Counter surfing

[gilley]

I rescued a dog from Honduras this summer. All things considered she is doing super. The one exception is counter surfing. She, according to DNA is an American Valley dog. I know, I never heard of it either. Her longest strands of DNA are Doberman, Boxer and German Shepard. Has long legs so can reach to the backsplash. My husband and I are really trying to remember to hide things. Help

[JMFS]

Here's one to get you started. I had the same issue when I brought Gertrude home. The little rascals!

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?43-Thieving-Pooch&highlight=thieving

[Adrienne Farricelli]

*Thanks Jennifer for providing the link!*

 

Hello, and welcome to the forums!

I am glad to hear your dog is doing super, you have to pat yourself on the back for that as it's not easy to take care of rescued dogs as they often have some "baggage." You are right, I never heard of that breed, and when Google doesn't show any info either, we know that it must be truly very rare!

 

Here are some more tips/ideas, based on your specific issues (stealing from counter tops).

 

-First a word of caution. Please note that I am not saying you are doing this, but it's always worth mentioning also considering that other members reading may face the same problem and perhaps have tried some not-so-dog-friendly methods which are still very popular. So here it goes: avoid as much as possible getting upset. I know, it is easy to get angry when a dog steals food and it may be tempting to pry a dog's mouth open to release the stolen food-but refrain from doing that.

 

This only teaches your dog to fear you and associate you with the loss of a high-value resource. It also encourages sneaky behaviors such as eating things she shouldn't have out of your sight. With time, your dog may no longer trust you around food (or any other high-value items) so he may start running away, hiding when eating, gulping things down very fast (possibly without even chewing, which may cause intestinal blockages) or at some point even engaging in defensive, resource-guarding behaviors culminating in aggression.

 

-Skip booby traps. The old advice of putting a string of cans on the edge of the counter in hopes of the dog making them fall and getting started, is the best recipe for fearful reactions and even noise-phobias in dogs.

 

-Keep the counter clear of food. This means no more food left near the edge (that's just like dangling candy in front of a child's face), just push it out of the way, or even better, keep no food at all there so that your dog's almighty nose won't feel tempted.

 

-Erect a baby gate/exercise pen. It is not easy to keep counters always free of food. In my experience, many dog owners often start off with a strong intent, and then, as time goes by, they start slacking off and that is when "stealing" opportunities arise. By erecting a baby gate, Rover doesn't get to visit the kitchen with all its wafting smells and temptations: out of sight, out of mind!

 

-Train your dog the leave it and drop it command. This can prove to be even life-saving if your dog is about to grab or has already grabbed a potentially toxic food (baker's chocolate, sweets made of xylitol). Make sure to practice this even when you are at a distance from tempting items (practice even with you out of sight!-(it may help to have a mirror or remote monitoring at first so to keep an eye on him even when you leave the kitchen area) and always reinforce by giving your dog something much higher in value (from your dog's perspective, not yours!) than the item left/dropped. You can find how to train this here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/take-leave-it/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/drop-it/

 

-Train an alternate behavior. We often tell dogs what not to do and invest very little time in telling them what to do. Since, most likely, your dog counter surfs when you are busy preparing your meals, why not teach your dog to lie on a mat and turn that into his favorite surface to receive goodies? This way, your dog will eagerly go there when you're cooking and you have established a desirable routine. Praise and reward your dog with treats (or safe people foods) given at various intervals so that your dog holds his stay there. This can help remove his focus from the height of the counter and rather keep it on the floor.

 

Here is a video on how to train this:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-dog-go-to-mat/

 

With no more food left around the counter when you are not around, a fluent response to the "leave it" and "drop it cues," and food being fed only contingent upon your dog lying on the mat, with time, you should see a reduction in your dog's counter surfing behaviors.

I hope this helps,

Best,

Adrienne

Edited November 30, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[gilley]

Thank you both so much. You have given me much to research and experiment with. Lee came to me, and my three other rescues with heartworm, cancer, lymes and being raped by a so called man. I have had her since August 7, 2019. If anything I am too lax with her.

[JMFS]

Oh bleeping bleepity bleep! Poor Lee. :( I'm so happy you found each other! Give her lots of lovin' from my crew and me - she deserves every bit of it!

 

I can tell you, implementing the techniques Adrienne's shared will help immensely. Gertie's story is in one of those posts, but I found her nose-deep in the peanut butter jar and when I startled her that little nose came out of the jar and she had a peanut butter goatee. What a mess! :D We gated off the kitchen, which solved 90% of the issue. Once she learned she'll get treats and food regularly, and easily, she stopped her counter surfing. That's not to say a nice juicy steak wouldn't entice her - she did lick my husband's chicken sandwich this past Spring, lol. It was simply too enticing and she simply Had to have a taste.