Counter Surfing (take 2)

[k9kreationz]

I saw another thread, but honestly, there were no answers in it except "don't leave food on the counter". Great advice and I don't.

However, I've got another problem and was wondering if anyone has suggestions.

Lately, Koji has been trying to get food of the STOVETOP!!! Um yeah, when it's either cooking, or hot. So far, he got part of a bun off the pan (both the pan and stovetop were a bit warm) and has jumped up there after my DH has cooked something and letting it cool. Jeez. I'm waiting for him to burn his nose (should I just let him?).

Typically, even when cooking, we push everything back towards the wall and that's good enough. But now we really need to get him to stop jumping up, period. Before he burns his paws/nose or whatever else he uses to reach the stovetop.

Any thoughts?

 

[Ainsley's mom]

One thing you can try. Place a bunch of objects on the stove: pots, pans, cookie sheets--anything you have that won't break but will make noise. Put them in a big, unsteady pile. Leave some food up there, nothing that you would use to treat him with, just something you might leave on the stove.

When he jumps up, the pile will fall, and hopefully after a couple of times of this he will decide it isn't worth it for all the noise it makes.

It worked for my cat; not sure how it will work for a dog.

 

[jerros]

I haven't had to deal with the problem myself yet...but I can tell vash is going to be a counter surfer by the way he whines and eyes the food I am eating.

I found a blog over here that had some ideas: http://germanshepherdcentral.net/2007/10/21/stop-your-dog-from-counter-surfing/

additionally:


The Mother Wolf Growl
Place a tasty food item on the counter, stand back, and wait for Sparky's paws to go to work. The instant his paws hit the counter, turn toward him, make eye contact and, with a dangerous look in your eyes, growl "No!" as if you're a mother wolf. It may feel very silly, but a wolf mom would use that same posture and verbalization to stop her cub from stealing her own food. A blast from the past may cause a modern dog to remember the wisdom in following those orders.

The Catastrophic Event
Place a tasty food item on a cookie sheet and push it to the back of the counter. Around it, place empty tin cans or plastic containers in pyramid formations. Leave the room. When Sparky goes for the food, the pyramids will clatter onto the counter and make a surprisingly loud racket when they hit the floor. For extra noise effect, place pennies inside the containers.

Return to the kitchen and, in an astonished voice, say, "What was that? That was terrible! Who did that?" The unexpected avalanche followed by the human's horrified response may cause Sparky to re-think future attempts. Bonus: since the catastrophe occurred while the human was out of the room, Sparky may wisely believe it will repeat itself regardless of the human's whereabouts.

And as a last resort you could potentially look into something like a scat mat.

Normally I wouldn't even reccomend a scat mat as a last resort, but it can be very dangerous for a dog to counter surf and eat food that is not intended for them. What if they got into some grapes or rasisns or something with chocolate in it? What if you didn't notice until it was too late?

 

[MissSuzie]

Meggie is too little for counter surfing or stove top scaveging, but if she were taller I know I'd be in trouble. She such a little food horse.

Cooper on the other hand is big enough and often sniffs the air in front of the counter. I'm careful not to leave things close to the edge.

They both will come to the oven when I have it open to remove food. It scares me that they will burn their noses, but like you, wonder if I should just let it happen. I bet they wouldn't do it again.

I think the idea of the pyramid of pans sounds like a great idea! I know it would work with Meg for sure! She's a complete scaredy cat!

 

[k9kreationz]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have to find some lightweight stuff so Koji can knock it down w/o being knocked out. He's not noise sensitive and when he's stuck on food, he's oblivious to the world. Sigh. So, we'll give the tower of uh-oh a try and see what happens.

I just want him to learn that the stove is not safe. But then again, like a child, maybe he has to learn the hard way.

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Lovely]

You could also leave a bottle of water on the counter in the kitchen. If you are in there and the pup goes in, then he gets squirted. You might even reward him for ignoring the counter.

I know Michele (mbfrench) does this thing with tape and creates a boundary that way. She puts it chest high across the door and trains the boundary, then slowly lowers the tape. Pretty cool.

Fortunately, only Abbie is the counter surfer and we're quickly learning to keep things away.

 

[jerros]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have to find some lightweight stuff so Koji can knock it down w/o being knocked out. He's not noise sensitive and when he's stuck on food, he's oblivious to the world. Sigh. So, we'll give the tower of uh-oh a try and see what happens.

I just want him to learn that the stove is not safe. But then again, like a child, maybe he has to learn the hard way.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm not completely sure how well the hardway works for dogs. Vash "Learned the hardway" that fire ants weren't something he wanted to play with. He stuck his nose in a fire ant hill and licked a few. This enraged the ants who proceded to crawl up his nose and front paws and bite him.

He spent a good while trying to brush one of those ants off his nose. I eventually stepped in and brushed them all off getting a few bites in the process.

Well immediately afterwards he walked back over to the and hill and started digging. I quickly yoinked his leash and ran for the hills before he got covered with the little buggers for both of our sakes.

*shake head*

 

[k9kreationz]

Well immediately afterwards he walked back over to the and hill and started digging. I quickly yoinked his leash and ran for the hills before he got covered with the little buggers for both of our sakes.

*shake head*

Oy! Not good. IMHO, I don't think they learn either. It's like they can be soooo smart and yet soooo dense. You'd think choking on your lead would make you stop pulling, but Koji pulls harder. Maybe he'll dislike things falling instead.