Counter Surfing Dogs
Counter surfing is an unwanted behavior that can be hard to break.
Dogs have a tendency to counter-surf, often snatching a snack or two off the counter and making a mess in the process. This can be a frustrating experience for both the owner and their canine companion.
Why does my dog always jump up on the counter?
Counter Surfing is a self-rewarding behavior, and once dogs have had some success snatching a tasty treat from an inappropriate location, they are likely to take advantage of a situation and do it again as the opportunity arises.
To correct this behavior we recommend being proactive to remove opportunities for the dog to reward themself. The solution also requires consistency and some creative training to paint a clear picture to the dog that this is no longer going to be successful for them. Once the dog has experienced success stealing food, merely removing the opportunity will likely only stop reinforcing the behavior, but it is not likely going to resolve the problem.
I typically start the training with some very tempting food and have the dog on leash. We set boundaries for the dog on leash and then progress to off-leash training. Many dogs learn that they are not supposed to take the food from an inappropriate location, rather quickly. Often, they will avoid the treats if the owner is present but will not hesitate to take it as soon as they think the coast is clear. Remote collar training can be a simple solution to maintain the boundaries whether the owner is present or not. Some well-placed cameras, a delicious temptation, and a proper prior foundation in remote collar training can complete this objective. Many good quality remote training collars have enough range that you could get into your car and leave the residence a short distance to convince the dog the coast is clear. Monitor the cameras and administer a well-timed correction should the dog try to take the temptation.
It is important to also provide some positives when the dog does not give in to temptation. All dogs are wired differently and while this may work for a majority of dogs rather quickly, there will be others that you will find you have to have more consistency with and utilize other training methods.
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My 3 yr old Shepherd was with this facility for a 2 wk board and train. I can’t give trainer Megan, and the team at Dog Training Personalized enough praise, for the training outcome with my 3 yr old Shepherd. Megan was the main trainer for my Shepherd and my gosh! This girl has an unbeatable passion, talent and professionalism for training and towards the Canine. She went beyond just using tools and commands. She used the very approach that I find so important with training. She built a personal relationship, along with building a “working” relationship with my Shepherd. She accomplished in a limited time, what I was unable to do for years. I was amazed to watch, through updated videos and pics, how happy and eager he was to be working with Megan. Trust me when I say, it was difficult to be away from him, but Megan’s constant communication and updates through pics and videos gave me reassurance that he was with the right trainer, team and training facility. For me, seeing is believing. I would have “never” believed that he would be in a sit or down, that someone could not only walk away from him, but leave the room, out of sight, and he would remain until released. The entire facility was clean and sanitary. The staff was friendly and extremely knowledgeable, not only in “training” but the physiology of my breed. I was impressed with all of the team who help with his training. Each one off them, Megan, Sydney, Sami, (sorry, I’m sure that I have forgotten someone) brought their special talents during his training. Megan, put her heart into every moment she could, bringing the best out of Atlas while he was there. She accomplished every bullet point that I had concerns with or had ask for with his training. Most importantly, I was the one, as his handler, who needed the training. She continued to educated me, in many techniques and approaches with training. She helped with understanding the dogs thought process. Giving me a better understanding as to why and how, along with correctly handling and carry on, the training he learned. Trust me when I say, we are grateful for Megan and to this facility. Beth and Atlas
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Callie(pictured left) enrolled in our private lesson program with hopes to build solid obedience behaviors to counteract her reactivity to other dogs. Today she was able to walk past another dog in close proximity and even place nearby with ZERO reactions! Way to go Callie and family!!!
