Hello everyone,
I'm new to your site! I am hoping that I can get some help!

I have 2 adult dogs. They are house trained, But they will NOT stop eating the Christmas Tree! They have eaten the tree & some plastic ornaments on a few different occasions! They do not eat it every time we leave the house, but they have ruined our tree. We always leave them plenty of food, toys & bones while we aren't home!
I do not want to leave them in the cage all day, & need some advice on how to get them to leave the tree alone!! They know what they are doing is bad because when we get home, they are hiding & will not welcome us! When they are good, they always meet us at the doors with lots of kisses!! They do not touch anything else in the house (knock on wood) besides their toys & the TREE!
Four of my neighbor's houses got broken into on the same day! I had my windows all opened & no one was home! I truly believe the kids did not break into my house because we have 2 large dogs (none of the other neighbors had dogs)... I know that there are ways to break into houses with dogs! But I do think they serve as a deterrent if there are 2 houses, 1 with big dogs & the other with no dogs!

I have tried showing them the tree & telling them "no" & "this is bad"! And they seem to understand! I reprimand them when we get home by showing them what they did & then put them in the cage without any loving! I KNOW that we allow them to eat sticks outside so I do not think they can differentiate between the tree inside & the sticks outside?? And when we take them swimming, we throw sticks in the water for them to swim after! I JUST HOPE that I didn't ruin our chances of ever having a Christmas Tree with the dogs!!

Well I think there is things you can spray on the tree that tastes really bad and they wills stop chewing on it, but I don't no what the name of the product is

The dogs should be in crates when you aren't home. If you are gone all day, find a neighbor or professional dog walker to give them a break. Doggy day care is a great solution too.

One other thing would be to use a gate or closed door to keep them out of the room with the tree.

It is hopeless to try to train most dogs to leave something alone when you aren't there.

The spray is Bitter Apple. It might or might not work.

I don't know if the bitter apple will work for this problem. Pitlover, you may be right about their love of sticks and they are going after the tree because you allow them to eat sticks outside. I think labman's suggestion of gating off that room or crating the dogs is the most practical solution. I know you don't want to crate them and they are normally obedient, but the tree is too tempting for them to leave alone. This really is only a temporary issue, so crating them, or gating off the room for a few weeks while you have a tree would be the safest and most quick solution, In my opinion.

I did not want to put them in the cage, but I guess it seems like I don't have a choice in the matter. I was wondering if there were some training tips you could recommend to teach them to leave it alone?? If God forbid, someone broke into our house when the dogs were in the cage & stole everything we own, I would be VERY upset! Like I said, they are big dogs & are somewhat of a deterrant for burglars (knock on wood)!
There are many days that they leave the tree alone, but others they don't!

I don't need a sitter/day care/professional walker for the dogs! My husband leaves for work early in the morning, but I don't leave until around noon & then one of us is home by 4ish. I don't see how a professional walker would stop the dogs from eating the tree!

So I guess that no one has any training tips besides leave them in a cage/crate??

There are dogs out there that if you correct for something when you are around a few times, they won't do it even when you aren't around. They are few and far between. Most dogs you just can't leave them access to things they won't leave alone. You will either have to lock them up, or the tree up, as long as you have it. With having a puppy being a permanent way of life for us, we keep the living room and dining room closed off, also closing off the stairs. If it won't work to gate off the tree, you will have to crate them. As long as you both aren't gone more than 4-5 hours, they should be fine.

Yes, sorry no training tips on how to leave a tree alone. You have to be there to correct them constantly for a period in order to train them. By the time you can be comfortable that the training has taken, Christmas will be over. Next year, you would have to start all over again. Consistency and constant reinforcement is the key. You have brought something into your home that is not normally there. The odor is very intense and overwhelming on their senses. It is just too much of a temptation for them. If you don't want to crate them, is there a way to close off them off to that room for the 4 hours that no one is home?

Next year could you try a fake tree as a compromise? It won't smell as fun. You can get some really nice fake trees these days, ours is lovely.

While on the surface, this appears to be just an amusing story, actually it has several deep insights into how dogs view things, including the futility of expecting them to behave unsupervised.

DOGS DIARY

5:30am: Started the day as a hero! When the sound of the newspaper hitting the driveway roused me from my deep slumber -- the impact indicating the paper was much heavier than normal -- I realized that no one in the house was yet awake! I roused my master by licking him in the face. He appeared very angry with himself for having overslept, shouting and waving his arms. His ill temper even seemed directed at me a bit, which is silly since it is I who saved him from being fired. Funny thing though: He didn't go into work, but spent the morning leafing through the large newspaper and drinking coffee. He seems to do this once a week, and I don't know why.

7:30am: Invaders! The people who live next door came out into their yard, obviously getting ready to lay siege to our house. Snarling and barking, I let them know in no uncertain terms that I was prepared to tear them from limb to limb if they came any closer, and was able to repel the invasion. This is an almost daily occurrence; you'd think they'd learn. My master added his voice to the fray as well, yelling angrily. I am sure the people couldn't hear him, but it was nice of him to lend his support.

10:00am: I was forced to move, as the patch of sun in which I was lying had, for some reason, slid over a few feet. It's not easy being a dog. 1:00pm: I have the most thoughtful master in the world! While it's true he left me alone in the house for several hours, he did set out a treat for me on the kitchen counter. It was even gift-wrapped, a courtesy I wish he'd skipped, since it led to me having a lot of plastic in my teeth. The roast was delicious, though frozen in the center. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but crunching through two inches of rock-hard beef is hardly my idea of a delicacy

2:00pm: Most unpleasant experience when my master returned home and was furious that I had not eaten the plastic wrap which had been covering my present. He kept pointing at the small pieces of Styrofoam and other debris and raving in a most irrational fashion. I'm sorry, but he should know that I can't eat that stuff; it makes my stomach upset. When he began rolling up a newspaper I realized he'd lost all reason and bolted for the front door, which was fortunately open just a crack.

4:00pm: Spent the afternoon with the girls. A most productive day; I was able to mark territory for two blocks. "Drip 'till you drop" is our motto. We had a small snack at an outdoor café we like, with meat scraps and bread served out of circular containers with easily displaced lids. Ran into that rogue Sebastian, who lifted his leg with irritating nonchalance -- does he think I don't know about his obsession with Muffy, that snotty schnauzer from down the road? Last month there wasn't a male in the neighborhood who couldn't be found outside her fence, and Sebastian was at the head of the pack. I let him know I want nothing more to do with him.

5:00pm: What a treat! On the way home a flock of ravens drew my attention to a squirrel that had been flattened by an automobile. After several days in the sun, the aroma was so delicious it made my nose quiver. I rolled in the wondrous fragrance for several minutes, and when I stood up I positively radiated eau de roadkill. Let Sebastian drool over Muffy -- he doesn't know what he's missing. 6:00pm: Of all the times to get a bath! My master, still in a foul mood, made me stand outside in the chill air while he shampooed and rinsed me several times. Every time I shook the water from my fur he, too, became drenched, and in the end he was shivering. Why in the world does he do stuff like this?

9:00pm: Time to sleep, though I am not allowed on the bed whenever anyone is home. Ah, the life of a dog.

Thanks to Elitegundogs. I haven't heard from him in over 5 years. One of many good people that knew and loved dogs,and I wish were still with us.

Ah, the smell of a real tree. Among other things I have sold Christmas trees. Occasionally well dressed ladies would show up wearing dress gloves. I knew I could hit them up for the top dollar Fraser Fir. I would lead them over to them, and say ''Smell the fragrance, take off your gloves and feel the soft needles.'' None of them ever left without buying one.