golden has figured it out but she only goes over when it's dirty dishes and wont even get up when they are clean. Not sure how but she learned that one on her own.

 

[Dallas Gold]

I prefer Toby not lick anything in the dishwasher so I either need help from the hubby when I'm loading dishes or I do a diversionary tactic (Kong with a few treats) or I do a physical blockade. It sure gets tiring doesn't it? I figure when Toby leaves us for the Bridge this will be one of his annoying habits I will miss. He also upturns area rugs with abandon--I'll probably miss that too. None of my other Goldens have done these two things, though all of them love(d) to be a Hoover for anything dropped on the kitchen floor.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

We have totally solved that problem...we let her lick all the plates before they go in. She still comes running when she hears the door open but there's not much attraction left on the plates anymore so she leaves.

Hope that helps! :curtain::bowl::wave:

 

[aerolor]

I have a lovely photograph of Bonnie as a 10 week old actually standing on the door of the open dishwasher with her head as far in as she could get. It was one of the first bits of initiative she showed as a young pup. :bowl: I am not too concerned over this habit - she is now quite polite about it and the water is aways hot enough to kill off any nasties. My grandchildren do worse things (often).
Best thing if you really don't want it is for your dog to be in another room when you load the dishwasher up. Either that or teach them to sit and watch and then give them a bit of a treat after they have waited.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Have you seen the funny video of the dog that gets his collar caught on the dishwasher rack and spooks. He jumps off the door and runs away dragging the whole rack full of dishes with him. Poor thing was terrified with the big clattering thing chasing him, no doubt, but it was funny!

 

[mainegirl]

Have you seen the funny video of the dog that gets his collar caught on the dishwasher rack and spooks. He jumps off the door and runs away dragging the whole rack full of dishes with him. Poor thing was terrified with the big clattering thing chasing him, no doubt, but it was funny!

i had this with angel, it scared her, but she still goes in for the lick whenever possibly.
beth, moose and angel

 

[Sosoprano]

Have you seen the funny video of the dog that gets his collar caught on the dishwasher rack and spooks. He jumps off the door and runs away dragging the whole rack full of dishes with him. Poor thing was terrified with the big clattering thing chasing him, no doubt, but it was funny!

OMG, no I have not seen that video, but it must be a riot! I wonder whether it "cured” him for life?

Thanks everyone for your responses. I do want to be a good puppy parent, so I'll try to look at this as a teachable moment instead of a chore with challenges (And if all else fails, I’ll take comfort in the powers of hot water )

 

[Phillyfisher]

Have you seen the funny video of the dog that gets his collar caught on the dishwasher rack and spooks. He jumps off the door and runs away dragging the whole rack full of dishes with him. Poor thing was terrified with the big clattering thing chasing him, no doubt, but it was funny!

Tucker did this with the silverware tray. It scared him for awhile. Now he is just more careful when he licks the dishes...:doh:

 

[Rainheart]

My mom's two labs have always licked the dishes in the dishwasher. I didn't want Beamer to get into this habit. What I have done is I taught him a 'mat' command that he goes and sits on while we eat/do the dishes. He isn't allowed to move from that spot unless I say so. It works pretty well.

 

[jweisman54]

Izzy as well as my previous lab always licks the dishes even though I have just rinsed them off. She is afraid of the dishwasher door hitting her in the head and backs away when we touch it.

 

[goldensrbest]

Oh yeah,all of mine!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[StephB]

I've been lucky not to experience this yet, I guess! Harvey will watch me load and unload the dishwasher but he's never approached anything in it. I've been pretty stern with him from the start that food and plates are not for him. He will sit with his nose an inch away from my plate as I'm eating but he knows he's not to touch it.

To be honest I can't bear the thought of him licking anything in the dishwasher, clean or dirty :no:

 

[Loboto-Me]

Like Steph, I do not allow either of my dogs touch anything on a "people plate". I've been lucky that my dogs only show mild interest in the dishwasher. Sometimes they'll start sniffing a little too close and all I have to do is give a warning "Ah Ah" then they back off. When I first got either one of them, I used to sternly walk forward into them to show them that the dishwasher was off limits to them, and now they basically ignore.. or pretend to. I can keep my dishwasher open for hours and they will not touch. I babysit my son's puppy daily, he's is a high energy Boston Terrier (Boston Terror) and he was a little more difficult to train, but now he knows not to touch as well.

My biggest fear was always that they could get cut on one of my knives, or get over excited and jump up which would either break my dishwasher door, some dishes, or they could get stabbed with something in there. Besides, I don't do animal "cooties" unless they're my own animals... I figure I'd give the same respect for my guests that I would like to have myself. I know that dog owner's dogs probably lick things that I'm being offered, I know that there's probably dog hair in stuff I eat at most dog owner's house... but I'm OK with that, because I don't see it. Yeah, I'm quirky but at least I'm treating others as I would like to be treated *pops head back in the sand*

 

[Dallas Gold]

I'm really the most concerned with Toby licking something that might start him on a bout of colitis or worse, pancreatitis. Any owner with a dog with a propensity for these conditions needs to be extra careful.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

We never allow her to lick plates when guests are here...grosses out too many people. Also, when we're camping and don't have a dishwasher I don't let her lick unless it's a paper plate.

I don't know what it is about dog saliva but when handwashing I can feel a sort of slime. :yuck: I'm never sure I got it all off and then it's on the dish cloth. Too much doggie for me.

 

[Dallas Gold]

We never allow her to lick plates when guests are here...grosses out too many people. Also, when we're camping and don't have a dishwasher I don't let her lick unless it's a paper plate.

I don't know what it is about dog saliva but when handwashing I can feel a sort of slime. :yuck: I'm never sure I got it all off and then it's on the dish cloth. Too much doggie for me.

When I was in college I was invited to a New Year's Eve Party at my then boyfriend's best friend's Dad's house, who happened to be the county district attorney. I almost threw up when he let his dogs lick his plate clean, then grabbed mine to let them lick (I was done thank goodness ). I was flabbergasted and swore I'd never ever let one of my animals do that--but then my Beau was such a cutie and the best dishwasher in the world... somehow, with my own, it didn't matter, until Toby and his digestive ills. It was hard to stop it again, but it was in his best interests not to allow it. Convincing the hubby not to sneak him a lick or two was actually the hardest.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Just to clarify, by the time Penny gets a plate or bowl there's literally nothing left on it but the smell. She never gets left overs or meat trimmings...no fat or sauces. If there is something on the plates, they get scraped into the garbage first. I'm very concious of pancreatitis, etc. For her it's more of a plate 'check' than an actually snack or treat.

 

[Chaoticnot]

My almost five year old Golden boy, liked to lick the dishes (that were already rinsed but still dirty) in the dishwasher, until his collar got stuck on one of the tines on the rack. He didn't remove the whole rack, but it did lift up and make a big noise, and that cured him, he doesn't even approach the dishwasher anymore. In fact, when I open the door, he leaves the area.

 

[Elisabeth Kazup]

Sometimes negative reinfocement teaches REALLY fast! lol And you had nothing to do with it. Best of all!

My almost five year old Golden boy, liked to lick the dishes (that were already rinsed but still dirty) in the dishwasher, until his collar got stuck on one of the tines on the rack. He didn't remove the whole rack, but it did lift up and make a big noise, and that cured him, he doesn't even approach the dishwasher anymore. In fact, when I open the door, he leaves the area.