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October 9th
Have you caught your pup helping himself to food left unattended on the counter?
When a dog grows big enough, they suddenly realize that by standing on their tippy-toes, they can snack on whatever delicious treats you’ve graciously prepared for them that day. Of course the food isn’t actually meant for mischievous pups, but they won’t know that until you teach them otherwise with training.
Raiding the kitchen counters isn’t only a problem with the youngsters — adult dogs do it too! In this case he might be newly adopted and has never been taught proper table manners before. Maybe he only snatches snacks when you aren’t looking, or when he is home alone.
Regardless of age or motive, try these training tips to help keep your pilfering pooch on all fours and off the counter tops.
The first step in stopping your counter-looting or dumpster-diving dog is to store desirable items out of reach. It may be a little inconvenient to keep food or everyday kitchen gadgets in the cabinet, but this will remove the possibility of accidentally rewarding your pup for problematic behaviors. It’ll save you some money and trips to the grocery store too! Think about it this way: whenever your dog snags something he enjoys off of the counter, he is basically being rewarded for doing just that!
Do you use the kitchen counter to pour food into their bowl? Maybe you prepare treats for them there too? It may be natural to prepare any kind of grub on the counter, but if you want your pup to stop claiming it all as his own, move doggy meal prep elsewhere! Store treats and prepare their food in the hallway, garage, laundry room, or anywhere else besides the kitchen.
If there’s food on the counter and your dog is staying put, randomly reward them for not stealing your meal. Make sure the treats come from your hands or pockets, not from a box within reach. Drill your pup on his basic sit, down, and stay commands in the kitchen. Next, try sit, stay, walk towards the kitchen doorway, call and then reward. Gradually move further towards the door, then beyond the door, increasing the time they are staying each time.
Active correction:
If your pup defies the rules even when you are watching, attach a drag leash when they are allowed in the kitchen. This is a leash that they will wear at all times, which is handy for keeping them out of trouble. However, a drag leash should only be used under supervision so they can be untangled if caught around a table or chair.
When your dog gets up on the counter, give a firm but gentle tug on the leash and say “NO”. Try not to grab the collar, as we don’t want touching the collar to become a negative experience in the future. There are many tricks to training your dog you can employ to remedy this problem.
Passive correction:
Specific devices made to prevent surface-jumping can be utilized, or you can improvise with household items. For example, you can stack empty soda cans around the edge of the counter. When your dog puts his paws there, the cans will fall down and make unpleasant sounds to spook him. For more persistent snack thieves, you may want to try ScatMats or motion-activated SSSCAT Spray.
Boredom might be driving your dog to hunt for new and interesting things in the kitchen. Make sure you give them enough daily exercise and training drills to keep their mind and body satisfied. Food puzzles are also a great way to distract a curious pooch.
Above all, be patient but firm and consistent in enforcing your boundaries. Your dog may be part of the family, but only humans get to eat at the kitchen counter!
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