Guest hankodie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 So for the first time in her 4 years of life, Odie has learned how to table surf. Why now? I have no idea. It's like a lightbulb moment and she's worked out that getting up onto a chair = access to table = delicious food and tidbits. This is problematic for a few reasons, the main one being that she has a liver disease and is on a strict diet. LUCKILY the times that I have caught her she has eaten pretty "safe" foods yogurt and muesli, a few crusty bits of jam on toast and her latest accomplishment this morning: half a slice of banana cake from the cafe (and then proceeded to shred/eat the brown paper bag it came in all over my office floor). My computer chair was actually pushed out quite far from the desk so the fact that she managed to somehow launch her tubby arse onto the table is quite impressive, I'm almost sad I didn't witness what I'm sure was an act of graceful acrobatic finesse. Anyway, apart from me exercising a little bit more vigilance with clearing the table or my desk before leaving it unattended, is there anything I can do to curb this behaviour? Keeping in mind that she is the world's most stubborn, bitchiest, scheming little gremlin who will stop at nothing at even the tiniest morsel of food. So any training trick would have to basically be an act of god. Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 A Scat Mat (static electricity) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulesP Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 You can make it unpleasant for her to get up there. Foil or you can buy mats that give little static shocks. I would be not leaving food around. From having cats I still never leave food on countertops/tables etc The microwave is a good place to defrost stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huski Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Daisy was the worst counter surfer ever. I used a remote training collar to sort the problem, on a very low level but enough to annoy her and break the habit. A scat mat can work on a similar principle, but on a much higher stim level than a collar, and it is restricted to a specific area. You can obviously manage them and train an alternative behaviour but IME the only thing that actually breaks a habit like that is to teach them they can no longer gain success with the behaviour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thanks all. Huski I figured that would be the case seeing as it's such a strong rewarding behaviour. And I usually catch her long after the crime has been committed so what am I going to do, yell at her? :laugh: Are there any other alternatives to an e-collar or a scat mat (I have no idea what that is?) I'm asking not because I am opposed to these methods but I'm afraid I'm not qualified enough and I'd be scared of not using them correctly. Jules I don't usually leave food around for hours, it's more a case of leaving it on the table to go do something (answer a phone call, sign for a delivery etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thanks all. Huski I figured that would be the case seeing as it's such a strong rewarding behaviour. And I usually catch her long after the crime has been committed so what am I going to do, yell at her? :laugh: Are there any other alternatives to an e-collar or a scat mat (I have no idea what that is?) I'm asking not because I am opposed to these methods but I'm afraid I'm not qualified enough and I'd be scared of not using them correctly. Jules I don't usually leave food around for hours, it's more a case of leaving it on the table to go do something (answer a phone call, sign for a delivery etc). Just Google Scat Mat. They run on batteries & when the dog jumps on it, it gives off a little static charge just like when you touch a car door handle when the wind is blowing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Better Late Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Whats your house setup like, are you able to block off her access to the kitchen by baby gates or similar? When we brought Bonnie home she went through a rather opportunistic phase of counter surfing any chance she got. Our kitchen/dining/lounge is all open plan so we voted against barriers, it just wouldnt have worked, but it might do in your case. Along with conditioning our girl to go to her mat (and bloody well stay there!) while we were food prepping, we just turned into the worlds most efficient kitchen hands and made sure there wasn't even a skerrick of food left for her to get at. If I made a sandwich and had to go into another room for something, the plate would go on top of the fridge. I still find myself taking plates of food with me if I have to pop out into another room for a second, she's far, FAR better than she was, but I still don't trust her a hundred percent because she's a cunning little fiend, bless her socks :laugh: and I'd rather manage it so she doesn't have the opportunity rather than allow her to self reinforce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 The only solution here is NEVER leaving any food unattended even for a second :laugh: Mosley can counter surf without even going on tippy toes so it's just become a habit now to move anything away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Could you set up a sting operation with squirts from a water bottle everytime she gets up on the chair if you are reluctant to try the mat or collar ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Oh dear, seems I've had it easy until now :laugh: Hank has counter-surfed a couple of times (both times when we've had chopped cooked chicken on the bench for soup and left it to cool) otherwise he is either way too scared of getting caught or paranoid that I'm always watching so I don't worry so much about him :laugh: Odie on the other hand.... we're talking about a dog that is too lazy to get up out of bed and pee in the mornings yet managed to successfully do some serious acrobats (pretty sure a swan dive was involved) to get to some banana cake. Oy. She's now sunbaking and snoring away with her fat little belly in the air, extremely pleased with her accomplishments today no doubt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypaws Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 I'm sorry HO I shouldn't laugh but I can picture the grace in which she captured the banana bread ... You have to set up some cameras ... She could be a Utube star I wish I had an awesome training trick ... We have baby gates in the kitchen door to keep the lab from dreaming about it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbaudry Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Thanks all. Huski I figured that would be the case seeing as it's such a strong rewarding behaviour. And I usually catch her long after the crime has been committed so what am I going to do, yell at her? :laugh: Are there any other alternatives to an e-collar or a scat mat (I have no idea what that is?) I'm asking not because I am opposed to these methods but I'm afraid I'm not qualified enough and I'd be scared of not using them correctly. Jules I don't usually leave food around for hours, it's more a case of leaving it on the table to go do something (answer a phone call, sign for a delivery etc). Just Google Scat Mat. They run on batteries & when the dog jumps on it, it gives off a little static charge just like when you touch a car door handle when the wind is blowing Sheena, have you used one yourself? I bought one maybe 4 years ago and it stopped working after a couple of uses (yes, I did check the batteries!). I was pretty annoyed as it wasn't cheap (around $150 from memory). I recently tried the space blanket trick on the couch.... Makes no difference, it's just scratched and pulled out of the way despite my best attempts at securing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corrie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 (edited) All I imagine is Odie pirouetting on to the desk with the similar style and grace as Hyacinth the Hippo. Edited July 10, 2015 by corrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hankodie Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 All I imagine is Odie pirouetting on to the desk with the similar style and grace as Hyacinth the Hippo. thank you for that laugh. That's exactly how I picture it too now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 reminds me of this. beagle moves chair to steal food... I have dealt with it in a few ways. Like an advanced game of its yer choice. Strangely - interrupting my dog mid slurp - or even just sniffing the air ie having the thought - helps. 1. I put tins along the edge of the counter that fall off if she tries to check stuff out there. But doesn't work if you don't put them. Vicks vapour rub too. works but needs reapplying. very inconvenient. 2. take dog out of the room with me. I'm a messy cook - there's crumbs and stuff everywhere. So best thing I can do is make sure she doesn't clean up in the kitchen without my permission - including the floor. So I grab my dinner - I take her with me and shut the door to the kitchen. I can't leave the door shut because her water is in there but it does seem to break the habit of checking all surfaces for dinner remnants. 3. IYC with a bowl of brekky porridge. I've got no idea why this one has stuck so well but I can leave a bowl of porridge where she can reach it for ages - 10 minutes I've timed once (and I don't want to eat it then)... and she will just act not interested. When I've finished the bowl of porridge - different story. I stop eating and put the bowl down, and she will LOULDLY tell me that she wants it but not steal it. I have to be careful not to reward the loud telling. Ie get in before she starts or wait her out until well after she stops or not give it to her at all. So she's allowed to decide for herself whether she wants to sniff the bowl of porridge. If she tries to sniff it, I block access... if she backs off - I give her a treat from another source ie a bit of roast chicken or something. I'm not entirely sure how I progressed this game (and not the food on the ground at the park one)... but she does not steal the porridge. I'm fairly sure if I went to the shops and left the bowl with porridge on the coffee table she might decide it's fair game but I could be wrong. I've left her with it and forgotten before (but I was still home) and she didn't nick it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staffyluv Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 One of my fosters was a table/counter surfer - I bought some of those citronella outdoor tealights from Woolies and took it out of the tin container. Then under the edge of all surfaces (just under the outside edge of the table and under the edge of the kitchen bench), I rubbed the candle - the smell of the citronella kept him away from the table and the kitchen benches.. You could also use plain citronella oil but it is a stronger smell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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