Hi there - first time poster - but I've lurked for a long time and picked up quite a few good training tips..so I hope you can help me on this one.....

My 3yo GR bitch is a scavenger and I'm at the end of my tether with her when we're in the  park.  (She's an absolute angel at home and in the street- no problems at all) 

I tried a (mesh) muzzle while she was off lead in the park. I no longer use it, as one dog succeeded in getting it off her - and I later discovered a bite mark on her face.

I asked for guidance from a dog trainer who said, "Some dogs scavenge more than others - it's her instinct, I'm afraid. You need to work on her recall". Her recall is in most cases very good. I can call her away from her doggie friends when they're playing, but if there's food lying about, I've no chance!

Yet in the kitchen I've dropped a whole roast chicken (long story!!) and she wouldn't go near it. (Drooled a lot and made a mess of the floor but she didn't make any move towards it). I've even deliberately dropped food - and she won't go near it unless I tell her to "take it".

She knows the word "leave" in the street, in the house and in the garden, both on and off lead, but if she's off lead in the park and 50 yards away, she's as deaf as a post.  (The people feeding one slice of bread to the ducks and one to her certainly doesn't help in her training!)

Other experienced dog owners tell me to put her on a muzzle or keep her on a lead - neither of which I'm keen on doing for the long term.  Is she doomed to wear a muzzle - or be kept on a lead - all her life?

Hi and welcome, :-)

I wouldn't personally want to muzzle her or keep her on a lead for that.

What exactly does she eat Cathy, is it things that have dropped from park bins, or dead animals, Poo?

All dogs to an extent will pick things up to eat, just part of being a dog, if it is rubbish being a park, can you not have a word with the council about cleaning up the park better.

The best idea I can think of for you is to keep her attention on you to stop her scavaging. Play training and ball games and perhaps lead her when passing the 'hot' spots.

Make sure that she is on a good complete food, occassionally dogs will scavange to make up for missing vitamins, minerals, proteins in their diet so her diet my be having an effect.

It is not something to majorly worry about, just make sure that her worming is always up to date and do your best to recall her close to you so as to make sure you can see what she is eating and keep up with her drop and leave commands. :-)

Thanks Carrington.

Dirty nappy, chips, salad, old kebabs, filleted fish in a sealed vacuum pack, anything escaped from a plastic bin bag or anything she can find in the litter bins....you name it, she'll have a taste of it!  She hasn't met a food she doesn't like.

The park is quite well kept - the council do look after it -  It's Joe Public who drops the litter and discards their half eaten rubbish that causes the problem.

She's on JWB and wormed regularly.

Typical GR, she retrieves a few times and then thinks "Why do I keep bringing you back this ball and you keep throwing it away again?".  And her favourite game is searching for food - its as though nothing else matters when  the mood takes her to take off and go back for a slice of bread. She's like a woman on a mission - totally focused on where she saw that crumb lying on the ground. 

She's a really good dog - friendly and well socialised, but I just wish I could break the habit she's now got (mainly since summer when more people were in the park, feeding the ducks).  And like I said, I've absolutely no complaints about her indoors, in the garden or in the street.

You've reassured me that there's nothing major to worry about. 

Thanks again.

GR's are so clever, they know when you can't reinforce a command.
How about making something really tempting like Liver Cake and giving her a reward everytime she comes back to you. Even when she isn't scavenging , call her back, give her some Liver Cake and then let her go off and play again. Hopefully, as they are creatures of habit, she will come away from the distraction to get her treat.

Thanks Alison

I've tried liver cake, hot dog sausage - in fact all the treats that I've read about on here.  I've even read on here that you should "surprise" your dog and vary the treats, so I do.  I'm sure she thinks "Oh, free food, I don't need to work/do anything for that"!

I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who can't reinforce a command - I thought it was me being a lousy dog trainer.

Although they are known for it, I don't think Goldens are massively food orientated. (they aren't in my experience, anyway) I do think they prize possesions they find though, so this may be about that rather than the food itself.

It is a case of working on your recall I think, in your case it is just that scavenging is the thing that is more interesting than you, rather than rabbit chasing or similar. I found hiding from our dogs (making it a game) has worked brilliantly. Also, not calling them if they go out of sight. They are far more likely to run off if they can hear you calling them, or know you are going to be there when they decide to come back.

Why not try hiding from her when she next runs off, (obviously keep her in view) and see what she does when she gets back and you're not there? It is the only thing that has worked fo rus, and has dettered deer/rabbit chasing.

Welcome to my World, the country Park in summer when everyone leaved their picnic rubbish is a nightmare. 

I have tried muzzles in the past but they get them off or just won't leave my side and look miserable, not to mention people think you have an iffy dog.

I just avoid litter blackspots and have to accept they will scavenge.

Just happy that I don't currently have a poo eater.

Yes, but dirty nappies?? How dirty are we getting, that anyone would throw away a dirty nappy in a park, where kids are playing?  When I've seen people throwing away cans and half eaten sandwiches, I make a point of letting them see me pick it up and then ask them "Shall I put this in the bin for you?"  But sarcasm seems to be lost on the niff-naffs.

I saw a few people drag their kids away from my dog while she was wearing a muzzle and felt so bad.  So I walked up to them to explain why she was wearing it.  While I was doing that, she was lying on her back waiting for her tummy to be rubbed by the child.

I'm so glad to hear that other dog owners are having the same problem - I thought it was only me! You've reassured me and I feel a lot better now.

Thanks again!

Wear dark glasses and look away

You that is, not the dog

And then throw up?

Me that is, not the dog

Just to reassure you you're not the only despairing owner, my American cocker George is a walking rubbish bin. He also knows the 'leave' command, but offlead in the park - forget it! He's eaten chicken and fish bones, rotten fish, pork pies, large amounts of curry, vast quantities of dog poo, mountains of bread, and his funniest haul was a giant pitta bread as wide across and he is tall. He was having so much trouble carrying it (he likes to run and eat so I can't catch him) that he actually did leave that when I stopped laughing long enough to tell him! I'm always amazed that he's never had a blockage and been down the vets, and never even had an upset stomach, even when he got something rotten that several dogs had found and were sick with it. :rolleyes: Talk about a cast iron digestion!