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Problem with getting on the counter and pulling things off
My Dog Demon has a real problem with getting on the counter and pulling things off.. Now my female who knows better is doing it.. how do I stop this.?? They are also eating off my son's highchair tray .. real bad habits that need to stop. My female will only eat one certain kind of food. It has to be lil bits house from Purina I think.. but when we go somewhere else she is quick to eat the other dog's food no matter what the food is ..
Answer by Katrina*:
It’s important to remember that dogs do what works. Your dogs have been highly rewarded for putting their paws on the counter and on your baby’s high-chair tray by getting food. They’ve also been rewarded at an intermittent rate, meaning not every time do they find food, but every once in awhile they get something really good. This actually makes it harder to get rid of this behavior then if they had been rewarded every time. This is because they develop a gambler’s mentality, meaning they keep trying to find food, even if they have not been successful for a while, because maybe the next try will be a “jackpot.”
What you need to do is to make sure this behavior is no longer getting rewarded. Again dogs do what works, so if “counter surfing” no longer works, they will stop doing. To teach your dogs this, I recommend giving time-outs for paws on the counter and on the high chair and to use management to prevent your dog from finding and eating food off the counter and high chair.
Until your dogs have stopped counter surfing, when in the kitchen keep each of them on a light leash with the leash dragging. This is going to allow you to catch the dogs quickly to give a time-out. A time-out it means the dog is put in social isolation. In order for your time-outs to be effective you must have good timing, staying unemotional, and be consistent. Chose a word that will tell your dog he/she is getting a time-out. This can be “time-out,” “too bad,” “opps,” or anything else you would like, but choose something you’re not going to be tempted to yell at your dog. As soon as your dog places a paw on the counter or your baby’s high chair say your time-out word unemotionally. Then quickly pick up your dog’s leash and walk your dog out of the kitchen. Then either tie the dog to something or put him alone in a dog-safe room (like a bathroom with the garbage picked up and towels out of reach). Leave your dog alone for 10-20 seconds or, if your dog is vocalizing, until quiet. Make sure while taking your dog to time-out, while your dog is in time-out, and when getting your dog out of time-out that you’re completely ignoring him. Do not talk or even look at your dog. There is a good chance your dog will immediately try getting up on the counter again, if so, give another time-out. Your dogs will be learning that it’s not rewarding, in fact it’s annoying to jump up on the counter.
Using good management is an extremely important part of your success. If your dog occasionally succeeds in getting something off the counter or high chair, it is likely that this will be so rewarding that counter surfing will be worth getting the time-outs. You need to make sure that food is not within reach to your dogs. If at times this is impossible, like when your baby is eating, do not allow your dogs in the room at that time. If your dogs are left alone with access to the kitchen, make sure everything edible is out of reach or do not allow your dogs in the room.
As for your female dog stealing other dog’s food, I would just use some management and pick up the other dog’s food when she’s there. If you’re staying for a while, feed the dogs in separate rooms.
* NOTE: Answer provided by dog trainer Katrina Krings, not currently affiliated with Pikapet.com
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