Counter surfer - need help!

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Ok DK'ers I need some ideas. My Doodle keeps taking things off the tables and counters.  It doesn't need to be food but napkins, Magazines, pens, childrens toys, coasters, remote control...the list goes on.  He's getting so much bigger and now can get the things we were trying to keep out of his reach.  He knows "off" but the things on the tables seem to be a bigger draw then his own toys.  My trainer said that I should put something spicy inside rolled up balls of bread and line them up along the counters edge and that should start to deter him but I'm not too keen on that idea.  He's only 4 months and we keep him on leash but it is definitely a daily struggle.  Any suggestions would be fantastic.  Otherwise I feel a bad tv sitcom episode coming on,you know,  where the dog takes the thanksgiving Turkey...What was that My Three sons? or Brady Bunch? or maybe Christmas Vacation....

 

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

I have two doodles and struggle with counter surfing big-time.  Oliver who is 75+ lbs and growing, he is 1 yr. can reach all the way back now.  I did have a "safe" area for a short period of time.  Sasha who is almost 2 and weighs 45 lbs can reach about 6 inches from the edge.  I did break them of this for a short period of time but needed to continue with it which I did not.  I have a e-collar that you can use only a beep or vibration, I would wait until they were up on the counter then hit be button for the beep and that startled them enough and it was working fine.  The only problem was that you needed to have the remote by you at all times and have the collar on them at all times.... I have one collar and two dogs.  I used the collar on both switching between them but when cooking or just doing "busy" work in the kitchen its difficult.  Your busy... you notice the counter surfer then look for the remote "dam... where's the remote" and they notice you are looking for it and get down.  I gave up after a while, I know if I was persistant I would of had them trained by now.   But the good side of this situation is that I ALWAYS have clean counter tops.... everything gets put away.   I do need to keep my purse sipped shut because Oliver likes to swipe things from my purse now since he cannot get anything from the counter top !!!  I'm just hoping and praying that they grow out of this - well wishfull thinking  :(

[Adina P]

Why not verbally correct when you are there vs use the ecollar? I would as the purpose of ecollar is to disconnect the correction with you.

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

Hi Adina,

I can tell you that the verbal correction "off" or "down" only works when you are right next to him.  Otherwise he blatantly ignores me.  He gets that the Kitchen counter has infinitely better things then the alternative of getting down.  And he also gets attention when he takes a toy or a sock.  (I know this is sounding like I'm a slob, I swear I'm not). He jumps on the coffee table regularly just to make sure there isn't something he's missing like a hair rubberband or a piece of paper.  He listens very well to other commands it's really this one that is an issue for me.

[Adina P]

'Off' to me is a command that means 'get off of what you are on' -- it isn't very deterring any more than yelling 'sit'...what you want is something that will be consequential enough to make the prospect of paws on counters undesirable.  I have a sneakier counter surfer we are working on.  He'd not dare try with us there so we've resorted to an ecollar and a web cam set up that so far has resulted in him turning down an open can of sardines and many other goodies he has stolen in the past...just a few inches off the table or counters.  So we are progressing...but in the meantime it is absolutely CRITICAL that he has NO chance to steal successfully because that will give him all the hope he needs that counter surfing MIGHT yield a good reward.  So we HAVE to gate him off from the kitchen when we are not home to prevent a slip up UNTIL he's had more set-ups to convince him beyond a shadow of a doubt that counter surfing SUCKS ALWAYS.  

[F, Calla & Luca]

Sneaky, love it! You are preventing that intermittent reward that's so reinforcing! Poor Rosco : )

[Adina P]

Yeah, pretty much nothing within reason you could do to him after the fact would matter to him one bit because he GOT THE GOODS if he got onto the counter. So if the punishment comes at the ATTEMPT to grab the goods...then future attempts will be less and less attractive because it will seem too dangerous to try.  It worked remarkably well and didn't cause him the least bit of apprehension about being in the kitchen.  He'll still smell the counter even.  It's reaching for things or putting paws up that will be the 'no no' criteria.  But I think he needs to be caught in the attempt 2-3 more times to seal the deal.  He's only been caught once and that seemed to convince him for the next 3-4 times.  Now I'm afraid it would take watching him for 2-3 hours on the webcam to actually catch him again :-/  Not sure *I* have that level of patience.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Adina, just to clarify....are you suggesting the use of the ecollar for a four month old puppy?  I've never used one (although I'm not opposed), so I'm "clueless" about when/how they would be used.  I guess I hadn't thought of them for training a puppy this young.

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

I'm getting to the clean counter top stage but I'm always picking stuff up and he still seems to find it! Someone also recommended a collard that sprays citronella but I can see where not having the remote on you for that too would become a challenge.  I hope you find something that works...and maybe you'll see something posted here too.  Good luck and thank you for your idea.

[Heather & Brinkley]

I put a string around our remote so I could wear it around my neck while home.  It was great.  We haven't had to use the e-collar in a year. :)

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

And you didn't have to fight ove rthe remote with DH...LOL!  2 birds with 1 stone...I like your style Heather ; )

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This is tough at four months.  You probably haven't started any formal obedience training yet, but it's almost time and that will definitely help for the future.  With my puppies I kept them away from any area where there were things they could get to if they "surfed" unless I was right there with them.  If I was there, at that age I gave a verbal correction (strong "NO"), removed them, and redirected them to something else (a toy).  If I couldn't be watching them they were gated in a area with no "surfable objects" or crated.  Because they spent a lot of time in the kitchen with me and I was usually busy cooking, I did keep the counters cleared of anything they might be able to reach.

[Jayd (Dempsey)]

He did take a puppy kindergarten class but can't start manner 1 until he is 6 months.  I do have an ex pen but have been giving him access to the living room because there is a bathroom off of it that has a tile floor which he loves to lay on to keep cool.  The ex pen is fine but on a wood floor and he tends to settle down much better in the bathroom then in his ex pen so he has had access to the living room and the kitchen ( I work from home).  I am just going to have to keep a closer eye on him and unfortunately keep him in his ex pen when I'm unable to give him my undivided.  Thank you for your thoughts!