Counter surfer / Food thief!

[Stacy, Bruno, Molly and Gracie]

Our goldendoodle, Bruno, is driving us crazy with counter surfing and stealing food off the counter.... even when I am standing right there!  He is almost 10 months old. We have tried tin can with coins that falls and startles him; catching him in the act and correcting/redirecting him............ HELP! Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks

 

[Dori & Rua]

Rua isn't much of a counter surfer, only due to size, but she gives it a good go.  See my blog below. 

http://www.doodlekisses.com/profiles/blogs/rua-counter-surfing-how-is

 

Even though I haven't had a real issue, I did learn a tip on Saturday during our training class.  Someone with a much bigger dog brought up counter surfing.  The trainer said to go a buy the plastic floor runner (with the grippy things on the back side) and cut strips and lay them on the counter, point side up.  She said it would be uncomfortable for them, but would not hurt them!

[Aimee Santa Monica]

That's an awesome tip!   Thanks for sharing that!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Guinness is too short to counter surf, but Murph did try it a couple of times.  Our trainer told us first of all we should never leave any food on the counter unless we were right there to watch them.  Once they have been successful at "stealing" food, the problem will just get worse.  I'm very careful about this now....nothing on the counters.  When I'm cooking or we're eating, the dogs are not allowed near me (or the counters).  I used to put them in a down/stay right outside the kitchen where they could see us, and if they tried to come in, I backed them right out and replaced them in their position telling them "No".  They eventually figured out the way to avoid that long down/stay was to just keep out of the kitchen while I'm cooking or eating.  So now when I'm cooking, they pretty much just play in another room.  When we're eating, they go to their beds and stay there until we're finished.  It has just all become a habit for them now, and the counter surfing episodes have stopped.  Good luck....it takes a little repetition, but it's so worth it in the end.

[Adina P]

Our Rosco didn't discover the joys of stealing food off counters until the age of 4.  He's 5 now and it's been a HUGE pain.  He's stolen bags of bagels, candy boxes, oversized carton of gold fish snacks, a box of Cheerios.  These are things that he has never touched before so we had been safe leaving them around.  It's not like we leave food around on counters, but our kitchen is small and other than piling a ton of things on top of the fridge (which we are forced to do now), there isn't too much of a way for us to 'hide' everything.  Plus after 4 years of having no problems with this, it is a huge pain to have to deal with it NOW.  I was super careful and super vigilant with him as a pup.  So now, whenever we leave the house, we gate him in the mud room where Boca's crate is.  But it makes me constantly paranoid because in real life...sometimes you have to leave the table for a bit and he usually lies UNDER the table while we eat.  I want my dog to simply choose to NOT take things off tables, counters, etc without that dog (an adult dog) being confined constantly. 

 

So...we have a plan and I'll share it once we've completed at least some of it and have something solid to report. 

 

When you've caught YOUR dog in the act...is it the act of actually procuring the food or only the attempted act of procuring the food? I think that makes a difference.  If the food is in his mouth when you've caught him, he still won a little reward there.  Also HOW do you correct him.  I think if the reward is big enough then the correction has to happen as he attempts to get the food and it has to be strong enough to make it a bit dangerous in his mind.  In other words if the danger of stealing food isn't great enough, then he'll keep trying because the reward outweighs the minor inconvenience of a little correction and redirection. 

 

But in the meantime, until we're ready and set to work the plan and complete it, it has to be a ZERO opportunity policy around here.  So we've been SUPER vigilant and he can NOT have any chance of success in food stealing.

[Carol and Banjo]

I'll be looking forward to reading about your plan and the results Adina!   This is an on going issue at our house.  We've been totally trained to keep dish towels, sponges and any food items way to the back of the counters. 

DH still needs a bit of training in that department but Banjo is working on that.  ; -)

[Lindsey]

Oh how frustrating that can be!!
Molly hasn't started that...just yet, but I fear the day when she's tall enough to do it.

I was a live in nanny a few years back, the family I lived with had 3 HUGE labs that lived inside. One day the mother was baking a cake for her sons b-day. She turned her back for only a second and when she turned back around she started yelling, one of the labs had jumped up and was in the process of taking a HUGE chunk of cake, right smack dab out of the middle of one of the cake tiers....but do you want to know the crazy part?! That lady continued to ice the cake and SERVE it to the guests...since the part taken out was in the middle, the icing covered the hole and no one knew that the middle of the cake was even missing!!! She even tried to offer me a piece....uhm..."no thanks!"

[Pam & Trixie]

2 of our 3 flat coats were counter cruisers...with our first FC we had no idea...At 6 months she jumped up & ate a full stick of butter that was softening on the counter!   Jaw drop.

 

She was our worst offender.  She once ate a Bag of 10 large Fresh Tomatoes my sister had just given me.  I went to see my sister to the door.  Got back in the kitchen in less then 3 minutes...all that was left were a few seeds & the bag.  She could eat a loaf of bread in 2 minutes or less.  Cooling cakes ( I remade the cake she ate the center out of that was for a Family get together)  cupcakes, Bananas, anything & everything.  

 

We keep any counter food in the Microwave.   I do hope Trixie does not have this trait...I will watch for signs & try to ward it off before she starts.

[Carol Brand]

If the dog is counter surfing right in front of you, I'd say that the counter surfing is a symptom of bigger issues surrounding respect for your authority and his position in the family.  What sort of training have you done with him?  What type of corrections are you using when he gets up on the counter?

 

Sneaky counter surfing is hard to combat because the very act of counter surfing is rewarding.  The scat-mat strips work on furniture but I wonder how they will work on the counter.  What will keep them from sliding?  One sure fire way to break the habit of counter surfing is mouse traps.  Set the dog up.  Put high value stuff in the middle of the counter.  Place mousetraps around the edge.  If the traps catch him, it will hurt, but it will not damage him.  I know it seems mean, but remember that counter surfing can = serious health issue if the dog gets something that is dangerous.  I know an Airedale that had $3000 of surgery to remove 3 impacted corn cobs.

 

 

 

 

[Stacy, Bruno, Molly and Gracie]

Thank you everyone for sharing. We are at this point being vigilant with his sit, stay command any time he is in the kitchen with us. Today he didn't even try to sniff the counter while I was there. As soon as I left (and I went out to watch him) he approached the counter. I jumped into the kitchen startling him and he ran off. I have heard of the mouse trap idea and I think I will try it! I appreciate having a place to come and ask for help without being criticized! You all have been supportive and helpful. I will let you know how it goes.

[Stephanie and Jellybean]

I have a different counter surfing situation. Jellybean steals paper, anything paper off our kitchen table, the desk, you name it. She just plops her paws up there and snatches it! Do not know how to handle this............I tell her NO! and then a timeout into the kennel. Doesn't seem to make any difference. I was thinking of setting her up with some bitter apple soaked paper, but then I was thinking if she can smell it, why would she take it?

[Bonnie and Kona]

Owen is obsessed with anything white... especially paper... napkins, bills, dish cloths. crazy. I'm not sure why he stopped counter surfing for food about a month ago. Even after lots of correction it still feels like a small miracle. He still goes after white stuff though.