# Timber ate $220.00-Literally! (Counter Surfing)



## Val-Hi King Timber (Aug 26, 2010)

Like.......WOW!!!!

Silly me! Left some money and my purse on the counter because I had just cashed a couple of checks. The phone rang, so I went outside to talk to my Mom. When I came back in, Timber started running in a circle and then ran to the front door. I thought maybe he needed to go potty or something. As soon as I stepped foot in the kitchen I found my wallet with teeth marks in it. So I turned around, gave Timber the evil eye and in a low tone said "baaaad boy". Oh...he knew!!!
One second later, I turned around and found the envelope that contained the money and the money torn to shreds all over the floor!!!! OMG!!!!! I was freakin out! 
Luckily...I went straight to the bank and there were enough of the bills there to exchange them for new ones. Pheeeew!!!

Last week he pulled down magazines and my cell phone. She put teeth into the phone and shredded the magazines.

Anyone have any good ideas to teach Timber to stay off the counters when Im not in the room???


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## jakeandrenee (Apr 30, 2010)

Have you read this thread? Some good ideas on ways to help....
http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...ounter-surfing.html?highlight=counter+surfing


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Now that's a money hungry dog!


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## Deuce (Oct 14, 2010)

WOW, I'd be sooooo mad!


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## Kris10 (Aug 26, 2010)

Well the story goes with your avatar. MMMM!


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## PDXDeutschhund (Sep 22, 2010)

I left Dutch alone in the living room for a couple minutes to go to the bathroom. When I came back he had one of my PS3 controllers. Luckily there were only a couple of teeth marks


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## chicagojosh (Jun 22, 2010)

well, i don't know if this will work when you are not in the room, but it will certainly help Timber associate counter surfing with something he doesn't like.

water bottle spray to the face. my trainer said that is a great one to use for jumping on you or the counter.

the second his paws hit the counter top...spray. i never had to do it with Cody, but my trainer said they hate it!! it is negative reinforcement, but hey...it's only water


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## 48496 (Sep 1, 2010)

I've never had a counter surfer...until Jackie. She's driving me crazy! We're in the process of teaching her not to do it and I can't wait until she learns. She didn't eat $220, but she might as well have. It was my fault too. She had gotten a hold of my glasses from my desk a couple of times. So I started keeping them in the middle of my desk where she couldn't reach them. I forgot one day and walked out for a few minutes with them close to the edge. Needless to say I have an appt. with the eye doctor tomorrow for new glasses. Good thing I only need them when I'm on the computer!


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## Baersmama (Jun 15, 2010)

It is amazing what these dogs can cost us in damage........and we still LOVE them. (I am glad the bank was able to replace the $$ for you!)


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## deetles98 (Sep 24, 2010)

*possible help for counter surfing*

I've never tried it but you could put a few mouse traps on the counter so when the dog jumps up the traps will snap & scare the dog off the counter. If you are afraid of hurting the dog you could put the traps under towels or I have heard there are plastic traps now?? I am not sure of that though. Someone said it cured their dog of it 100%.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Do not leave your dog loose and unsupervised until you have corrected him (voice -- EH!, No!) and he does not counter surf. 

Money probably will not kill your dog. A bottle of IB Profin can. It is like playing Russian Roulette to leave an untrained pup loose in a house. Puppies are worse than adults because they will eat stuff that is bitter in taste where adults will generally not. 

Take the pup with you to the bathroom, use a baby gate in a safe area, put the dog in its crate. They will not learn if they are constantly locked up, but they will if you let them out only when supervised. Dogs will not wait for four weeks of supervision to end, see you leave the room and dash for the counter. They learn not to counter surf or go into the trash, and then will only foul up when there is something extremely delectible, like a nice raw steak sitting on the counter, or a smelly bit of trash, or Jessie's brownies.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

watch Timber more closely. crate when you can't watch him.
work with him more (training).a friend of mine said to me 
"your dog isn't house broken untill it tears up $1,500.00 worth of stuff".
you have $1,300.00 to go. lol.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Baersmama said:


> It is amazing what these dogs can cost us in damage........and we still LOVE them.


Speak for yourself. I had a foster dog that ate a couple hundred bucks once. I didn't even love her. She should be glad I didn't kill her.  In fact that dog ended up getting adopted by Kelso, a member of this board.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Nah, it doesn't have to be that much, but they do have to get one treasured possession each. 

Let's see, Rushie ate the one book in my house that I EVER borrowed from my dad. 

Milla trashed three separate LEFT slippers. 

Bear and Beans are well on their way to removing ALL the molding around the door frame -- this is while in an x-pen. 

Arwen took out a section of the carpeting in my room, the dust ruffle, a fitted sheet, and a flat sheet -- also while crated. 

Jenna and Babs between them took out the handles on my desk, and Heidi got the handles on my dresser -- these are now still a matching set. 

Whitney got the leg off the table from my Grandmother's estate. 

Joy ate one section of siding off the outside of my house, and Dolly is working on the section opposite. 

Most of Ninja's tooth marks landed on other canines, like Tori's ear, Heidi's paw, Milla's nose. I do not remember anything she got of mine, yet.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

Emoore said:


> Speak for yourself. I had a foster dog that ate a couple hundred bucks once. I didn't even love her. She should be glad I didn't kill her.  In fact that dog ended up getting adopted by Kelso, a member of this board.


:shocked: Which still cracks me up (sorry!), as I showed Dan this thread and he said "that's funny because Allie never does anything crazy" and then "how can you not love Allie?" 
Kelso is another story uppy:. Allie, nah, she is our "good child" hehe.


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## adamdude04 (Apr 15, 2010)

I put my iPad on the foot rest by the couch. Arlo put his paw right smack on the screen. Thankfully he didn't crack the glass or scratch it. I spent a few minutes looking all over the screen for a scratch unable to find one thankfully but oh man i was ticked. 

Live an learn.. $220 is a lot of moola


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

I must be lucky... none of my dogs have been destructive like that after puppyhood.

However.. A few things I'd try if they were is a motion/movement sensing alarm.. my brother has one, it's a strip that you lay across furniture to scare the dog off. As soon as his paws touch it it makes a loud, scary noise.
Cat training: Sofa Scram Cat Mat: Furniture Protection Alarm

Or, hide where he can't see you but you can see him, put something just irresistible on the counter, the second he puts his feet up or tries getting it, give a very startling verbal correction.. and until he has it down, do not leave anything important or tempting around..

Something like this could also be good.. it would show him that he can't just wait until you are not there for sure and do it..






Again, I've never had a problem with it- mine will sit there and drool at a pot roast sitting on the edge of the counter, but know way better than to touch it -so I have never tried these techniques myself but have heard good things from those who have..


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

Now, I'm not trying to put down the idea, but mouse traps I wouldn't use.. Ever had one go off on your hand? It does not feel good, and it could potentially crush/rip a nose, bust a lip, crack a nail or even break some of the small bones in a dog's foot. Maybe mouse traps inside of tupperware containers that are perched precariously so they fall or shift in a way that make the traps go off and make noise - but there are other, simpler ways to make a loud noise..


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## Deuce (Oct 14, 2010)

I can't imagine my dog jumping on the counter...what a mess!


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## susirene (Nov 11, 2010)

APBTLove said:


> Now, I'm not trying to put down the idea, but mouse traps I wouldn't use.. Ever had one go off on your hand? It does not feel good, and it could potentially crush/rip a nose, bust a lip, crack a nail or even break some of the small bones in a dog's foot. Maybe mouse traps inside of tupperware containers that are perched precariously so they fall or shift in a way that make the traps go off and make noise - but there are other, simpler ways to make a loud noise..


They actually make these plastic things that function the same way mouse traps do, but can't hurt the dog - I used them for my dog to try to break her of counter-surfing, which sort of worked - she doesn't do it if she sees the trap (no trap --> counter surfing, unfortunately. Smart little brat.)! I wish I could find a link to them, but basically it's a big red plastic paddle-shaped thing attached to a spring-loaded lever, and if the touch the plastic, it flips the other way with a loud snap. Scared Dagny to death, but didn't ever hurt her, and she never did it more than once!

Same goes for the plastic scat mats - I turned on the "zapper" portion of the mat one time, and never had to turn it on again - if she sees the mats on the couch, she doesn't sit on it. (Again, if the mats aren't there, she thinks that the couch is far game, but at least it's SOMETHING!).

ETA: Found the mouse-trap like things! Snappy trainers! http://www.snappytrainer.com/ I'm pretty sure I only had to set mine twice - after that, I just set them on the counter, unset, and Dags left the counter alone as long as they were up there!


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