Jumping Up To Kitchen Counters

[Guest Teaaddict]

Hi all

Our rescue greyhound arrived on Sunday.

 

She seems very food orientated, and keeps jumping up to try to grab food off the counters. We have been very careful not to leave food lying round, but she has to be watched constantly, or kept out of the roomif we are cooking or eating. Any tips on dealing with this? So far I have been saying 'no' and pushing her down, but I am, honestly, a bit scared of confrontation with her. She hasn't shown any aggression.

[LaFlaca]

Congrats on your new girl and to Greytalk! Counter surfing is a common issue with Greys. The obvious is to not leave food within reach. Baby gate her out of the kitchen. Use a spray bottle full of water and squirt her (never in the face) when she counter surfs and combine the squirt with the command, 'LEAVE IT!'. Good luck!

[Guest Teaaddict]

Thanks. Good tip. I will try the spray method.

[Guest Teaaddict]

Forgot to say, she counter surf's even when there's nothing on the counters, and it makes being in the kitchen stressful - however we as a family spend a lot of time there as we have a little snug as part of it. So I am hoping we can get her over doing it all the time.

[FiveRoooooers]

IMHO, while the spray bottle does have its merits, your girl is very new to be using that method to thwart counter surfing. Aiden was a horrible (read: excellent ) counter surfer when he arrived. We just had to essentially baby-proof every inch of the kitchen and watch him like a hawk when he got even the inkling that he was going to try. When he even looked at the counter I would say Nuh-uh and offer a small (very small) treat instead. Eventually he began looking to me for treats and has not been a counter surfer since. (Although, long-timers here will recall the graham cracker holiday cookie debacle )

[XTRAWLD]

You can try 3 things but GH's being very sensitive dogs might have a lasting effect from these methods.

 

1. Duct tape/masking tape/gorilla tape on the edges of the counters (turned inside out of course). Your dog might not like the sticky feeling on her paw if she reaches up.

2. Similarly as above, foil

3. Pop cans filled with coins

 

The first two tricks seem to work pretty good with cats, the third decently with dogs if done right. The issue with the cans falling over and spilling everywhere might send your GH frighteningly out of the kitchen. Might be really good lesson learned, but the risk then is associating the kitchen entirely as a bad thing (not necessarily a bad thing if you want the kitchen off limits to the dog). You would then have to reward good behaviour to gain trust again. Your pup is new and her personality will still come out in the coming months, so I would try the first two methods first and see what happens before moving to the third.

 

Her world has been turned upside down, she will need some readjustment time, and everything is very new to her (including non food items).

Edited October 31, 2018 by XTRAWLD

[cleptogrey]

spray bottle

shaker can

leave it training, but i will say my whippet is ruthless and learned the leave it very well. but he only applies that skill to what i used for the training. he will stand on his hind legs and eat out of a dish or bowl left on the stove! sneak into the kitchen while you are getting some foil and steal sausage right off the cutting board! fortunately he does not grab things out of the fridge. but he learned how to open touch latches(garbage is under the sink) in a day! i have baby locks installed.

 

diligence, kiddy gate and retrain yourself!

obviously the wisenheimer is a spoiled character~

[greysmom]

We used pop can with rocks until we got more dogs - then the dogs that weren't in the kitchen got scared!

 

Remember, she's never seen food just sitting around before! It's like she just moved into an all-you-can-eat buffet! So give her some time and patience to adjust.

 

You can try using a sharp, verbal "Uh-Uh!!" and/or clap your hands when she starts evidencing interest in the counters. But even that might be too much for a sensitive greyhound. Using Jan's methed of treating will likely give you better results.

Edited October 31, 2018 by greysmom

[fionasmom]

Fiona was a champion counter surfer when I first adopted her. As others said, do not leave food on the counter. The top of the fridge or inside the micro wave were my favorite places to put food out of her reach. Eventually, she stopped looking on the counters because there was no reward for it. If food is only on the counter while prepping meals you may want to crate her during that time.

[cleptogrey]

LEAVE IT!!! peanut wI worked butter bait was left on lids all over the living/dining/kitchen periodically. i watched the wisenheimer like a hawk and he did attempt to lick some of the bait. a sharp correction and he stopped. EXCEPT for the one cover he stole and buried somewhere!!!! now you know why he's the wisenheimer. this training started just a couple of months after he was adopted.this was after a round of obedience work. He has quite a bit of leash/show training, so the obedience was easy. you can see how he is restraining himself! it took around 4 months for his true colors to blossom!

Edited October 31, 2018 by cleptogrey

[HeyRunDog]

A firm NO and a very gentle tap on the nose deterred Grace from counter surfing.

 

You've got to be consistent and stop her every time and only feed her in her food bowl, no treats in the kitchen and no titbits when you are eating. If you do feed her scraps from your meals put them in her bowl when you've finished your meal.

[EllenEveBaz]

A video camera connected to your phone or computer will make her think you are all-seeing and all-knowing.

 

but I am, honestly, a bit scared of confrontation with her.

She's a big dog with big teeth, but most greyhounds are sweet-natured with good manners and will accept your correction. (And where food is involved, turn around and do it again). The posts above emphasize how many greyhounds get frightened by a loud or angry correction. I've had several whom that didn't faze at all, so required finding a personalized method.

[GreyStella]

I am a big believer in the squirt bottle, why not in the face? It seems the most effective spot, and they REALLY dislike it.

[Hubcitypam]

if yours is an older house like mine you can baby gate the kitchen off when needed...or put her in the yard while you cook? I am not a big fan of negative reinforcement.

Part of it it dog proofing yourself. Before I got wise I turned around for a few seconds to see the coumter where my sandwich in the making used to be.

[greytpups]

I’m a firm believer in positive reinforcement, so I would never use any method that scares them such as squirting water or loud noises. Rather, our house is dog proof, so rarely will you find food in reach of a paw or mouth.

 

Simon and Katie were both counter surfers, and a short quick “down” command along with praise as soon as they got down worked for them. Emmy is still a counter surfer, but only when it’s time to eat now, so vigilance works as she runs into the kitchen. Plus she must sit and wait for the “ok” command before she can eat her food.

 

Now I can leave an empty plate in the living room, and none of them touch it.

[cleptogrey]

Just curious, how's the counter surfing these days,

[OneOnly]

now this is some world class counter surfing

 

(about 30 seconds in)