# Counter surfing



## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

As I've mentioned, Zeus is still adjusting to a house with rules. One of his worst habits is jumping up on the counter, (and the couch, and chewing up headphones which I need to remember to leave out of his reach but that is a separate issue) So I try and leave the counter as clear as I can to discourage him from doing it. I'm told that eventually when he stops being rewarded by finding things to chew on and eat he will stop doing this. Thing is, about how long a process is this? Should I just keep doing what I'm doing or are there things to help the process along? I do have some of the keep off spray but it is horrible, I don't really want it on the counters. I could keep him away from the counters if I really needed to, but eventually would like it to not be an issue.


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## lauren43 (Jun 14, 2014)

Is there anyway to block his access to the kitchen?


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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

He has already improved, for the most part he is good about not doing it when we are home. It was obvious that he was never told to not do this before. It is when we are away that he does it now. 

We tried a dog gate. He climbs over it. I would try crate training, but my boyfriend is very much against it. See his sister had a dog that was crate trained and it ended up losing most of its teeth trying to get out of the crate. So that's not really an option. I tried soda cans, but he chewed one up. Didn't eat any of it, but I don't want to risk that happening again. I was searching around for some ideas and found this .... Counter Surfing and Garbage Raiding | ASPCA


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## canyadoit (May 14, 2014)

Lots of mouse traps works well for this issue Imo it is the best because there is no connection between the correction and the person They work in the fridge when it figgures out how the door works


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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

I saw that in the article from the ASPCA. They had a "snappy trainer" like a hand that slips onto the mousetrap. That could work, I'm still worried he would end up chewing it.... lol Gotta love teething. 

Thank you very much canyadoit!


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## canyadoit (May 14, 2014)

Spiascik your are most welcome I had no idea a article was written on this Will have to read it Thanks
Some times they chew the traps Put them far enough back so he can not see them The idea is the counter fridge garbage can bites them
Had a duchie that would pick them out of the garbage She was good at that till I started with the rubbing alcohol on the traps 
They do work some will think it's cruel
My male at one time figured out the fridge That was a mess everything was sampled The fridge was loaded with the traps The next day when I got home rhe fridge was open no mess to clean up To this day I can leave the fridge open and he will not go near the inside of the fridge That was eight months ago He also loved clearing the counter Same method same results


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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

The fridge?! Oh no!!! That must have been quite a surprise! lol And quite the intelligent boy you have there. 

I tried something similar to this just now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoMhen5V9ig I used smaller tupperware containers full of coins. He did it once and now is just staring at the food wondering what happened. I did find a couple of traps downstairs. He seems too wary of them at the moment, but time will tell. 

He is making tremendous progress considering that he came from a house with no rules and was there for the first five months of his life. There are times when we leave for hours and nothing is touched. Other days he rips up the plastic bags and once he got a hold of the paper towels. He is however doing very well walking with a loose leash, sitting until released, and even waiting until released before going outside through a door. I just have to be consistent and keep working on everything, if he keeps improving like he has been he will be a terrific dog!


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## canyadoit (May 14, 2014)

Have you read culture clash or any clothier's work ? It is all about comunication dog to human human to dog imo


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## canyadoit (May 14, 2014)

Something else to try A treat ball with 1/3 ration in it One that the dog has to keep busy at to get the kibble out of Keeps them occupied works their brains and possably keeps him out of mischief


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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

We've got a couple of nylabones and a kong ball that has one of those hard treats in it. Keeps him busy most of the time. I will try and find a good treat ball though, that sounds interesting. I try and rotate out the toys we leave him with too so he doesn't get bored. He sprang the coin treat twice tonight. Now he sniffs it and walks away. haha


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## blackshep (Aug 3, 2012)

With some dogs, you just can't leave things on the counter. 

Our Lab's were horrible counter surfers, you could never trust them until the day they died.


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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

See that's where the trouble is. I'm also training my boyfriend to not leave things out on the counter where he can get to them. He isn't the best when it comes to cleaning up after himself. So basically I'm training them both to learn to live with each other. I'll just keep working on both of them. He was very good today while I was gone.


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## bob_barker (Dec 31, 2013)

This feed has to make me giggle a bit. Bob is just starting to test this counter surfing... But!! This is nothing in comparison to the 27 years I have been dealing with beagles who can't reach the counter so they find whatever way possible to get up there even if it includes pushing a chair from across the room to get to the counter! 
Dogs will be dogs. I have just trained everyone in my house to not leave anything edible on the counter. 

Good luck  

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## spiascik (Jun 22, 2014)

I've seen videos of beagles doing just that! So smart! I know it is a work in progress which is why I have been thinking of late that when we get a puppy it isn't necessarily just about training the puppy, but has just as much to do with training the inexperienced people that live with the puppy as well. 

We have taken up a new activity, bike riding. We only go around the block a time or two in the morning when he has that big burst of energy. So far it has been a good deterrent in chewing things he shouldn't. He definitely seems to enjoy the task at hand when we are going. I can tell he is thinking; about not going in front of the tire, not getting to far away from it, and about how much fun it is to be able to run alongside it. :laugh:


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## Mister C (Jan 14, 2014)

bob_barker said:


> ... I have been dealing with beagles who can't reach the counter so they find whatever way possible to get up there even if it includes pushing a chair from across the room to get to the counter!
> Dogs will be dogs. I have just trained everyone in my house to not leave anything edible on the counter.
> 
> Good luck
> ...


Pushing a chair for better reach? Wow, that is creative. But beagles are extremely food motivated and persistent.

I was watching a friend's Irish Wolfhounds a few years ago and was amazed at their ability to get to things. Leaving anything edible on the counter always led to a raid--they didn't have to jump up at all and could reach anything by just standing there. 

Kodiak was the worst--he was known for stealing an entire large pizza and whole sticks of butter, wolfing them down before anyone noticed. Chewbacca would usually just stand by and watch.

After walking these two big guys one night I gave them each a chicken jerky treat. I put the full bag on TOP of the refrigerator and went home. The next morning I find the empty bag by the front door. No chicken jerky to be found. But boy was Kodiak thirsty! I left at least 2 gallons of water out for them the night before and both were bone dry that morning. 

My mistake was leaving the bag in a place where Kodiak could see a corner of it. Also, I should have pushed the bag away from the edge on the top of the fridge. Their owner was never able to break them of counter surfing.


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