Tails from the trail and tips on training your human

Train Your Dog to Pick Up Plastic Trash | With the recent news on how plastics affect our health and environment, it is imperative that we clean up any trash or litter.

For some people, this means picking up anything they see in their daily walk around town. For others, it means including your dog in cleaning up with you and teaching him what items he can help pick up.

Dogs are brilliant and loyal animals. They always want to please their owners, so it’s easy for them to learn new tricks such as cleaning up. You’ll be surprised how much your dog will enjoy when you teach them tricks like cleaning up.

This article will talk about how you can train your dog to pick up plastic trash.

The Problem With Plastic Waste

Plastic is a petroleum-based organic polymer with many different applications. It can be found in household items such as a plastic wrap, containers, etc. It’s one of the most popular materials on earth.

The majority of plastic products are used once before being thrown away. It is estimated that over 300 million tons of single-use plastics are produced each year, half of which get recycled into other items, and the rest goes to landfills.

It is no secret that the environment has suffered from a lot of pollution and waste. We all know about toxic smog, human-produced carbon emissions, garbage rising to surreal levels in our streets and seas.

Plastic makes up around 80% of marine debris worldwide. This means that plastic bottles are some of the most abundant items floating at sea because they float for miles before finally sinking. There they are eaten by fish like dolphins who can get sick as a result of humans littering indiscriminately with single-use plastics.

Training Your Dog To Pick Up Trash

A recent study by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior concluded that dogs could be taught to help at home. Teaching them how and where to put their toys away is one thing, but what about teaching your dog responsible behavior when it comes time for picking up trash?

It’s easy. There are ways you might do this depending on whether or not they already have some habits in place, such as scavenging pieces around the yard.

Backchaining Behavior

The perfect behavior to ‘backchain’ is teaching your dog a new trick. Here, you pick up on the last piece of your dog’s habit and construct backward chains from there.

• Over the center of a garbage can, offer your dog a piece of trash.• Say ‘Take It.’ When your dog follows your command and takes the trash, praise them.

• Immediately cue your dog to ‘drop it.’ If your dog is aware of the ‘Drop it’ command, they will drop the trash in the can.

• Once this happens, offer them a treat and praise them.

• If your dog does not know the ‘drop it’ command, you can cue them ‘Drop .’ When they open their mouth, the trash will fall into the trash can.

• Follow up by giving them a treat. Giving them treats when they successfully drop the trash in the can helps them associate picking up garbage with getting rewarded. The more rewarding these behaviors feel, the quicker they’ll learn what’s expected of them.

You can move the trash can slightly towards one side now when the ‘Drop’ cue is working right over the garbage can.

Say ‘Take it’ (still over the can).When your dog takes the trash, Cue ‘Drop.’
If the garbage falls in the garbage can, give them a treat.
If the trash does not fall into the basket, say ‘Oops’ and repeat.

You can gradually move the trash you are offering your dog farther away until it’s no longer above the trash can. This will reinforce that your dog needs to drop the garbage in the middle of the can.

Once your dog starts bringing garbage from a distance and has learned to drop it in the trash can, you can begin offering them trash by putting it on the ground. This way, you can teach your dog that they have to pick the trash from the ground, bring it to the can, and drop it in.

Generalizing The Cue With Different Items

Ideally, you would have started by offering your dog a specific item as trash, like an old juice box. Now, you need to generalize the cue with different things. While doing this, you need to be careful not to leave any valuable items on the floor while asking your dog to pick up trash, or your smartphone or watch could end up in the trash can.

Conclusion

When you train your dog to pick up plastic trash, they will be helping the environment. You can do this by using a few simple steps, such as teaching them what “trash” is and where it goes (in the garbage). Be sure to praise them for doing their job. It’s never too late to teach an old dog new tricks and make life just that much better around us all.

by Bobby J Davidson

We are in business to provide great products for the outdoorsy hikers, campers and their dogs; and to help clean our parks, rivers and oceans for a better planet earth for hikers and their dogs.

Parks Clean

Parks are high-traffic areas in most cities. This means that trash is bound to show up in and around your park and playground.

When discussing ways your family can help clean your local park, don’t overlook a literal cleanup! Picking up trash will make a huge difference in the appearance and vibe of your park. A clean area will encourage others to keep the park pristine. When picking up trash and debris, make sure to wear gloves to protect yourself, and put trash in appropriate receptacles or lawn bags. You can also contact your local trash company to schedule a pickup when you are finished.

Rivers Clean

The storm drain on your street collects the water from your roof, driveway, and sidewalk and funnels it directly in your local lake or river. Nutrients from grass and leaves, pet waste, and fertilizers “enrich” our lakes and streams — feeding algae blooms and harming fish. Chemicals from washing your car in the drive and household chemical spills add up, taking a nasty toll on our favorite swimming areas and fishing spots. Soil can also be picked up by runoff, reducing the clarity of water and hurting fish.

So as you prepare your lawn and garden, here are a few helpful tips to keep our lakes and rivers beautiful and safe for all of us.

Use mulch and vegetation to keep soil from washing away.
Sweep or rake grass and leaves away from street curbs.
Mulch and compost grass clippings and leaves.
Keep paved surfaces to a minimum.
Capture water runoff with a rain garden and rain barrels.
Wash your car on the grass, where the water will get filtered.
Keep chemicals away from storm drains.
Collect your pet’s waste.
Aim your rain-gutter downspouts onto grass.

Beaches Clean (do it for the ocean)

In 2007, the United States Senate and House of Representatives passed the National Clean Beaches Week Resolution to recognize the value of beaches to the American way of life and the important contributions of beaches to the economy, recreation, and natural environment of the United States.

Clean Beaches Week, celebrated annually July 1-7, offers the perfect opportunity to encourage stewardship and volunteerism along our coastlines. But where do you even begin? Follow these tips to get started.

Identify a clean-up site. Choose a place that needs some TLC, making sure that volunteers can safely access the site. Get permission, if needed, for your clean-up event, perhaps from the local parks agency.
Choose a site coordinator. (That might be you!) A beach clean-up takes a lot of work and needs an organized person to keep everything on track before, during, and after the event.
Visit the site in advance. The coordinator will need to know where to set up a volunteer check-in station, where to leave trash and recyclables, and what area(s) volunteers will clean.
Gather supplies. Depending on your location, you’ll need supplies such as trash bags, a first aid kit, hand sanitizer, wipes, and large coolers of water. You should also provide (or ask volunteers to bring) items such as reusable work/garden gloves, reusable water bottles, sunscreen, and bug spray.
Plan how to handle the recyclables. Reach out to recyclers in your area (and perhaps your community’s solid waste departments) to make arrangements for accepting any glass, plastic, and aluminum that you collect.
Line up event partners. Contact local businesses for donations of drinks, food, and supplies. Ask a local solid waste hauler to donate their services for trash removal.
Plan for handling hazardous waste. Determine how you’ll dispose of any medical and sewage waste you might find. One solution: A wide-mouth container with a tight-fitting lid, such as an empty laundry detergent bottle. Clearly label that it contains hazardous waste.
Get volunteers to help. Recruit friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Create an event on Facebook and ask volunteers to sign up online. This will give you an idea of how many people to expect and will help communicate event details.
Stay safe. Be prepared for a variety of health emergencies, from minor cuts and scrapes to heat stroke.
Take photos! Post pics online to share the success of your event and recognize volunteers for their hard work.