Puppy-proofing a reef

[Mr. Slippery]

Well now that I finally have my own house with a yard, we're going to be getting a dog. The only thing is that my tank is in my kitchen, where I want to keep him for a bit so my carpets don't get ruined. There's about 6" from the wall to the back of the tank, and it's open in the back of the stand. I'm concerned, well more like positive, that he'll get in there and chew on the wires. I don't know what I can really use to block that off. What have you other dog owners done? Any other things I'm not thinking about that I should be concerned with?

 

[NateHanson]

Our dog has mostly left wires alone, but she bit threw a $90 power cord for our MacBook.

Maybe you could just bundle them up in that corrugated wire-wrap, and spray it with bitter-apple.

 

[Behrmon]

How about putting an attack cat on duty?





Sorry, had to.

 

[wbrodeur]

we never had any problems with our puppy chewing cords, but we are facing a problem with her sitting on the ottomon and trying to chase the fish, licking the tank, pawing it and recently jumping at the tank. No damage yet, but we have to train her not to jump or paw at it because when she gets bigger, it could be a possible knocked over tank! The Bitter-apple spray that nate mentioned does work great, you can get it at any animal store like Petco. It's great for furniture and carpets as well. We used it as a potty training aid. I had a rabit that roamed free in the house and chewed cords, I used the bitter apple and covered the wire with plastic tubing, that worked fine.

 

[mchud]

why not pick a piece of corugated aluminum. on the back of the stand to close it off. you can get diferent styles at home depot. just make it easy to remove. or a baby gate across the opening. none of our dogs have ever touched the wiring, but you never know. good luck

 

[KAS]

Our pup didn't touch wires either BUT she does love the saltwater. So for us, the turkey baster, the scraper, tongs, ... were/are attractive to her.

I second the bitter apple.

Can you take pieces of cardboard/wood and block the sides/back of the tank. You could use duck tape to temporarily hold it in place.

 

[besl]

You are smart to think through this. My dog got behind my last tank and ate some extra plastic valves I had and some flake food - the vet had to pump his stomach which I suffer guilt from to this day. I ended up putting a temporary blockade I made from plywood and 2x4's until he got through that period and I eventually set up my 125 display which has everything concealed from him. You are definitely thinking responsibly with your post. BTW, you could also use the collapsable grates that parents set up for children (or pets).

 

[KAS]

Oh ya, flake food...my dog loves that stuff.

 

[LunaReef]

In my experience with dogs and fish tanks, it depends alot on the dog's personality. My Husky was/is high-energy and really into everything so when the tank was at her level, she always tried to bite at the glass/chase the fish but never bothered any wires. She also got into a couple of cans of flake food.

My mello Retriever/Newfie mix never even noticed/cared about any fish tank I ever had.

Not sure how many hours your dog would be alone, but for us crate training was what we did to keep them out of trouble when they couldn't be watched. The baby gate idea is also good to section off the tank area.

 

[NateHanson]

we never had any problems with our puppy chewing cords, but we are facing a problem with her sitting on the ottomon and trying to chase the fish, licking the tank, pawing it and recently jumping at the tank. No damage yet, but we have to train her not to jump or paw at it because when she gets bigger, it could be a possible knocked over tank!

Get that habit while she's young! I don't know what size breed she is, but many dogs could knock or pull a tank over, and that could be really dangerous to dog AND fish.

This sort of training has been my biggest priority with Echo, because she's going to be at kitchen counter height in a few months. Whenever she sticks her nose up on a table, or puts her front paws up on a chair to see what's on the table she immediately gets a shake-down (grab the scruff and shake her to the ground on her back - forcing eye-contact). She's a fairly dominant dog that doesn't recoil from such forceful alpha-dominating, so it is really working well with her - but if your dog is more submissive, and sulks after she's disciplined, this sort of thing is probably too forceful for her. With ours, after two episodes like that she really stopped even sniffing at tables, it takes more reinforcement, and lots of praise whenever she looks at a table, but doesn't put her nose up, but I'm amazed at how adaptable they are to training when they're really young.

 

[NateHanson]

Great looking dogs Luna!

 

[LunaReef]

Thanks, Nate!

They are very good dogs too!

 

[Puffer21]

i have never had a problem with my dog bitting wires, but then again she is only for pounds.

 

[wbrodeur]

Yes, we are teaching her not to first off jump on the ottom and then stay away from the tank. My husband's a little more dominant with training which works for her. She's a golden, so will soon be getting pretty big. She kindof has the attitude of a teenager right now of "I'll do whatever I want to do", but so far obedience training has been working.

We've never had any problems with past dogs with chewing. We found that it is best to only have a few designated chew toys and when you see the dog starting to chew on something he's not supposed to, we say a firm NO! and put the chew toy in front of him. That way they'll associate chewing with that toy and not dangerous wires.

 

[nickyblase]

I agree with Luna here - crate training is the key here. Up until Monday, I had 4 dogs (had to put one down due to cancer)

I crate trained all my dogs, and they still like to be in there - it's like their little "den," and dogs are by nature den animals, so it makes them more comfortable. Getting them used to it will take some time, but you will thank yourself for it.

I also used to train dogs when I lived in Los Angeles. I cannot stress enough the importance of crate training. Until they are of the age/behavior level that you are certain they can't get into anything or go to the bathroom on the floor, I'd not chance it.

Not only could they get into the wires or eat the food, but what if they pee and some gets into the tank? That ammonia right in the tank would be a real big bummer to come home to!