# Off....?



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

Hey guys. Need some advice on something. Carson knows what "off" means, as far as counter surfing and such goes. The problem is he's still a surfer... I was wondering if you guys have any ideas to get him to not jump up there in the first place. It's like he knows that he can get away with it *until* he get's the "off" command, and then he'll get down most of the time....sometimes he thinks about it. :uhoh: Any help would be nice. Thanks.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Took me a while to find this one:

"I have heard of some people who load there counters with cans tied together for when they leave the house. If the dog counter surfs when nobody is around, he will knock over the cans and they will all come down making a dreadful noise and scare him from the counters." Quoted from Timberwolfe, last January....


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Mouse traps work wonders......


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## Baileysmom (Aug 5, 2006)

We thought that Bailey would never get that "off" also meant off the kitchen counter. I kept at it and even started chasing him out of the kitchen every time he jumped up there (like it was my territory). I know I haven't seen the last of it, but (fingers crossed) it has been two weeks since he has counter surfed.


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## Brandy's Mom (Oct 5, 2005)

One way to stop it is to not have anything up there worth going after. For quite a while, we kept every counter completely clear. Brandy would jump up, see there was nothing there, and get down. After a while, she got bored with even looking.


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## Molly's Mom (Jan 1, 2007)

Could you please describe counter surfing for me? My pup is only 11 weeks and we're not there yet. Do they actually get up on the counters, or do they just sniff? I need to know what's coming up.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Abbie is a major counter surfer.. doesnt have to be food up there, paper products work for her just as well as food..... The only thing we have found to work is the e-collar........she has figured out the mouse traps...... if she sees them up there she will go get one of her stuffed animals and hit the trap with it...............


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Molly's Mom said:


> Could you please describe counter surfing for me? My pup is only 11 weeks and we're not there yet. Do they actually get up on the counters, or do they just sniff? I need to know what's coming up.


They stand on there back legs with there front paws up on the counter....


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## Molly's Mom (Jan 1, 2007)

> They stand on there back legs with there front paws up on the counter....


 Sigh. We are already there. She's not tall enough to see much yet.


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## vrocco1 (Feb 25, 2006)

Maggies mom said:


> Abbie is a major counter surfer.. doesnt have to be food up there, paper products work for her just as well as food..... The only thing we have found to work is the e-collar........she has figured out the mouse traps...... if she sees them up there she will go get one of her stuffed animals and hit the trap with it...............


She is a little devil, isn't she? But, Abbie can get away with it, because she is so cute!


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

vrocco1 said:


> She is a little devil, isn't she? But, Abbie can get away with it, because she is so cute!


Yeah, really, who could zap cute little Abbie, just because she's doing a little counter surfing?  

But you know, Abbie is showing some smarts by using those stuffed animals to activate the traps. So, she is _even more_ than a pretty face. But we knew this already, didn't we? 

Brandy's Mom has a great idea about keeping the counters clear until the behavior is under control. It's not always easy, but it prevents the dog from getting anything worthwhile from counter surfing.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

I think Abbie's excuse is the devil made her do it..... I usually hit her with the viberate(sp) mode.... she hasnt been Zap yet.....


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## jeffreyzone (Feb 8, 2006)

We need video of Abbie when she's flipping those stuffed animals up there onto the mousetraps. It's a big game to her.  She is a smartie.


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## Rocky (Dec 28, 2006)

Good question.....I have the same problem. Our trainer said the tower of cans thing....or a can with coins in it and everytime they go up there shake the can at them (we are trying this one with not much difference yet)....mousetraps.....double sided tape (although may ruin certain counters).

I have started tying Rocky up when I am cooking, so he doesn't even have the opportunity to do it. I give him his kong and he is happy to be tied up right in the kitchen with me. When there is no food up there he doesn't do it.


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## Maggies mom (Jan 6, 2006)

Will see what I can do... Abbie is real real busy now....Beamer got brought back today because they said he barks to much ..and living in a condo it wasnt working out....soooooooooooooooo Can you guess where he is.......Yep.... back here...so Abbie driving these puppies nuts


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## FlyingQuizini (Oct 24, 2006)

Definitely start with keeping everything pushed so far back that they can't snag anything if they do jump up. Counter surfing for dogs is like playing a slot machine for people. If every once and again it pays off (they steal something) they're going to keep trying. If each and every time they jump, they can't reach anything, the behavior becomes boring and goes away. BUT, if just one out of 100 times they grab something, they'll keep trying due to the intermittent reinforcement.

If you're in the kitchen with your dog, teach him to lie on his bed. If he's just moseying around while you're in there, you want to watch him and when you can tell he's thinking about jumping up, interrupt it with an "Eh-eh" or whatever noise you want to use. Make sure YOU reward him for staying on the floor. You want to make that better than the reward he gets from jumping up.

For severe counter surfers, I've used a product called a Scccccat Can. It's a can of compressed air with a motion sensor on it. When they jump up, they get a strong blast of air. They don't seem to know where it's coming from. My Whippet didn't want to go in the kitchen after I tried it on her! One client reported that her Golden seemed to like the wind in her face. All dogs are different!

-Stephanie


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## VeronicaLovesHerGoldens (May 27, 2005)

I can tell Carson and Cosmo are the same age!!! 

I've been just making sure that anything that's of any value whether it be a book, papers, bills, checks, etc. are not left anywhere on the counter. I leave no food whatsoever because if I do he'll get into it!!! I've heard about the pennies in a can trick and I used to use a squirt bottle on Zazoo. That worked somewhat but the best solution is to keep nothing of interest for the little bugger to get into!


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

VeronicaLovesHerGoldens said:


> I can tell Carson and Cosmo are the same age!!!
> 
> I've been just making sure that anything that's of any value whether it be a book, papers, bills, checks, etc. are not left anywhere on the counter. I leave no food whatsoever because if I do he'll get into it!!! I've heard about the pennies in a can trick and I used to use a squirt bottle on Zazoo. That worked somewhat but the best solution is to keep nothing of interest for the little bugger to get into!


That's the trick....keeping the counters clean. :uhoh: :uhoh: :uhoh:


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## PeggyK (Apr 16, 2005)

Maggies mom said:


> Abbie is a major counter surfer.. doesnt have to be food up there, paper products work for her just as well as food..... The only thing we have found to work is the e-collar........she has figured out the mouse traps...... if she sees them up there she will go get one of her stuffed animals and hit the trap with it...............


Now, that's a smart Golden!!!! Some people use balloons-they pop when the dog hits them and scares them. Coach was starting to be a counter surfer-but learned very quickly not to jump up. My daughter's yellow lab was TERRIBLE-entire dinners would be gone. She also wqould eat an entire loaf of bread. E-collar worked for her also.


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## njb (Oct 5, 2006)

jeffreyzone said:


> We need video of Abbie when she's flipping those stuffed animals up there onto the mousetraps. It's a big game to her.  She is a smartie.


Julie would use one of the cats....

But--the original question--the trick with the off command is when you give it--you have to watch him closely and when he FIRST makes a motion to get up on the counter--when it first enters his mind and you can see it--you give the command then. Timing is everything. :woot2:


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