[Dia]

I need serious help with my dog. She is driving me up the wall.

My dog "acts" well trained and behaved when I am there in the room with her. But the moment I leave the room she does bad things.

The two biggest issues right now is that she gets into the litter boxes or the cats food.

She obviously knows she isn't allowed to do it because she won't if I am around. But literally the moment I leave the room she does it! Even worse she will do it when my husband is around too and apparently he can't watch her. sigh

Dogs lack the concept of 'good' and 'bad'. They find things 'rewarding' or 'not rewarding', 'safe' and 'not safe'. Your dog has learned that's 'not safe' to get into the litter/cat food when you are in the room. When you are gone, it becomes safe.

I am not able to block it off. I have an elderly cat who isn't able to jump/climb and the dog is smaller than the cats.

I suppose the next best thing is to block your dog from accessing the litter/cat food when you can't watch her.

How do I train her not to get into the litter box/cat food?

I would use distraction and reward, and I'd be prepared to be very patient and consistent over a long period of time. I'd also figure out a way to prevent her from accessing the cat stuff when I'm not there, whether it's putting her in a crate, ex-pen or in a different room.

And how do I train her that the rules still apply even when she isn't being watched?

That's the million dollar question. There are some dogs who are able to resist their urges even when the owner isn't there, but many who simply cannot. The method above, if kept up long enough, may work so that eventually she just looses interest in the 'forbidden' items.

I see so many ppl always bragging that their dogs are so well behaved and like they don't need to be crated or locked up when the people are not home. So there has to be a way to train dogs to know the rules right?

Have you asked these people how they've done it?

Many people are able to leave their dogs out because they also make sure there's nothing available that the dog might be inclined to want to investigate/eat/chew/etc. That's often the most effective way of keeping a dog from doing what you don't want him/her to do. We leave our dogs free in the house, with no problems - but I would never leave 'temptation' out either. While my dog is too afraid to really do anything I've even slightly suggested he shouldn't, my BF's dog will get into things she shouldn't, if it's available to her and we aren't there to stop her.