Help!! How do i keep Rocky from Counter surfing

[Luisa]

My little Rocky is almost 5 month and he started to surf on the counter and table which is driving me NUTS!! he only does it when nobody is at home. I don't leave food , but a piece of paper, pen a cleaning rag ,anything even a bag . it worries me that he could end up with something that would make him sick, I try my best to keep things away but I have 3 kids and in laws at home so I need to find a way to keep him away from the counter and tables .  any advise is greatly appreciated . thank you

[Pat, Mary & Cooper]

Cooper had that little phase of counter surfing , it didn't last long... We kept an aluminium can halfway filled with change ,a piece of tape to secure the opening and as soon as we would see him we gave it a quick shake and that would "startle" him.Timing must be right on. Our trainer also suggested to leave him "booby trap" for when we were not around. The one I used was orange peel , he hates the smell !
That phase lasted no more than 2 weeks.

[Wendy and Myla]

Myla has never counter surfed but when we picked her up, her breeder told us that goldendoodles are known for counter surfing.  She told us to bait Myla if that happened.  She said that we should put a fishing line through a wiener and then attach that to a bunch of empty pop cans.  When Myla would pull off the wiener, the cans would follow and scare her. We never had to try it but I do know that whenever Myla went out of bounds on our property, DH would sneak up and throw a can full of pebbles in front of her and she would run back to where she should be.  She definitely knows her boundary in our yard so I think it would work!  Good luck and I would definitely make this a priority training as she can get into a lot of trouble if she continues to counter surf! 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Lucy was our counter surfer. It wasn't a short phase for her, either, but lasted months! And she was bold and did it when we were right there in the kitchen with her. I would make a real racket the second she'd jump up with little effect. About the time I was at my wit's end and was ready to set up a booby trap of cookie sheets with pop cans filled with rocks (with the holes taped up) and a tasty treat attached to the cookie sheets, she stopped. She was one willful pup!

Just curious, is Rocky crate trained? If he's only counter surfing when you're away, then there's an easy fix to that!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

One of the things suggested to us was to take a cookie sheet and put spoons on it and place it so that it was slightly over the counter so that if the dog countersurfed, the tray and silverware would fall on the ground making lots of scary noise.  Another suggestion given to us was to tape sandpaper to the edges of the counters so that if the dog placed his paws on the edges of the counter, it would feel rough.  My daughter tried the first one and her dogs were too persistent to care about the noise, but in theory . . . .

[Becka]

I can attest that this method can work with some dogs--I found out by accident! When she was about a year old or so, Sadie knocked over a metal plate when she was countersurfing and it scared the bejeesus out of her.

[Adina P]

Can he be crated or gated in an area away from counters?
Rosco didn't learn to counter surf until he was about 5 years old.  Which is surprising because he's super tall and doesn't have to reach far.  We managed to 'cure' him of it temporarily until I goofed and he got away with finding something on the counter--rewarding enough so he thought it was safe to do it again.  I have found it to be very difficult without supervision, gating and keeping counters clear when not supervised.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

If you're in the room and you see him go near the counter or table I'd correct and then physically move him away so he understands what you're asking (you may have to keep a short leash on him to do this).  If I wasn't going to be around to supervise I would gate him out of that area.  When we're not here to supervise I still gate my guys in an area where there is nothing they can get into....and they're 5 and 6 years old.

[Luisa]

Thank you all for the advice i will try them and see how it works, he doesn't have a crate any more i try it went he first got home but he wouldn't stop crying ,and the kids would spend the night checking on him so he has a bed in the living room. That is the only problem i found for now.