Countersurfing - help!

[Nix1234]

Hi all,

We have a large breed puppy that has just realised he is tall enough to reach the kitchen table/worktops when he stands on his hind legs!
We really don't want this to become a bad habit, but of course when he does get up there it is very rewarding for him!!!

If he jumps up we tell him in a firm voice (but not nasty) to 'get off', and gently pull him off the table/worktop. Usually we would redirect first by asking for a sit instead, but he is very food orientated

We also ask him to go to his 'spot' during mealtimes, and try to make this rewarding for him with either kong/chew/treats.
We also try to clear up the kitchen after every meal so there is nothing for him to steal if he gets up there.

Can anyone tell me if we are handling this the right way??

Thank you

[JudyN]

The only way to discourage this is to ensure he NEVER gets rewarded for countersurfing, which means never leave anything even remotely edible up there. With our large dog, for a long time we had a big plastic box on top of the worktop which dirty plates, pans, and so on went into. We also shut him out of the kitchen if there is food around. Hot baking trays tend to go into the microwave so he can't get at them (he often gets to 'preclean' them once they're cool ). He very rarely jumps up now, but he will if he can smell something enticing and no one is looking

A 'firm' voice for 'off' can be seen by a dog as confrontational and many don't respond well to this. I would try to make it more positive and reward him when he does get down, and would avoid pulling him off, even gently. (I may be being overcautious, so others may say this is fine, but my dog doesn't cope at all well with confrontation so I err on the side of being positive.) If your dog hasn't yet learnt what 'off' means, you could also try just calling him to you, or asking him to go to his bed, or whatever.

Some dogs will learn that food is out of bounds if it's on the worktop (my friend can leave a whole roast chicken on her worktop overnight and the dog wouldn't even think about stealing it), some are natural thieves and it's too hardwired for them to learn that food left unattended isn't fair game.

Getting him to go to his spot during mealtimes and making it rewarding for him is a great thing to do There's nothing worse than being pestered by a dog all through a meal just because someone occasionally slips him titbits

[Nix1234]

Hi JudyN

Thanks for the reply. We would usually redirect with an incompatible behaviour such as a sit, but the only way was to pull him off when he had his head in a quiche
We are going to make sure it is NEVER rewarding for him, so hopefully over time this behaviour should become extinguished, right? Especially if he is rewarded by staying on his spot Hence, super clean kitchen for us...what a novel way of making my boyfriend do the dishes "it's for the dog!" haha

[JudyN]

We are going to make sure it is NEVER rewarding for him, so hopefully over time this behaviour should become extinguished, right?

Well, I still have to keep the surfaces clear or he'd regress pretty quickly But now, if he can smell something on the worktop like an empty tub of coleslaw, he will often stand there looking pointedly up and give a bark to tell me that if I don't want it, he might as well have it (and I usually give it to him then ). Today he's asked for the remains of a pot of sour cream which is well barricaded, but I've told him he can't have it so he's forgotten all about it.

I had to laugh at him the other day - he could smell something I'd pushed right to the back and stuck utensil pots in front of, and decided he'd try for a quick smash-and-grab. He jumped up, I said 'off', and he quickly swiped the only thing within reach before getting down, hoping to get at least something. He realised then that what he had in his mouth was a clean and therefore non-edible dishcloth, and came to offer it to me in case I'd like to exchange it for a treat

He also thinks that any bit of the worktop or table he can reach with his tongue while keeping all four paws on the floor is legit, so the edges tend to be licked clean of crumbs

[Nix1234]

Haha you've got to admire their efforts haven't you lol x

[minkee]

With my smaller terrier we did this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZCIeEUm_n8 training (Kikopup solving counter surfing tutorial) and she is brilliant, and never tries to take a thing from the table, it is unthinkable.

With our hound, he is MUCH bigger and can reach just about anywhere he puts his mind to, so as well as doing some of the above training we make sure that nothing is left out to tempt him, too

[Nix1234]

thanks for the link, I love kikopup but I'd not come across that video yet

[Maxy24]

I was going to suggest something along the lines of the kikopup video. Put temptations on the table with the dog on leash (start with one places on the table and reward quickly so it's easy), reward him for leaving it, prevent him from snatching it with the leash or your body if you can block him quickly. Increase temptation by moving the food closer to the ledge, reward for leaving it. You could even do things like rolling a toy across the table, reward for leaving it until it rolls off the edge and he can get it. This will teach the dog exactly what you want him to do, not go up on the table no matter what's going on up there. ALWAYS keep the table clean if he's going to have access to it. This includes after training sessions. Walk him out of the room on leash, put him away, wash off the table, then he can come out. That way if he goes to check the table out afterwards there won't be any crumbs up there to reward him. Later on you can try really hard to tempt him...wiggle a toy around up there, tease him with food to try and get him to jump up for it but then reward when he doesn't. If he's failing at this (jumping up) then you're pushing too hard and have to back to an easier step where he resists the urge to jump up for the food/toy. You want him to be successful.

You MUST be diligent about keeping the table clean, I mean no mistakes. If you want to, buy baby gates so he can't go in the kitchen unless you've just cleaned off the counter/table. People don't realize just how well prevention can work. Our dog destroyed SOOOOO many pairs of shoes, if flip flops were left out they were dead in a matter of minutes. I told my parents to put their shoes away so he couldn't have fun eating them. They said it was too hard, they kept forgetting, plus putting them away won't teach him not to chew them, it'll just prevent it, we'll have to keep our shoes picked up forever. Well we finally bought some tools to make putting the shoes away easier (shoes caddys on the closet doors) and they committed to keeping the shoes picked up. Three months later and Tucker had no desire to chew shoes. We can leave any shoes out and he doesn't touch them. We didn't have to train him at all, just had to break the habit.

You could also try some sort of odor aversive, but I think that stuff only works for sensitive nosed dogs like my guy. If I spray vinegar on something and he sniffs it he'll leave it very quickly. Yes it's punishment so not sure how others will feel about it. The only issue with that is he may be able to smell it from far away and know whether or not the table is "safe" (vinegar free) without actually jumping up.

[Nix1234]

Thanks for the advice guys after keeping it scrupulously clean he seems to have given up on this really quickly!