Will it help to laugh a little? My disabled activist friend posted the other day that her service dog has learned to retrieve a tissue, it just happens to make it to mommy's hands a bit shredded.

:)

Yes yes yes don't you know kleenex are the devil to dogs and must be destroyed! Oh yes! My friend in Dallas would say that all the time. Her dogs, my dog, our friends dog all of them do it. Mia worries me about a blockage too. Every time she gets one she shreds it but does swallow some because it's in her poop. She will get a tummy ache and I have to give her pepto bismal. The vet says usually tissue will pass but it definitely can give gas and distress. I put the remote on top of the kleenex holder in the living room where I sit. In the bedroom she can't get to the box on my bedside table. You can put a paper back book on top.

My Dachshund always goes for any tissues I have laying around on the night stand or end table. They have to be used not new. She use to pull them out of the bathroom trash until I got taller trash cans. I try to remember to keep them out of her reach. She has always eaten weird things.

Our Buffy loved Kleenex. She would snatch one every chance she got, which we thought was odd. My husband always said it must be like cotton candy to her.

Try turning the box upside down. Not as handy for you, but she would have to figure a way to turn the box over to get to them. Good luck. Izzi would never do such a thing, ha, ha.

Sue

My dog doesn't do the tissue trick. We have a cat. Shredding paper and tissue is her hobby.

I think if she sees the tissues in the lidded box she will try to open it. I realize the mantel is inconvenient but it sounds like the safest place and worth it if you are worried about bowel obstruction.

Any dog can be trained and must be trained to protect them from risky behaviors. If you don't do that, you're failing to do your job of keeping your pet safe. There's no reason to struggle with or accept this kind of behavior on an ongoing basis.

Try saying NO firmly when it happens. If that doesn't work, fill a small spray bottle with water and spray the dog's face while saying NO firmly. (Yes, I know, some suggest otherwise, but it often does work and most dogs are smart enough to take the hint quickly).

If that doesn't work, you may need to consult a dog trainer. Trainers train humans much more than they train dogs, let one give you further suggestions on how to end this and any other bad conduct.

My boston terrier goes crazy over used tissues. Cries when he sees a used one next to me until I throw it at him. Leaves them in shreds all over the floor. It is one of the many things I do to keep him from being bored. I have a long handled claw so it's not a big deal picking up the shreds. He's not into unused tissues. If he does eat any, it doesn't seem to have caused any problems.

Glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem! Elmer, my dog will immediately drop the tissue on command, if I ever catch her in the act. So if I come back into the room with my tea and she immediately slinks into her crate, I know she stole one, because that's her only vice.

I did tell the trainer (several years ago I had to learn how to address her fear of large dogs, after she was charged at by an unleashed Rottweiler) about this habit, but he said to just close the door of her crate when she slinks into it and keep her inside it for 15 minutes or so, as she's clearly aware that what she did was wrong. But no matter how many times I've done this, she just has an obsessive compulsion to steal tissues and would rather do the crime and serve the time, than leave the tissues alone. I think as suggested, I'll just put it on the mantle when I leave the room and save myself worries about doggy surgery.

Merry Masker loved tissues! She would devour an entire box, making a mess doing so. Never any blockage- just wasteful and an annoyance. There was no trying her - she was very sneaky. I don't know which is more annoying- cats unrolling an entire roll of TP, or dogs getting the tissues!

Maybe out of sight, out of mind will work.

1. Find a box with a lid that is slightly larger than your tissue box. Put the tissue box in that. When you need a tissue, lift the lid and there's your tissue. If you do not have such a box, use google to find a place to buy one. (It'll cost a lot more.)

2. Use something like a shoe-box without its lid. Put the shoe-box upside down and over the tissue box. When you need a tissue, lift the outer box.

3. If you are handy with wood working tools or know someone who is, have a custom made box built to hold and hide the tissue box. A wood box can be made heavy and have a nice finish. it can have a lid like a humidor, or it can be an upside down box as described above. (let's hope that your dog does not learn to lift lids. If he does, then you'll have to add a latch.)

My Michael's has a selection of decorative boxes with lids, cardboard, but pretty. You could keep tissues in it if table size allows.

We had a cat and a hamster that liked to steal tissues. The cat would empty the entire box if we let her. The hamster would take it back to it's cage and carefully arrange it over it's "nest" lol!

MIL's Doberman would steal paper napkins right out of your hands and gobble them up - or steal them from the table if they are left on the plate, for example. He would also search garbage cans for tissues. I don't think he ever stole any from the box though.

For me, a paperback book left on top of the box was the most convenient solution.

Dances.

I do not have that problem with Izzi as she does not jump up on furniture.

Sue

Daughter's dog and sister's dog both do, this, carefully holding the kleenex down with one paw while tearing it with the teeth. The shreds stay on the floor.

Hi picker-upper,

I've found that in the early stages of runny nose, Kleenex just disintegrates. But if I use a paper towel, I can park it somewhere to dry and re-use.

Would that be enough different to deter the dog ... or just another brand of fun?

ole joyful

Would noise deter him? If so, put a couple of coins in an empty soda can, tape shut and give a good shake when he approaches.

I don't have a dog that eats tissues (or any dog), but I'm getting lots of chuckles in seeing the determination and antics of tissue-loving pooches!

My dog pulls them out of my pocket and tries to sneak off to eat them. Never a dull moment.

eccentric I love your dog without ever meeting him. My little 12 pounder loves anything paper. She doesn't eat it though, she hides it in her bed. The mattress is removable and she pulls the edge back with her paw and hides whatever she's managed to steal. Once a day I take the mattress out of her bed and confiscate everything she's hidden. It can be a tissue, paper towel, sock, you name it.

I didn't know so many dogs liked tissue! Picky, you really opened up a good topic here!

Our sheltie didn't care about tissue, but any time we had painting done, he would steal the sandpaper and carry it around in his mouth. Not sure what the appeal was.

PickyShopper: please post a pic of your pooch!! i read your post and just laughed, need to put a face to the "thief"!!!

My cat(s?) steals our Oxo silicone coasters. ALL of them! We find them scattered around the house. I'm not sure if it's one cat or both.

They attack rolls of paper towels if you leave them out. Shred them to bits!

Our bigger dog has a hard time deciding which he'd prefer, a bite of steak or the tissue that hubby just pulled out of the box. All wastebaskets are up on furniture and tissue boxes as well. When we've carelessly left tissue boxes in reach we've discovered the entire box shredded and tissues everywhere! He can do this in the time that it takes to get a cup of coffee from the kitchen!

PKponderTX - the answer to whether your dog should eat the steak or tissue is easy - eat both. That is what our dog does. Our Eskie will not give up tree bark for steak (I know, I tried). Out will come those raccoon like paws and as he is spreadeagled will hold on to both. To say he is food aggressive is an understatement.

granny2anb - thank you! Our dog's bed (or I should say pouting cushion) also has a removable mattress. I just wish he would hide things under it for us to remove. Instead, he searches under the mattress for any crumbs he might have missed - as if! Actually he has 2 such pouting cushions, and we often find him with the mattress part on his head during his searches. His beds are Bowsers.

hoovb - Your Eskie is planning something - I can see it in the eyes. Beautiful pup. Our Eskie is also a bear type - lots of white fur. We are having a hard time now with all of the salt outside. Since he will not wear boots it makes things tough. Of course he loves to eat the snow which means he has to go out more frequently and then cries when the salt hits his feet. Or the cold, or the snowballs. He is a drama queen - but is very sincere you can see the pain in his eyes (even when nothing has happened to him, but heck, it might...).

Does anyone's pet like plastic bags?? Roxie chews plastic bags. If we're not careful, the handle of the grocery bags will be chewed. I always have to tuck the top of the bag inside, when I'm lining the bathroom garbage bin.

Sometimes plastic bags. The funniest thing is when I get a box in the mail--he can't wait to smell the mailman's scent on it, chew the box to pieces, and have fun with the bubble wrap. He seems to like doing this better than playing with his toys. Makes a big mess but totally worth the show.