Help! Dog hates TV

[Packerbacker_TX]

Our rig is barely a year old now and our 2 year old (65#) dog has managed to break 2 TV's! Situation: We're camping, grab some coffee and turn on the morning news. A commercial comes on that has a Dog, Horse, etc. Our dog growls and quickly jumps towards the TV (like being shoved) - BAM! TV is cracked and it's a pretty rainbow of garbage.

We lost the first TV (Furrion) and replaced it with a cheaper TV (Vizio). Both TV's died the same way - over excited dog that likes to jump. Since TV's are all slim and light, they don't hold up like the older tube TV's. I dare not even put another TV in the camper until I can figure out how to protect it. In case your wondering, the TV mount is LOW - about 3' off the floor, just over the Fireplace. Anyone else got this problem?

[ALJO]

Dog needs training just like children.

[OdiN1701]

Could always get rid of the dog... :P

[Camper_bob]

I was thinking an electric training collar might be in order.

It would suck to have to have your dog on a leash inside the camper!

I guess you could always come up with some kind of distraction. They sell those training clickers. You could keep one with a stash of "treats" in the camper. When the commercial or whatever plays, you could click the clicker and give him a treat to distract his attention from the TV. Of course, if he goes for the TV, he doesn't get a treat. You could also keep him on a leash for this training to save on the expense of new TVs! LOL! It shouldn't take him too long to get the idea that if he DOESN'T attack the TV, he gets a treat.

Our dog would completely destroy his toys when we first adopted him. He loved them literally to death; the carnage was a spectacle for sure. Then I trained him. I would only let him have a toy when in my presence, the moment I saw him begin tearing at it, I would take it away for 10 minutes. Then I would give it back and repeat the process. He's pretty smart, so over the course of about a week of this training in the evenings while I watched TV (MUST be consistent and persistent), he got the idea and stopped destroying them. I also had to train him that toys that belonged to him were given to him by me. If I don't deliberately hand him a toy, it's off limits. It took the same kind of training, but he gets it. To give you an idea, I trained him this about 11 years ago, and he still complies, which is especially important when you have a toddler dropping toys in the dog's environment constantly. To this day, the dog will watch my son drop a toy, and he'll look at me as if to say "can I have it?"; I don't even have to tell him "no", he knows it's not his unless I give it to him.

[kneeslider]

Smart dog. Bet CNN is the dogs least favorite!

[bdreinv]

Does he like pet commercials lol?

[wags999]

Think he's trying to tell you turn the TV off and go outside, your CAMPING

[Packerbacker_TX]

Originally Posted by wags999

Think he's trying to tell you turn the TV off and go outside, your CAMPING

I hate to say it Wags, but you're right. We buy a camper and still think we're at home. Problem is, it kind IS like being at home. If I had a buck for every "glamping" joke I've heard. Yeah, I get it. It's nice. I mean it IS a 5th wheel with living area, kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Roughing it means there's no TV or Phone service (AKA Internet). That said, I do think we should unplug from time to time and just enjoy nature. Maybe my dog is telling me to go outside and get some exercise.. lol.

Outside of not using the TV, we've tried the usual treat rewards, the clicker and the e-collar. I don't know about you but I don't always carry the e-collar remote with me and don't always have treats in my pocket. First thing in the morning all I can think about is coffee - and that's how she got us - when we're half awake. Learning curve here... Dog 2, Parents 0.

I was thinking of something along the lines of a big screen protector - maybe Acrylic you can buy from Home Depot? TV's are pretty fragile, so maybe that would afford some extra protection.

[us71na]

PetSafe makes an indoor electronic pet barrier called a zone. You put the collar on the dog and the zone device near the TV.

You can adjust the distance from the TV where the collar will zap the dog. It is fully automatic and is battery operated. We've used one of these for our dog which is trained to an in ground fence to stay away from flower beds where he insisted on digging.

[Cosmik Debris]

A friends dig does that at home, and what he did was to corral off the TV with one of the portable "xpens", like a police barricade.
One of our dogs would like to attack certain TV scenes but will pull up short when told, so training can help, but if one of us isn't there to call him he'd show those guys on tv playing with a ball who the boss is.

[travelingjw]

It not usually the dog that needs the training. You might try the following, I've used this method on multiple dogs for multiple issues. Does this happen at home too? Get a video or a DVD. Put the dog on a leash. Turn on the TV and the at the first movement give the dog a "NO" command, then praise him when he stops. Repeat this multiple times. Turn off the TV and do something else. Repeat this 3 to 4 times the first day. The second day reward the dog with a treat if he doesn't move towards the TV when the video is on. If he does it again on the 2nd day, take the dog outside and hold the leash just long enough to walk the dog beside you. Control the dog and keep him at your side. Spend 5 minutes walking him but make sure you make sharp turns right and left. At the end of the 5 minutes, make sure you praise him, give him a treat. Use the "walking" training multiple times. The dog will quickly learn that bad behavior cause an uncomfortable walk. Then, you can still go get a cover for "safety," but you need to train the dog. The "short leash" training is very effective, but you have to be disciplined. If that doesn't work, stop watching TV .

[Colorado]

Does your dog do the same thing at home? How often do you walk (exercise) your dog to get rid of his anxious energy? Try a harness on your dog tied to something in the 5er that prevents him from getting to the tv, then calm him down when he wants to jump at the tv.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

You have bigger problems than just the dog attacking the TV. He is probably going to attack people, other animals, etc. when he encounters them anywhere. I strongly suggest you get professional obedience training for both of you before someone gets hurt.

[bankr63]

I'm just glad you meant the Television and not the TV. At first I was wondering why you were letting your dog drive at all!

You could try putting an obstruction in front of the set like a wire drying rack or something to startle the dog when he jumps. They also make window films for home that greatly improve the break resistance of the screen. It's basically the same as a screen protector for your phone or tablet, just a lot bigger. Any window or glass company should be able to help you out.