# Counter Surfing



## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Molly is really out of control with the counter surfing. It's allmost like she is starved for food. We have used the water/vinager spray with little success. Could the dog actually be underfed? She gets a little over one cup of dry food three times a day. Sometimes she eats and sometimes not...can't figure what makes her decide to eat or not. Usually by the end of the day she eaten all her food. Like someone else said...I'll glady pay for a solution.


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## gunnr (Aug 14, 2009)

Nick

How old is Molly? It may be time to get a little firmer with her, and not let her jump up on anything, including you.
It's "4 paws on the ground" in our house.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I think this is one of those things that takes time... lots of it. Others may have better results, but my experience is that Kobi loves doing it and just won't stop. However, he's gotten A LOT better. I am extremely consistent about making sure Kobi knows he is not allowed with his paws on the counter or on me. Any time he tries he gets a "Kobi! Off!" in a loud and deep voice. I swear there have been nights I have had to say it 100 times. But it really is starting to show. He now gets down as soon as I say something, and a lot of times he'll do a half-jump where you can tell he wants to jump on something but knows he isn't supposed to.


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

I agree with Kobi. it is something that comes with time. Holley has picked up on some many other things we have taught her but this is an ongoing process. She loves to see what is going on and as soon as she jumps up I say "Holley Off" and she will get down but then comes back a couple minutes later and tries again. We have tried the can with pennies and the water bottle but it is just something that we have to be consistent with. The trainer recommended something called "The Pet Corrector." It makes a hiss noise and is supposed to stop them in their tracks. We have not tried this method yet. Good luck.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes, the dog could be hungry. I would give a V as much food as it will eat. Yes, they will all prefer to eat our food but, that is not an option. If you give the dog food from the counter or a plate it will remember that is where their food comes from. All food should be provided from a dog food container out of the pantry and preferably on the floor. The food should go from the dog food container to the dog bowl. If you ad hear to this process the counter surfing will be minimal; unless you leave a juicy steak just sitting there. In that case I maybe on your counter eating that! ;D


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## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Molly is 6 months old...someone asked and I'm sorry for not providing that info. Tonight she had her regular dry food then proceded to surf the counter and so I fed her again and she ate it all...again. We never give her anything except dog food in her bowl on the floor. I just don't remember my last V being this way.


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## Kobi (Oct 26, 2010)

I've been letting Kobi self feed for the past few weeks, and he still tries to get up on the counter. He even has two bowls! He just doesn't eat that much, which is totally opposite of the way he was his first four months (he DEVOURED every last bit of kibble).

Apparently while my parents were watching him yesterday he made a move for the meatloaf and managed to lick some of it  My mom is a huge germ fanatic so that got him and even bigger chunk of meatloaf ;D


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## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Some of our problem is solved by tying her on a leash while we prepare meals and also when we eat. She whines a bit...gets in her chair but then settles down. makes meal preparation and eating much more comfortable. I think we will make this a regular event from now on.


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## DarDog (Aug 15, 2010)

Darwin did this around 4-5 months of age. But then, dishes fell on him . Since he's a big suck and doesn't like loud noises, he hasn't done it since.

I wouldn't really condone dropping dishes on your dog though!


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## sarahaf (Aug 17, 2009)

Yeah, I'm afraid we never really were consistent with Rosie about this (I gave up b/c other members of the household weren't consistent with her), so she often gets put in her crate during meal preparation and consumption. It's a tough one, they are persistent about it if they know there's something good there. Sorry I can't really help with a success story, but I sympathize.


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## tiggers mum (Jan 6, 2011)

Hi there. thought you might like to know how a friend of mine got over this problem. She was at her wits end and decided to try something out that had been recommended. She started off by 'setting her dog up'. She tied together some empty baked bean tins and secured the end of the string to some food and placed them all on the counter. She left the room and within minutes there was an almightly clatter at which point she charged in and shouted ontop of all of this mayhem 'NO'. It took three attempts at this and her dog never counter surfed again!!!


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## maxxie (Jan 3, 2010)

Hi Nick,
We had the same problem with Bentley and he drove my husband mad when he would spend time cooking himself a lovely hot bacon and mushroom baguette. There it was in all it's glory steaming away on his plate on the counter in the kitchen and he turned his back to get the brown sauce out the cupboard. When he looked back at the plate it was empty and when he frantically looked around for it, there was Bentley with the delicious morsel in his mouth!! There then preceded a tug of war which resulted in a draw, both retaining half of the baguette. This was the turning point for all concerned.

I took out 2 baking trays from my cupboards and left them on the side within easy reach. We then carried on as normal preparing food and as soon as Bentley went to jump up, I pushed them onto our slate flooring which made an unholy noise, which he really didn't like. If you don't have a slate or tile flooring, then you can knock the trays together instead, but try and do it so she cannot see what you are doing, as she may associate the noise with you instead. I guarantee this will work very quickly for you. We now leave food out all the time and Bentley does not even consider jumping up anymore. We can prepare food in peace and Malc gets to eat his baguettes without fear of losing it!!! Let me know how it goes.
Good Luck
Caz


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## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Thank God for Tiggers Mum......I got several Pepsi tins...wrapped then with red duck tape...put screws inside...sealed it shut...tied a string with some bait on the end...put them on the counter. Molly jumped up and grabbed one bait...the whole thing fell to the floor with a failry lound crash....Molly jumped back and left the scene. That was yesterday and she has not surfed the counter all day today. I am so hopefull that this is a real and lasting cure. I also made up severl over traps to put in other places where she is not wanted...in my closet. ...she loves to go in there and pull out all the dirty clothes in the hamper. I'll report again in a few days.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes please keep us informed! They do love that dirty laundry, don't they? I would hate to take that away from Copper!


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## Mercutio (Jan 18, 2010)

If you could get Molly to pull the dirty laundry out the basket and take it to the laundry............ ;D


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## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

Ok, this is the third day of no counter surfing....YEA! And also with peaceful meals as we have her secured to her chair.


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## Linescreamer (Sep 28, 2010)

Now, I read the words "her chair" twice. Is she the Queen?  ;D She doesn't sit at the table with you guys does she? ???


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## JillandDan (Sep 8, 2010)

We asked the trainer the other night at class if she had any suggestions and she said something about a mouse trap. Someone at Dan's worktold him about this training aid online called a Snappy Trainer. It doesn't actually grab their paw or anything. If they jump up and touch it, it flips and makes a loud noise when it falls. I found it on Amazon for $11 for a set of 2. We are considering it because I really don't want to use a mouse trap. But we are trying another method in the meantime. We have a can of pennies that didn't work for her when we shook it at her to correct but I have kept it near me on the counter and when she jumps up I fling it to the floor and she runs away and sits at the entrance to the kitchen for the rest of the time I am in there. Hopefully this does the trick but the Snappy Trainer is another option.


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## nick (Dec 18, 2010)

We have a leash aknchored to the floor by a chair in the family room....we call it her chair. My previous V would always come and lie down on the floor underneath the table....never bothered anyone...he just wanted to be near us. Molly will do the same when she gets a little older. So we are now in the 4 or 5 day of no counter surfing. We still keep the cans on the counter near the edge where she can see them.


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## Kasey71209 (Oct 6, 2009)

Kasey doesn't actually countersurf if he's curious enough he'll stand up and sniff but never actually touch the counter lol his nose is forever sniffing in the kitchen though. I almost feel bad for yelling at him because it's not like he's begging for anything..just really curious. Thank god he hasn't actually stolen anything yet!


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## christine (Oct 19, 2010)

To those who mentioned Snappy Trainer: We did not have any luck with these AT ALL. The dog has to hit them in just the right place to set them off. Our Sasha actually picked one up in her mouth, carried it across the room, and played with it a bit before it went off. Then she just started being careful to put her paws next to (not on ) the Snappy Trainer when she was looking for goodies to steal. What finally worked for us was Pet Corrector Spray (see the "Counter surfing - suggestion post in this forum).


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