Rooney has learned a new trick- and not the good kind!

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Mr. Rooney (yep, it's Mr. Rooney- so you know he's in trouble), has discovered the thrill of counter surfing.  Fortunately (I guess), for now his interest doesn't seem to be food but rather the stray dish towel or piece of paper.  He has shredded three different pieces of mail so far, thankfully nothing too critical, and is always delighted when he can snag an oven mitt.  I try to push things back as far as I can, but his reach is getting pretty impressive.  I honestly can't even figure out how he does it sometimes, I think he might be part kangaroo.

So, I have caught him a few times and immediately grabbed him mid-jump and told him "time out" and put him in his time spot for a few minutes.  All this seems to have accomplished is he has learned to make sure I am not looking when he makes his move.

Any suggestions? This is going to be very problematic if it continues because now it means I can't even leave him in the kitchen unsupervised and thus he will have to go back to being crated when I am gone. 

I realize that one solution is to always have the kitchen counters 100% clear but with a family of five that just isn't realistic.  If it were just me then no problem, but I'd like to keep my family so there is going to have to be another solution.

If anyone has the miracle cure, I'll pay big money for it!

[Leslie & Axl Sacks]

We had that same problem as Axl got taller. With a busy family of four, we cannot realistically keep everything off the counters either. The easiest solution might be squirting him from a spray bottle. However, Axl eventually liked being squirted in the muzzle. Our trainer suggested a citronella collar which sprays a mist under their chin. Dogs don't like the scent. But that is an expensive option and they have to have the collar on to catch them in the act. Try the squirt bottle after "setting" him up with something tempting on the counter. Hope this helps.

[Sue and Buddy]

Buddy has also learned that wonderful goodies live on the kitchen counter. One day he snagged a chicken breast off of a plate full of chicken breast waiting to be grilled. Another day I caught him going out the doggie door with a bag of potato chips. But the usual grab and run is the dish towel or oven mitt. I don't have a magic cure for counter surfing.  If I catch him standing up at the counter, he gets the "off" command and then praise when he does. If he has the item in mouth I usually take it from him without saying anything and walk away. Or I might say "no, bad puppy" in my best mommy growl after I have the item in hand. In either case I ignore him for a bit after that.

One thing I have learned about Buddy the bigger fuss I make, the more excited he is. And he really doesn't seem to tell the difference between a bad boy fuss or a good boy fuss. Yelling at him and telling him he's a bad boy doesn't have much impact except to get him excited. The low, growly voice saying no, bad boy and then ignore has the most impact. He hates being ignored. He loves attention.

[Carol and Banjo]

"I caught him going out the doggie door with a bag of potato chips."   LOL!!!!!    Sounds like he was planning a little party!

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Oh yes, Rooney is at his happiest if he can grab something and take it out into the yard.  It IS his own little party!  Although he hasn't thought to grab chips yet...

[Becka]

What is it about dish towels? Sadie loves them and is always running off with them, but she never does anything with them except prance proudly into the TV room, where she deposits them. She also likes shirts and socks but those are easier to keep away from her. She doesn't counter surf anymore, though--she kind of scared herself out of that by knocking something loud to the ground. I think it was a metal plate. You could try that.

[Jeanine Bandini]

Wally did the same thing (still occasionally does) and my young girls made a game of it by chasing him (oh how wonderful!) Yes, its the dish towel or oven mitt that is the most coveted. My commands did nothing to discourage him unless I caught him mid-act. What did work.....I left the oven mitt on the counter and tied 3 or 4 empty soda cans to it. When he grabbed the mitt it pulled the cans down and scared him. Then I went over and calmly said no and picked it back up. It REALLY works if you don't mind scaring your dog (I wasn't happy about that but needed to stop him! He is no worse for the wear!) He cant know the cans are there so do it when he is outside or in another room. Good Luck!

[Elizabeth, Bailey & Bruin]

Great idea about the cans...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

The soda can trick didn't work for Sophie, but thankfully it didn't turn into a big problem anyway. I just used the Off command and she listened.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Leslie- I have thought about the squirt bottle. I'll definitely add that to the list of things to try. I'm just a little worried that it will be similar to time out in that he will just figure out not to do it when anyone is watching. But, we have to try something!

Sue- I agree that too much excitement or fanfare is a bad idea.  I need to work on that and I like the idea of ignoring him for a bit after retrieving the item.

Becka and Jeanine- I can totally see how a loud noise would be effective, especially because he wouldn't associate it as having come from me but from the act of pulling something off the counter.  Does it make me a mean Doodle Mom that I kind of giggled at the thought of him pulling down a bunch of cans and being startled? I may have to try that today...

So glad to know others have dealt with this problem! Those smart little pups are sneaky!!

[Sue and Buddy]

If Buddy continues to counter surf I am thinking of rigging something up with soda cans  with a few pennies in them and a way when he pulls something off the counter, the cans come too. Hopefully the noise will convince him nothing fun is on the counter. I agree that they are smart dogs. I have a feeling if I do anything like a squirt bottle he will associate it with me and just make sure I am not around when he counter surfs. He needs to have a clear cause and effect to get the message. One problem is he is just too cute for his own good. It was really hard not to laugh to see him trying to get the bag of chips out the doggie door.

[Lori, Rooney & Zuzu]

Oh yes! Their cuteness is their saving grace! It is hard not to laugh when he is so clearly delighted with his oven mitt.  Now the shredded mail, I'm not so amused by...

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Mr. Rooney, you are one funny little doodle. Please stay off the counter, I wouldn't want you to eat something that upsets your little puppy belly!

 

Sophie is a big shredder of mail. She usually takes care of the bills ;-)