Dogs and fish tanks - any suggestions?

[kimbaco6]

My dog has a strong prey drive. He doesn't care about the fish, but once he saw the emerald crab he reacted as if had seen a squirrel.

I don't want him getting curious and jumping up on the tank while I am not home.

Has anyone ever fashioned a piece of cloth to cover the front of the tank for this purpose? I thought about attaching it on the sides with velcro each time I leave him alone with the tank. Is there any reason why this would be bad for the fish?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Good Idea I think and no in my opinion.As long you don't cover the top of course.Fish don't care about covering outside.Or..get rid of the crab.

 

[kimbaco6]

Oh, but the crab is so cute. He's given me more entertainment than the fish!

Yeah I will use a light weight dark colored cloth. Seems like it should work.

 

[aznt1217]

No reason it would be bad for the fish but that won't really solve your problem because once you take it off.... there we go again.

If it were me I would train my dog on the crab thing.

 

[kimbaco6]

Yeah I hear you about training. I am actually a trainer and rescuer, so always have "board and train" dogs in my home as well as rescues. So it's not just about my guy.

In this case with my own dog, with this type of instinctual response you can train the dog to control to urges when you are present (like training a hunting dog to not go get the bird until you say so, and to hold it with a soft mouth to not damage it), but it is very difficult to actually curb those instincts when no human is present.

I'm sure we'll all find a way to coexist happily.

 

[olivier]

eat the dog, sell the tank j/k

 

[kimbaco6]

:irked: Ha. Not funny. :grumpy: I like them both too much.

 

[aznt1217]

eat the dog, sell the tank j/k

hahaha

 

[Reef Reaper]

Crate the dog when you're not home!!!!!!!

 

[naples]

I had the same problem but some how got her to stop jumping up on the glass
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QDeoRmvbOk

Here is a video of what was going on

 

[Imbarrie]

Put a fish disguise on the emerald crab.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[aznt1217]

man what a cute dog.

 

[kimbaco6]

Aw, Misty is very cute. That's exactly what Milo is doing. He always listens to me when I tell him not to jump up, but I know better than to think he won't do it when alone....

Reef Reaper, I wish it were so simple to just crate the dog. As I mentioned, I have lots of different dogs coming in and out of my home, so would rather cover it to avoid issues. Training takes time and if I only have a dog for 2 days it's not enough time.

 

[naples]

My Dog Misty is only 8 months old and hasn't figured out that she's a dog yet sometimes i think she thinks she's a fish LOL the tank is hours of entertainment for her.